Division of Continuing Education Celebrates 50th Anniversary on Livestream

At an online fireside chat Thursday celebrating the 50th anniversary of Harvard’s Division of Continuing Education, top Harvard administrators praised the DCE for expanding access to Harvard’s educational resources.

Roughly 700 people joined the YouTube livestream, which featured video messages from Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra and DCE Dean Nancy Coleman and was introduced by Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76.

“Through DCE, we’re able to expand our reach across the entire world, bringing new learners and a diversity of perspectives onto our campus, both physically and virtually,” Hoekstra said in a video played on the livestream.

The DCE comprises the Harvard Extension School and Harvard Summer School. While it traces its roots back to the Summer School’s founding in 1871, the Division wasn’t officially formed by the FAS until 1975. Today, the Extension School enrolls nearly 14,000 students each year.

The speakers’ remarks — which included reminiscences on the DCE’s five-decade history and praise for its global body of non-traditional students — come as Harvard attempts to reorient its communication strategy to rebuild trust beyond its gates. Facing an increasingly hostile political environment for elite higher education, Harvard administrators have said they must double down on proving the University’s value to the public.

Michael Shinagel, the DCE’s first dean, said that the Division’s flexibility makes it “much more responsive to the needs of society – locally, nationally and globally.”

“Nothing is permanent except change, and nothing changes more than continuing education,” Shinagel said.

“There are many times when we’ve tried things in Extension or Summer School that ended up in the College. They’ve ended up at institutions all over the world,” he said.

Hoekstra praised the DCE for “expanding access to the learning experiences that make Harvard and the FAS such a special place” and serving as a source of “pedagogical innovation.”

“The DCE paves the way in experimentation with different educational models, influencing the work for FAS, which we’ve been doing with certificates and microcertificates, shorter-form programming and much more,” she said.

The Extension School offers 49 graduate and four undergraduate certificate programs. In 2023, HES introduced microcertificate programs targeted at mid-career professionals. Students can pursue microcertificates — which cost $6,680 in tuition — on tracks including web application development, sustainable finance, and project management methodologies.

Harvard’s on-campus coursework remains focused on traditional liberal arts degree programs. In March, however, Harvard College introduced a civic engagement certificate program for undergraduates who complete classroom requirements and a practicum in public service.

Associate Dean for Information Technology Henry H. Leitner spoke of the “incredible motivation of the students” at the DCE, saying they “travel great distances, and they hang on to every word” to pursue their education.

Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Peter R. Girguis said that one of his “favorite things” about DCE is that he gets to work with students “who come from so many different walks of life and offer so many different perspectives.”

“When I present students with a problem, a question, or a challenge we face in ocean science, I often hear them provide answers that we ocean scientists have never thought of,” Girguis said.

—Staff writer Evan H.C. Epstein can be reached at evan.epstein@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X at @Evan_HC_Epstein.

—Staff writer Jackson M. Deutch can be reached at jackson.deutch@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X at @DeutchJackson.