Students and community residents looking for an opportunity to continue their education beyond college can enroll in the university’s Office of Extended Education, which provides non-credit programs for personal and professional benefit.

Assistant Director of Extended Education Julie Lovett said the program first started as an evening college but has changed over the years. The classes presented through Extended Education range from photography to dancing to reading, she said.

A very popular one was The Big Read, done in conjunction with Texas Wesleyan University.

“The Big Read is a program from the National Endowments of the Arts just designed to get the community reading and talking about what they’re reading,” she said.

Anyone in the TCU and Fort Worth communities can enroll, Lovett said. The target audience is adult learners with ages ranging from 30 to 70 years old.

TCU reference librarian Diana Boerner said she planned to take the yoga class every semester to get exercise. She has taken sewing, music and dance classes as well.

Lovett said the program offered a variety of dance classes, including wedding and basic couples dancing.

Martha Johnson, a real estate appraiser from Fort Worth, said she took photography and painting classes to learn more about her hobbies. The classes were interesting and affordable.

Lovett said prices range depended on what classes participants wanted to take. Most classes ran two hours a week for four weeks, costing around $150, she said.

“We have programs that are two hours in length that could be $45 and we have 30 hour art classes, that probably hit closer to $300,” she said. “We have a wine tour to the Napa Valley that is several thousand dollars.”

Extended Education also offered certification for high school AP teachers to enhance their skills for teaching AP classes, Lovett said.

TCU students are invited to take classes through Extended Education, she said, because in most cases, TCU students received a 50 percent discount.

Boerner said she took Extended Education classes for many reasons, including self-improvement and entertainment.

“If you’re looking for something to entertain yourself or something that you never learned but you’ve always wanted to learn, that’s a great forum and format to do that without having the pressure of a grade,” Boerner said.

Who can register: TCU students and Fort Worth community
How: Register for Extended Education classes online, in person or by phone
Phone: 817-257-7132
Website: lifelong.tcu.edu
Email: [email protected]