If you are searching for answers in today's rough economy and job market, Kolette Palacios and her staff at Texas State may just have the answer for you. In fact, they may have several good answers from which to choose.

Under the umbrella of Continuing Education, a wide variety of courses are available and in most cases the time commitment is less than a semester.

“The advantage is that it will not take as long,” Palacios said, “and a person can either increase an existing skill set or we can help train for an entirely new occupation.”

Among the high demand occupations offered through Continuing Education are Dental Assistant and Pharmacy Technician certification.

This past fall, the dental assistant program ran just two months on Saturdays only thus enabling many to continue other jobs while retraining. Another key advantage is that the course is taught not in a classroom but in an actual dental office.

“We have had great results from both programs with our graduates,” Palacios said, “and we offer the Pharmacy Tech course now twice per year at both the San Marcos campus and our Round Rock Higher Education Center campus.”

As health care is one of the hottest and fastest growing career fields today, continuing education has risen to the demand by also offering training as a Home Health Care Aide as well as a Medical Assistant Administration program.

Currently under development is a program aimed at health information and technology. As the health care industry moves rapidly into electronic storage and transfer of patients information the need for those specifically trained to deal with the technology and management of the information will be critical.

Palacios has been with the Continuing Education department for 20 years now. And while her title is director, in reality she is essentially running a small business.

“We are a self-supporting office, responsible for our overhead and so we have to be very careful what we offer,” Palacios added. “I get a fair number of requests for programs on a constant basis. And by utilizing feedback from our registrants, we look for members of the faculty that are experts in their field as well as external experts to teach the courses. A key question we must ask ourselves is who the audience is and how will they benefit.”

And while there are always some attempts at new course offerings that don't succeed, others might surprise you at their success.

“Wedding Planner certification is one that has seen many current students at Texas State also taking the class to add to their skill set because it is applicable to event planning too. That course has been quite well received,” said Palacios.

Palacios has an undergraduate degree in political science and a Masters in Public Administration from Texas State. She uses those skills daily in guiding the office towards a course offering that meets the needs of both potential students and the business community to whom most will turn for jobs after completing their coursework.

“Staying abreast of business trends, networking with other continuing education schools on what is successful, and performing a community needs assessment with local businesses and organizations are some of the things we do in selecting what classes to offer,” said Palacios. “Our goal is to provide more programming that will serve the community and provide professional training.”

One of the most successful programs is the Certified Public Manager or CPM. Under the leadership of Dr. Howard Balanoff, a professor at Texas State University, this now nationally recognized program is available in multiple locations around the state. Aimed at training managers working in local, state, and federal government positions as well as nonprofits, the curriculum consists of seven classes or tracks.

Another flagship program is the Environmental Risk Management series of classes. Held in association with the Institute for Environmental and Industrial Science at Texas State, the courses cover areas like environmental law, insurance, medicine, and technology.

“Continuing Education also partners with the Texas Safety Institute in a series of courses dealing with OSHA regulations and compliance,” added Palacios. “And like many of our offerings, we can even work with industry to take the class to them rather than have their workers come here.”

Palacios said that a strong component of the Continuing Education Department is their ability to help customize education to meet business needs. To that end, she says they can help as a support service for businesses seeking to hold seminars, workshops, or conferences.

“Services we offer include program development, planning assistance, publicity and promotion, assistance with catering, conference administration, as well as the financial planning and administration and evaluation of a conference,” said Palacios.

Given her prior background in program coordination and eight years of working as director of marketing for a large hotel in San Antonio, it is no wonder that Palacios has been so successful in the leadership and growth of the Continuing Education department.

Recognizing that education has broad meaning and application to everyone in the community, course offerings also include such diverse topics as “Introduction to Film Acting,” “Wine Tasting Tour,” “Bonsai Garden Tour,” and “Olive Farm Tour.”

Equally important is that many of the course offerings available do not require any specific background or prior education level, thus opening the door to many without college degrees.

The complete catalog of course offerings is available at the Continuing Education website, www.txstate.edu/continuinged, and includes online courses available along with actual classroom classes.