Lifelong Learning and the Academy: The Changing Nature of Continuing Education (review)

In Lifelong Learning and the Academy: The Changing Nature of Education,Jeffrey A. Cantor presents a compelling review of the challenges and opportunities faced by both the users and providers of professional continuing education (PCE) in the 21st century and beyond. Cantor argues that a changing, technologically driven global economy, an aging population in need of continuous skills improvements, and an academy seeking new revenue sources are fueling an unprecedented explosion in the PCE market. He concludes that these forces and the need to minimize costs and maximize organizational outcomes will lead to the emergence of innovative educational partnerships among industries, professions, and the academy.

In the first three chapters, Cantor defines PCE, presents a variety of applications, and acknowledges the ambitious undertaking faced by PCE providers in the knowledge economy. He presents the concept of continuing education as a lifelong learning function that organizes and supports courses and programs beyond formal degrees, one that includes professional certification and training focused on improving skills and knowledge for specific occupations. He also suggests that PCE programs provide evidence of successful completion that participants can use to justify higher salaries or upward mobility in the labor market.

In the final two chapters, Cantor examines a wide range of issues that link various stakeholders in the PCE arena and analyzes the plethora of organizations that develop, regulate, distribute, and purchase PCE, both individually and in partnership with one another. He also begins to unravel the intellectual, structural, and ethical challenges that the expansion of PCE poses for traditional universities. He suggests that traditional colleges and universities are focused primarily on the delivery of formal degrees, yet often struggle to fulfill mandates to develop new profit centers to increase revenues.

The expanding role that PCE plays in supporting the growth of a global market economy is central to Cantor's argument. He notes that U.S. employers spent more than $51 billion annually on PCE in the mid-1990s, preparing approximately 90 million adult learners for participation in the workforce (NCES, 2002–2003). A growing amount of PCE is being offered in the workplace; about half of the Fortune 500 firms operate corporate universities or plan to do so in the near future. If the education and training functions of General Electric, AT&T, or IBM were spun off as public universities, their individual revenues would exceed the budgets of Ohio State and Michigan (Cervero, quoted by Cantor, p. 20).

The professional education market is being pursued by public and private two- and four-year colleges and universities, advocacy groups, professional associations, commercial vendors and for-profit institutions. Cantor argues that these programs offer the most promise for those who are willing to collaborate to develop and deliver PCE programs to potential customers. He cites particular professions and industries (e.g., nursing, public services, public education, engineering, construction, and emergency medicine) that rely heavily on continuing education programs to ensure that their employees uphold increasingly complex regulatory standards. He concludes: "The coming of the information and digital age combined with advances in science and technology have undoubtedly caused an increased focus on workers' needs for continuing skills upgrades and education across virtually all professional and technical occupations" (p. 10).

Cantor develops his argument by illuminating a number of noteworthy PCE trends. For example, as state and local governments have reduced funding for universities and community colleges nationwide, universities have begun to embrace PCE for business, industry, and noncredit courses and programs for lifelong learners, in an attempt to bolster revenues. Additionally, he argues, PCE has become an ambassador for the academy through the creation of partnerships with economic development agencies that have benefitted both academia and the community at large.

Cantor's work joins a growing body of literature that points to the benefits of collaborative partnerships between the university and industry, professional associations, nonprofits, government regulatory bodies, and commercial...