University of California Irvine Division of Continuing Education

Transforming the learning experience

Since 2001, the University of California, Irvine (UCI) has been a leader in open education, aided in its involvement with $1.5 million in funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Through open education, UCI fulfills its public service mission, services its own students, attracts students, increases its international reputation, spotlights its faculty, and experiments in new pedagogy.

In addition, UCI has been a sustaining member of the Open Education Consortium (formerly the OpenCourseWare Consortium) since November 2006. UCI’s open education program has rapidly grown to become one of the largest open educational resources in the United States. Its open education initiative is managed through the use of its own Open Education website, Coursera, and YouTube.

UCI’s primary purpose is to serve deserving audiences, globally, with free education, offering an impactful opportunity for donors to contribute to solving our world’s problems. Each of their open channels represent examples of what could be done in the future. The California Subject Examination for Teachers (CSET) project, offered through the UCI Open Education Website and sponsored by the Hewlett Foundation and the Boeing Foundation, aids teachers in passing the CSET exam that qualifies them to teach science and math in public schools. Their Career Success sequence on Coursera has over 1 million active learners to date and helps to fill the “skills gap” we hear so much about—the gap between what students know how to do and what they need to know as they enter the workforce. UCI’s YouTube site offers its UCI’s Open Chem resource with over 17 full UCI undergraduate courses in full video capture and during 2019 over 4 million minutes were watched.

The UCI Open Education Website features its faculty and instructional expertise across many fields, receiving over 29,000 visits per month. The site has been ranked among the top ten sites internationally.

UCI is a major contributor to the Coursera platform, the leading provider of MOOCs in the world. Their 100 plus courses have engaged over 3.5 million learners since 2013 and over 330,000 have competed UCI courses. UCI offers the first, and still the only, credit bearing certificate program, on Coursera (in Project Management). Completion of the program qualifies students to take the Project Management Institute PMBOK® examination to become a certified project manager.    

Over 230,000 people visit UCI’s YouTube site each month, with about 71 percent from outside of the U.S. This represents a significant international exposure to their programs and the increase in their reputation for service. In addition to the OpenChem project mentioned above, UCI offers YouTube courses in such diverse subjects as public health, psychology, physical sciences, and education.

UCI has received several accolades for its open education projects including:

1. The Distance Education Innovation Award for its OpenChem project by the National University Technology Network.
2.  The best open website by the Internet Marketing Association.
3.  Opal Quality Award for its institutional commitment to open educational resources by a consortium that included UNESCO and several European universities.
4. A "People's Choice" award from voting conducted by Education Portal for UCI’s open course “Science from Superheroes to Global Warming.”
5. The ACE Course Award from the Open Education Consortium.

Whether you are an educator, a student, or a self-learner, UCI’s Open Education initiative has been created to serve you. Educators are encouraged to use the materials for curriculum development. Students can augment their current learning by making use of the materials offered. And self-learners have the ability to browse their offering, selecting those of interest for deeper study.

About the UC Irvine Division of Continuing Education

The University of California, Irvine Division of Continuing Education (DCE) provides lifelong learning opportunities to thousands of students worldwide each year – fulfilling the school’s 60-year curriculum platform to connect degree programs to the world of work and achievement after graduation. The Division offers a broad range of certificate programs, specialized studies, and sequential courses to local, regional and global markets through online, on-campus and on-site delivery. A leader in the open education movement, the Division offers free Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) and content through the UCI Open initiative. For more information about UCI Division of Continuing Education, visit ce.uci.edu. 

About Gary W. Matkin, Ph.D

Gary W. Matkin, Dean of Continuing Education and Vice Provost of Career Pathways directs the activities of the UC Irvine Division of Continuing Education (DCE). The division has a self-supporting annual budget of $40 million and offers over 3,100 continuing education courses per year—serving approximately 40,000 students.

In October 2017, Matkin was appointed Vice Provost of the Division of Career Pathways (DCP). As Vice Provost, Matkin is responsible for coordinating career services across the UCI campus. These services are available to over 36,000 UCI undergraduate and graduates to help them identify and prepare for meaningful careers, become workplace ready, and secure their first jobs.

About the University of California, Irvine

Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation, and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 28,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. Located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities, it’s Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $4.8 billion annually to the local economy.