Mission & Outreach
Mission
The mission of the School of Continuing Education (SCE) is to serve as Cornell’s gateway to a lifetime of learning, providing traditional and non-traditional learners alike with innovative, flexible, and accessible educational opportunities that transform lives, advance careers, and positively impact communities around the world.
We draw on the resources of all of Cornell's academic units, identifying needs and developing programs that most appropriately and effectively deploy Cornell's vast and varied educational resources.
Although SCE does not itself grant degrees, we help students working toward degrees by registering them in Cornell courses.
Visit the SCE homepage to explore your learning options
Outreach
In keeping with our mission, Cornell SCE actively supports a number of programs and activities that serve the common good.
Study for Cornell employees and retirees
Cornell University encourages its employees and retirees to take courses for personal and professional development. SCE makes this possible by registering Cornell employees and retirees in tuition-free study in university courses.
Free summer events
Area residents and the campus community are encouraged to continue their education together in one of the most enjoyable ways possible by attending our free summer events series, which includes lectures by distinguished presenters and concerts on the Arts Quad.
Cornell Prison Education Program
The Cornell Prison Education Program offers classes leading to an associate's degree for men incarcerated in area prisons.
Veterans Summer Bridge Program
SCE is pleased to offer tuition-free summer classes to eligible first-year applicants and transfer students through Cornell's Veterans Summer Bridge Program. Visit the Bridge Program site for information about eligibility, course options, community-building programs, and registration requirements.
Empire State College registration
By registering through SCE, Empire State College students may take Cornell courses at a reduced tuition rate (25 percent of the regular Cornell tuition).
Empire State College students may register only for courses offered by the state contract schools and colleges of the university: the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Human Ecology, the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Please contact us for more information.
Programs for sponsored students
Sponsored students are either exchange students who pay tuition to a "home" institution while taking classes through SCE or students who receive partial or total tuition funding as a benefit from another institution, corporation, or agency. Sponsored students include Wells College and Ithaca College undergraduates, ROTC students, and Binghamton University, Syracuse University, and University of Rochester graduate exchange students. SCE also works with corporate- and government-sponsored students. Please contact us for more information.
Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar Medical Program
SCE provides academic support for the Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar Pre-Medical Curriculum, a two-year course of study designed to prepare students to meet the educational requirements and rigors of the four-year Medical Curriculum of the Six-Year Medical Program. For information, visit Six-Year Medical Program.
The Cornell University–National Education Equity Lab program for high school students
A collaboration between SCE, eCornell, and the nonprofit National Education Equity Lab is giving high school students in underserved communities the opportunity to enroll in credit classes while also gaining the confidence to recognize they can excel in college, including in the Ivy League.
Mathematics for Secondary School Teachers
The Mathematics for Secondary School Teachers program (MATH 5080) offers a series of four full-day workshops for area secondary school mathematics teachers. During these sessions participants examine the principles underlying the content of the secondary school mathematics curriculum, including connections with the history of mathematics, technology, and mathematics education research. Teachers may earn either one Cornell credit or in-service hours.