What Is UO Continuing and Professional Education?

Updated

UO Continuing and Professional Education (CPE) is the University of Oregon's unit for learning outside the traditional degree path. It serves people who are not admitted UO students—community members, working professionals, employers, associations, and UO academic units—through four main areas: lifelong learning, professional development, conference services, and academic support. Its programs are self-support and fee-based, meaning they do not rely on state dollars.

Who it's for

CPE is built for learners and organizations that want UO-connected education without going through admission to a degree program. Based on the site, that includes:

  • Individuals seeking lifelong learning — people who want to keep learning as "a way of life" rather than earn a degree.
  • Working professionals — those looking to advance a career or gain skills and qualifications.
  • Employers, associations, and vendors — partners who co-deliver or sponsor programs.
  • UO schools, colleges, and faculty — academic units that need administrative help running credit or noncredit programs and events.

The site states CPE serves more than 5,000 participants annually.

The four service areas

Area What it covers
Lifelong Learning Non-career-focused learning, including the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and Osher Online Seminars
Professional Development Career and skills programs and partnerships, such as AI Essentials, AI for HR Professionals, AI for Marketing, and Project Management
Conference Services Administrative support for conferences and noncredit workshops, including events run by academic departments and individual faculty
Academic Support Support for credit and noncredit programs in partnership with employers, associations, vendors, and UO academic units

What "academic support" actually means

This is the part that's easy to misread. CPE's academic support is a behind-the-scenes service for programs run by others. According to the site, it can include registration processing and management, accounting, customer service, and data management—offered for both credit and noncredit programs. It also lists Eugene event facilities as part of this support.

So if you're a department or employer with a program to run, CPE can handle the operations. If you're a learner, you'd more likely interact with CPE through its lifelong learning or professional development offerings.

How it's funded

CPE programs are self-support and fee-based and do not use state dollars. In practical terms, that means the unit operates on the fees its programs generate rather than on Oregon state funding. The site does not publish specific prices or payment details, so check individual program pages for cost and registration terms.

How to decide if it fits you

  • You want to learn without applying to UO → look at lifelong learning or professional development.
  • You need career-focused skills or a credential → start with professional development programs and partnerships.
  • You're running a conference or workshop → explore Conference Services support options.
  • You're a UO unit, employer, or association needing program administration → academic support is the relevant service.

The site organizes everything under Connecting Communities, Discover Our Programs, Additional Services, About, and Contact, so the fastest path is to pick the category that matches your goal and follow it to the specific program.