San Diego Community College District

The Association of Community and Continuing Education honored Carlos O. Turner Cortez, Ph.D., President of San Diego Continuing Education, with a highly coveted Excellence in Continuing Education award at a February 8 ceremony. Turner Cortez is the only president of a noncredit organization in the state to receive this recognition.

“Receiving the award from ACCE is very humbling,” says Dr. Turner Cortez. “The organization’s commitment to supporting noncredit education in California serves as the foundation for SDCE’s mission to make higher education available to every adult in San Diego.”

Dr. Turner Cortez receives the award because of the profound effect he has made in the continuing education field by authoring and spear-heading the production of a comprehensive report of California Community College noncredit offerings: The Past, Present and Future of Noncredit Education in California.

SDCE is the adult education division of the San Diego Community College District and is the largest provider of noncredit education in California.

Dr. Turner Cortez’ motivation to publish the report followed a survey of every community college in California (114) to find out what current noncredit offerings were being provided in the state. The California Community College Noncredit Offerings Survey was conducted in partnership with the California Community College Chancellor’s Office Educational Services.

The survey and report serve as a foundation for the compilation of the collective work that explains the development and expansion of noncredit in CA’s community colleges.

The report documents the history of adult education in California; serves as a resource to colleagues and legislators in the state to inform policy for the development and improvement of adult education programs, and explores recommendations for moving forward, both in research and in innovative programming.

ACCE hosts professional development workshops to raise awareness of their organization and to support continuing education administrators and faculty who advocate at the policy level for noncredit students, and who participate in a growing number of educational policy-making opportunities at the state level.

In addition to informing policy, The Past, Present and Future of Noncredit Education in California report is expected to have continued long-term positive impacts on adult education institutions, faculty, students and the adult education profession.

SDCE serves 40,000 students annually through free classes and career training programs.

ACCE is an organization of California Community College that develops and promotes policies for educational constituencies. The organization has a leadership role in developing community services and continuing education programs in the state.