Will advance and support workforce, professional and personal development
In a significant advancement for noncredit workforce development and professional and lifelong learning, The Ohio State University has introduced a new noncredit enrollment management system.
This initiative, stemming from recommendations by a multi-year collaborative across Ohio State, creates a central gateway to Ohio State’s noncredit programming on continuinged.osu.edu. By adopting a unifying noncredit enrollment management system, the university aims to deliver a seamless, learner-centered and business-partner enabled experience that aligns with its commitment to excellence and innovation while offering interdisciplinary learning pathways in one searchable space.
Overview of the New System
This critical infrastructure advancement is a key component of Ohio State's transformative commitment to supporting and advancing Professional and Continuing Education (PCE) while addressing the urgent need for noncredit workforce development opportunities throughout the state and beyond. For the first time noncredit learners will have the opportunity to easily browse, search, plan for, and enroll in noncredit courses and programs across the entire university. The Office of Academic Affairs’ PCE team soft-launched the system in July 2024 in collaboration with the College of Social Work; Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drug Misuse Prevention and Recovery (HECAOD); College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences and the College of Education and Human Ecology.
Ohio State’s Noncredit Landscape:
Noncredit learning at Ohio State has evolved for more than a decade, with most colleges currently offering noncredit learning opportunities. As a result, the number of noncredit learners engaging with Ohio State is growing rapidly. For instance, during 2023, Ohio State served more than 36,000 unique learners, representing a 143% increase since 2020, for those engaged in the noncredit Canvas learning management system.
Strategic Drivers for Change
- Extending Ohio State’s land-grant mission: A central noncredit learner management system will offer post-traditional learners interdisciplinary and workforce development pathways through a searchable, e-commerce-like platform, simplifying finding and enrolling in noncredit courses and programs that meet their needs.
- Improved technical infrastructure: The new system supports scalable growth, ensuring a smooth and efficient user experience.
- Streamlined services: With integrated identity management, noncredit learners will receive an Ohio State name.#, bringing them into the Ohio State community and enhancing transparency and insight into learner behaviors and journeys.
- Data-driven insights: Robust data and reporting capabilities will provide valuable insights into enrollments, revenue, and the overall health of noncredit programs.
- Corporate engagement: The system includes a Corporate Engagement Portal to facilitate effective and streamlined business partnerships, group enrollments and third-party payment invoicing and payment options.
- Learner-centered services: From reducing complexity, duplication and increasing access for noncredit learner support to creating consistency for institutional processes and labeling, the team behind the system can support Ohio State to scale noncredit activities — moving your employees into locally strategic positions.
Collaboration and Future Plans
The soft launch enabled Ohio State to test the new registration system’s functionality and potential, including coordinated support for noncredit learners. A continuous improvement roadmap fed by data gathered during this phase has also launched and will shape future improvements and development of the system.
Currently, multiple noncredit learner enrollment management systems are in use. Moving forward, the PCE team will engage with colleges across Ohio State to integrate their noncredit offerings into the new platform. The PCE team plans to fully implement this new approach by July 1, 2025. This will include a move of existing noncredit programming in Canvas Catalog to the new system. More details, including FAQs, are available on the Professional and Continuing Education website.
What’s Next?
- Ongoing meetings: The PCE team will continue to meet with units offering noncredit learning opportunities to develop a shared strategy for elevating noncredit continuing education and workforce development opportunities.
- Transitional support: The PCE team will assist adopters in planning the transition of their noncredit course and program listings to the new system.
This change will significantly enhance a learner-centered and business-partner enabled noncredit experience for those across Ohio and even beyond the state, supporting Ohio State’s mission to provide accessible, high-quality education for all.
The PCE team is here to support you during and after this transition. If you have questions or need assistance, please feel free to reach out to Jessica Phillips, senior director for PCE; Rob Griffiths, assistant vice provost; or the PCE team’s general inbox at continuinged@osu.edu The PCE team can assist in developing transition plans for integrating your noncredit offerings and will continue collaboration to elevate our noncredit continuing education and workforce development opportunities.