Hillsborough Community College’s Continuing Education Program

Hillsborough Community College (HCC) is a major institution in Hillsborough County, Florida, the west central coast county in which Tampa is located. Hillsborough Community College opened in 1968 and now has more than 40,000 students over its six campuses and satellite locations. While the college is well-known and respected for its numerous Associate in Art (A.A.) and Associate in Science (A.S.) degrees, the school also offers dozens of other programs, including a diverse list of continuing education courses.

While Continuing Education courses do not count as regular college credit such as needed to attain a degree, they do offer all types of people the opportunity to gain the skills necessary to advance their careers begin new ones, or simply to enjoy learning something new.

The subject matter scope of HCC’s Continuing Education courses range from learning Spanish to acquiring the skills needed to garner a voice-over job. There are also programs involving nursing aide skills, bookkeeping, and real estate. HCC’s Continuing Education program also includes courses that teach basic computer skills, driver improvement, CPR training, and GED attainment. In other words, HCC’s Continuing Education program has something to offer to anyone who wishes to improve their education, skills, knowledge, and acumen for a wide range of pursuits, both professional and personal.

The beauty of HCC’s Continuing Education program is that they truly run the gamut of self-enhancement. While many courses, like those in bookkeeping, veterinary assisting, and mortgage broker pre-license are helpful in climbing the career ladder, HCC also offer individuals a chance to enrich their personal lives with courses that help parents understand ways to improve their relationship with their children, seniors learn how to use a computer, or drivers become safer and more defensive vehicle operators.

While many of HCC’s Continuing Education courses require on-campus attendance, a number of courses can be partially or fully completed online, making it easy and convenient to participate in these enriching courses even if busy or unable to get onto an HCC campus.

Fees for the Continuing Education program vary per course. While HCC’s “Administrative Medical Specialist with Medical Billing and Coding”course costs $1,995 to take (according to HCC’s Spring 2008 Catalog), a course called “Fun Foods for Kids” has a fee of just $15. Though courses designed for professionals versus those tailored to those seeking professional career advancement clearly have different fees, another major factor in determining fees is closely aligned with the number of contact hours (classroom hours) spent to complete the course.

The Administrative Medical Specialist with Medical Billing and Coding course requires 300 contact hours, whereas the “Fun Food for Kids” course has just 5 contact hours. The fees for many of these courses include materials and other costs necessary to complete the course, but it is advisable to check with the college to ascertain all final costs for each course.

One can register for HCC’s Continuing Education courses by mail or in person at any HCC campus Admissions, Records, and Registration office. As registration for the Continuing Education program occurs on a first-come, first-served basis, it is important to sign-up for courses as soon as possible to avoid the disappointment that comes in being told a course is already full. HCC’s Continuing Education Office can be reached at (813) 253-7980 and further information about the program can be seen at http://www.hccfl.edu/conted .

Resources:

http://www.ed2go.com/conedhcc/
http://www.hccfl.edu/conted/geninfo.html
http://www.hccfl.edu/conted/registration.html
Hillsborough Community College. “Continuing Education Spring 2008 Catalog.”