UCLA Extension Finds Welcome in West Valley

The people at UCLA Extension have come to the conclusion that it’s simply too difficult for many West Valley residents to get to classes on the Westwood campus by 7 p.m. on a weeknight.

To leave work at 5 p.m., or later, pick up the kids, go home, grab a quick dinner, arrange for a sitter, make that unpredictable drive over the hill, then head for a parking structure and finally make your way to the classroom is not conducive to a relaxed learning environment. It can take until the 8:30 break just to catch your breath.

Rather than move the time back, university officials have lifted part of UCLA Extension and put it down in the West Valley. In Warner Center, to be specific. Mohammed has come over the mountain.

“This move has come out of our studies on where the kind of people who take our classes are moving,” said UCLA Extension’s Dean Leonard Freedman. West Valley is one of the hot pockets of the extension-profile population.

‘Self-Selection Process’

“Over 70% of people who take extension classes have at least a BA degree. Over 90% of them have one to two years of college.” Although Freedman is quick to point out that UCLA Extension, which he said is the largest continuing education program in the United States, encourages all people “irrespective of their college background” to sign up for classes, there is what Freedman calls a “self-selection process” that tends to bring it a more highly educated segment of the community. “But we remain the most accessible part of the university because of our open enrollment policy.”

The West Valley satellite is start of long-term plan to make UCLA Extension more than just a Westside program in the minds of Los Angeles people. “We see all of L.A. County as our territory,” Freedman said. “And the people of L.A. have an incredible appetite for continuing education.”

Although extension has offered classes around the county for several years, this is the first major effort to establish a suburban satellite center with classes from all six UCLA Extension departments. With administrative offices in Warner Center (the Voit Co. has offered a spacious suite at a nominal rent to encourage the program’s development) and classes at Taft High School, Holiday Inn, Warner Center Marriott Hotel and Prince of Peace Episcopal Church, the extension program is gearing up for an ambitious fall quarter.

Classrooms Not Expected

Unless the West Valley program expands to the point of including a healthy number of daytime programs, Freedman does not see the practicality of the extension program seeking its own classrooms.

“The Valley has grown to the point where it is feasible to do this kind of programming,” said Glodean Gates, coordinator of the West Valley program. “People in the Valley have always taken a lot of continuing education courses.” Gates said that, although the program is expected to draw most of its students from the West Valley, there some will come from all along the Ventura Freeway corridor, west to Ventura itself.

Freedman, who lives in Encino, said that, even though the West Valley Extension offers a larger percentage of introductory courses than at the UCLA campus, the courses are taught on the same level in the same way in the Valley as on the Westside. “The range of programs is larger on the Westside so people are going on to more advanced courses. There a few more introductory courses in the Valley because we are reacting to an audience that has not been able to get here comfortably. But I would not accept any notion that people in the Valley aren’t keeping up with that level of work.”

Especially popular courses in the Valley have included an introductory writing workshop, real estate investment analysis and introduction to artificial intelligence.

Mike Stone, UCLA Extension public relations officer, said that, while studying the demographics in the area, he noted that the family unit appeared stronger in the Valley than over the hill. “People are more married there, while there are more single people on Westside. We looked at that in terms of people’s priority and life style.”

So, a course entitled “Owning and Operating a Daycare Center” was offered in the Valley but not on the UCLA campus. But, he added, “There must be a lot of singles out there too, because a course called ‘Caring Singles’ did nearly twice as well in the Valley as a similar course offered at UCLA called ‘Approaching New Relationships.’ ”

The West Valley satellite began last winter with 14 classes. In the three quarters of operation, it has offered 65 classes, with a big increase planned for this fall. The summer session includes courses in tax preparation, jewelry design, owning a child care center, photojournalism, acting, writing, traveler’s French and Italian. Summer quarter fees range from $75 for an all-day seminar in “Singles Lifestyles” to $245 for an 11-meeting class in elements of design.

Fees Can Be Prohibitive

UCLA Extension’s often-stiff fees can be prohibitive to many people but Freedman maintains that the self-supporting aspect (Extension receives no state tax money), and the quality of instruction, of the program makes those fees necessary.

“It makes us uncomfortable to be too expensive for many lower- and middle-income people.” But he added that UCLA Extension was never meant to “do the whole job. We follow a rough equivalent of the master plan with the top students going to the university, others to state colleges and still others to community colleges.”

Gates sees the extension classes as appealing to a different audience than those adult classes being offered at Los Angeles Pierce College, California State University, Northridge and the Learning Tree in Chatsworth and Thousand Oaks.

“We function in different ways, “ said Anne Lee, marketing director for the Learning Tree, a nonprofit educational center. “In computers, for example, we offer shorter, hands-on courses without a lot of theory. People looking for quick training will come to us.

“We are also extensively geared to personal growth classes. Of course, a person can take an Italian cooking class from them or us, but our lower prices are a selling factor.”

Tuitions Compared

Tuition for courses at the Learning Tree are, generally, one-third to one-half the price of those offered by UCLA Extension. At the Learning Tree, “French for the Traveler” is taught over eight class sessions and costs $44. UCLA’s “Traveler’s French” is $140 for 11 meetings.

CSUN has been offering continuing education courses for 15 years, and will offer at least 200 courses this fall. Marcella Tyler, director of public relations for CSUN’s office of Continuing Education believes a satellite program, like the West Valley Extension, doesn’t have the the drawing power that on-site university campus classes do.

“We are the university in the Valley,” she said. “It’s been our territory for a long time. We have very strong ties to the business community.”

This fall, West Valley Extension will offer 50 courses and expects more than 1,000 students. The schedule is a mixture of introductory course in several popular programs, a few career advancement programs especially in engineering, personal growth and personal enrichment. Drawing from six departments, the fall schedule has been programmed to appeal to a wide range of interests.

One of the hits of the West Valley program last spring was a seven-part series devoted to the mystery novel: “Crime on Their Minds.” It drew 150 students, writers and readers alike. Since many students don’t enroll until the first night of class, even the extension staff is often surprised at the interest (or lack of it) in many offerings.

Other Programs Unsettled

Both Freedman and Gates are unsure about the possibility of bringing the extension programs certificate programs to the Valley. “With certificate programs, there are always a larger number of people in the introductory classes than in the advanced ones so you need a pretty good enrollment to start with. If we do start some, they will most likely be in business and management.”

Gates is particularly enthusiastic about the Extension Advisory Service’s decision to bring its volunteers to Warner Center. This free extension program offers prospective students information about what types of classes are available in fields they wish to pursue.

The advisory service begins its West Valley program with open hours from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesdays,