Ocean County Library now offers continuing education classes through Universal Class for Libraries, an online educational service that offers more than 500 different classes covering topics appealing to a variety of interests.
Ocean County Library cardholders can access Universal Class by going online to www.theoceancountylibrary.org, and clicking on the Universal Class link. A valid Ocean County Library card is required to register.
Once registered, a library cardholder can enroll for up to five classes at a time, covering awide area of topics including computers, business, arts and crafts, social sciences, finance, real estate, writing skills, psychology, history and much more. The student has six months to complete a class. Lessons are created by real-world instructors who can be contacted via email for assistance.
In order to advance to the next lesson, theremay be required reading assignments or tests. When a class is completed, it is no longer counted as one of the maximum five classes and a student can begin a new class, according to a press release.
“For years we’ve had requests for classes on computer topics and other subjects that we have not been able to teach for one reason or another,” said Elizabeth Cronin, coordinator of information services and supervising librarian. “Now when someone asks us for a class onAdobe Photoshop or digital photography or on hundreds of more topics, we can suggest they give Universal Class a try.”
Since its library debut in early January, Universal Class has been very popular with library customers, who have signed up for a wide array of classes, according to the press release.
“I didn’t expect the variety of classes that patrons have signed up for,” added Cronin. “Clutter Control, Microsoft Excel, Computer Basics, Algebra, Investing and Genealogy are among the top 10 our patrons have signed up for already. We also have people signed up for Creative Writing, ABCs of Physics, Scrapbooking, Knitting and dozens of other classes.”
Courses provided by Universal Class are noncredit courses and are provided for personal enrichment. The courses are not intended to be a substitute for any state, government, licensing, or educational requirements.
For more information about Universal Class, call 732-349-6200 or 609-971-0514, or send an email to question@theocean countylibrary.org.