Charleston
IL
The theme of this year’s conference is “Equity in Continuing Higher Education”. “Universities have a long history of exclusion on the bases of race, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability, orientation and identity, but have also been at the forefront of the movement to foster diversity, equity and inclusion in society. Continuing education units exist to support those students that traditional higher education has ignored, and for this reason, our units tend to be more diverse than others on campus. As continuing educators, we often find ourselves urging our colleagues to remember that a commitment to equity must recognize age, veteran status and the need to maintain full-time employment as significant factors of a diverse student body. We are proud to serve disadvantaged student populations. In doing so, though, do we risk perpetuating inequality by segregating “types†of students from one another, thereby creating a disadvantaged learning environment for some? Or do continuing education programs provide the tools to overcome historical injustice?”
