Sacramento State’s College of Continuing Education (CCE) provides educational and professional programming that meets student and industry demands. “We pride ourselves on being experts on adult learners,” says Ben Fell, associate dean for academic and professional programs. “We offer programs adult learners need and want, such as professional certificate programs to retrain or upskill and online degree programs, including master’s degrees.”
CCE acts at the intersection of two significant issues — an increasingly acute workforce shortage and a population of former students who attended college but never completed a degree or certificate. Statistics show that by 2025, California will be short 2.4 million college graduates to meet economic needs.
HornetAttain!, a Sac State initiative launched in February 2021, tackles both problems by targeting adults who had been enrolled but never completed. In the Sacramento region, 404,060 adults have earned college units but no degree. Of those, an estimated 101,000 are within 15 units of finishing.
“Sacramento State exists to serve our community and to serve all students, including those who started college but had to stop along the way. We welcome back everyone who wants to complete their degrees, completing their dreams, improving their lives and bolstering the workforce simultaneously.” – President Robert S. Nelsen
“Sacramento State exists to serve our community and to serve all students, including those who started college but had to stop along the way”, says President Robert S. Nelsen. “We welcome back everyone who wants to complete their degrees, completing their dreams, improving their lives and bolstering the workforce simultaneously.”
Education benefits are immense: individual pride of accomplishment and better employment, and an elevation of the entire region’s economic prosperity. Fell says, “Once adults return, we see great success, with 96 percent crossing the finish line with a degree or certificate.”
With 40 degrees completed since its launch in 2021, HornetAttain!’s goal is to champion and support at least 500 returning adults in degree and certificate programs in the next year. Fell concludes, “We encourage everyone to learn more and help fund scholarships and programs that support adults finishing what they started to bolster our regional workforce.”
