San Diego Continuing Education (SDCE) is a public, non-credit educational institution

School

A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...

 in San Diego, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. It is part of the San Diego Community College District

San Diego Community College District

The San Diego Community College District is a public community college division in the city of San Diego, California. The district is one of the five community college districts in San Diego County; part of the greater California Community College system...

 along with three two-year community college

Community college

A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...

s: San Diego City

San Diego City College

San Diego City College is a public, two-year community college located in San Diego, California. City College is part of the San Diego Community College District along with San Diego Mesa College, San Diego Miramar College and San Diego Continuing Education...

, San Diego Mesa

San Diego Mesa College

San Diego Mesa College is a public, two-year community college perched on a mesa in the Clairemont neighborhood of San Diego, California in the United States. It is the largest community college in the city of San Diego and part of the San Diego Community College District along with San Diego City...

 and San Diego Miramar

San Diego Miramar College

San Diego Miramar College is two-year community college located in San Diego, CA, USA. It is administered by the San Diego Community College District.-History:...

 colleges. It is administered by the San Diego Community College District. San Diego Continuing Education

Continuing education

Continuing education is an all-encompassing term within a broad spectrum of post-secondary learning activities and programs. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada...

 is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges

Western Association of Schools and Colleges

The Western Association of Schools and Colleges is one of six official academic bodies responsible for the accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in the United States and foreign institutions of American origin. The Western Association of...

 SDCE is the nation’s largest separately accredited noncredit institution.

It offers noncredit career technical education

Vocational education

Vocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...

, college preparation, and life enrichment

Sociotherapy

Sociotherapy is a social science and form of social work, and sociology that involves the study of groups of people, its constituent individuals and their behavior, using learned information in case and care management towards holistic life enrichment or improvement of social and life...

 programs; community education general interest fee classes, and customized contract training classes designed for the business sector. Continuing Education serves approximately 100,000 students per year through its six campuses, Centre City, Cesar Chavez

César Chávez

César Estrada Chávez was an American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers ....

, Educational Cultural Complex (ECC), Mid-City, North City and West City. SDCE is diverse: it is coeducational, multi-generational and multi-ethnic. It has a semester-based academic calendar with an added summer session as a regular part of its offerings.

History

Continuing education in San Diego began in 1914 when the Board of Education

Board of education

A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....

 of the San Diego City Schools

San Diego City Schools

San Diego Unified School District is the school district of San Diego, California. It was founded in 1854...

 authorized free night classes for adults in areas such as elementary and secondary basis skills and citizenship instruction. After World War Two

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, adult high school

Adult high school

An adult high school or adult school is a high school facility designed for adult education. It is intended for adults who have not completed high school to continue their education. Some adult high schools offer child care, special integration programs for immigrants and refugees, career...

 classes were offered to returning veterans. In 1970 a separate community college district

Community College District

A community college district is a United States school district associated with a community college or colleges. Some community college districts are run by state governments; others are separately governed by an elected school board....

 was established under a local governing board. In the mid 1970s more than 100,000 adults were enrolled including Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

n refugees—this gave rise to the large English as a Second Language

English language learning and teaching

English as a second language , English for speakers of other languages and English as a foreign language all refer to the use or study of English by speakers with different native languages. The precise usage, including the different use of the terms ESL and ESOL in different countries, is...

(ESL) program that is presently the largest program in SDCE. Today, SDCE is the largest institution of its kind in the nation with a wide and varied curriculum.