TOMS RIVER—Ocean County Library now offers continuing education classes through Universal Class for Libraries, an online educational service that offers over 500 different classes covering topics that are of interest to everybody.
Ocean County Library cardholders can access Universal class by going online to the library’s website, www.theoceancountylibrary.org, and clicking on the Universal Class link. A valid Ocean County Library card is required to register.
Once registered, a library card holder can enroll for up to five classes at a time, covering a wide 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 e-mail for assistance. In order to advance to the next lesson, there may 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.
“For years we’ve had requests for classes on computer topics and other subjects that we’ve 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 on Adobe 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.
“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 non-credit 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, contact the library’s information services department at (732) 349-6200 or (609) 971-0514, or by email at question@theoceancountylibrary.org.
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