About Extended Education

Vision

Extended Education serves diverse learners by providing regional and global access to Sonoma State University.

Mission

Extended Education's mission is to support Sonoma State University by encouraging lifelong learning for traditional and non-traditional student populations, building and promoting a diverse array of programs serving current and prospective students, North Bay residents, regional employers, global audiences, and academic partners.

Our Core Values

Sonoma State University has the following strategic goals and core values:

  • Diversity and social justice;
  • Sustainability and environmental inquiry;
  • Connectivity and community engagement;
  • Adaptability and responsiveness; and
  • Access and partnership.

Extended Education plays two key roles at Sonoma State University: Access and Partnership. Extended Education plays a crucial role on SSU’s campus as a source of revenue for faculty and the campus overall. Extended Education programs must maintain a regional, competitive advantage within SSU’s service area as the first choice for current and prospective students. To support Extended Education mission and achieve its vision, Extended Education makes annual investments in marketing and support structures to support faculty and curricular entrepreneurism.

Strategic priorities from SSU’s Strategic Plan 2025, where the strategic goals for Extended Education are linked to each of these university-level priorities as appropriate below.

  1. Student Success
  2. Academic Excellence and Innovation
  3. Leadership Cultivation
  4. Transformative Impact

Extended Education has five units, each a distinct area managed by a director. Goals and budgets are set by the Extended Education leadership as a team and allocated with an overarching goal of supporting the university’s mission. The five units are as follows, with international programs inside each unit as applicable:

  1. Domestic and International Outreach and Recruitment;
  2. Academic Credit Programs;
  3. Lifelong Learning (OLLI and EXCEL as specific programs);
  4. Non-Degree (Professional Development) Programs, including SSALI; and
  5. Finance, Talent Management, Marketing, and Support (Central Operations).

 

Team Impact Award Winners
2017/2018 Team Impact Award Recipients:

GPS Scholarship Team (Intersession and Summer Session)
Left to Right, Back Row: Robbie Geiss, Judy Vincenti, Julie Shee
Middle Row: Rachel Newman, Kathryn Jacobs-Romero, Geeta Menon
Front Row: Monica Amaral, Jessica Hansen, Nathan Jew, Samantha Cote, Adrianne Price
Team members not pictured: Jennifer Haynes

This team was selected for developing from scratch a new scholarship program that has provided immediate and significant benefit to SSU students.  To do this, they worked across academic and administrative units, analyzed proper methods for needs-based scholarship awards, effective marketing campaigns, creative outreach and participation in public events where students could learn about the program.  They did something that will have a lasting impact and that wasn’t required of them – they saw the need themselves and knew that cost was a barrier for many students participating in Winter/Summer Intersession.  Rather than just acknowledging that need, they took action! Congratulations, Extended Education staff and student employees!