Two continuing education programs receive awards Two programs within the Division of Continuing Education were recently awarded the 2007 Great Plains Outstanding Program Award from the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA). UND’s Online Part-Time Master of Social Work Degree Program received the award for credit programs and the Dietary Managers Certificate Program was given the award for non-credit programs. UCEA is the primary organization for continuing higher education, and assists institutions of higher learning and affiliated non-profit organizations to increase access through a wide array of educational programs and services. The awards were presented Sept. 26, at the annual UCEA Joint Great Plains Mid-America Conference in Evanston, Ill. Carol Schneweis, UND social work faculty, and Kerry Kerber, associate dean of outreach services, accepted the awards. The UND Department of Social Work offers a part-time graduate degree program in social work online, which is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. The program prepares students to serve as advanced generalist social workers within the region and provides advanced practice knowledge, values and skills consistent with the highest ideals of the social work profession. Carol Schneweis, director of the program, believes that it has “dedicated faculty and coordinators which support students” during the process of receiving their degree. “By having committed faculty who work nights and weekends, we provide the interactive setting and human-based interaction that students need,” says Schneweis. The UND Dietary Manager Certificate Program is one of only three programs in the nation that offer a non-credit certificate in dietary management and is currently the only program of its kind offered online. Approved by the Dietary Managers Association, UND’s program offers students the opportunity to enhance supervisory skills and credentials, increase knowledge of food service management and work in a variety of institutions serving food. “UND provides high quality courses, which has resulted in a significantly higher than average pass rate among our students for the national certification exam,” says Becky Rude, MS, RD, manager of the Dietary Manager Certificate Program. The UCEA Outstanding Program Awards are presented to credit and non-credit continuing education programs for excellence in achieving educational objectives. The programs recognized must demonstrate a contribution to the field of continuing education, which can be replicated by other higher education institutions. UND’s Social Work Degree Program and Dietary Managers Certificate Program were selected out of seven states in the Great Plains region. “We continue to do our best to meet the needs of students and take pride in what we do here at UND,” says Joshua Riedy, dean of outreach programs. “With the rich courses that are offered through the programs of social work and dietary management, it is very deserving for UND to receive the two regional recognition awards.” For more information on the UCEA awards, contact Kerry Kerber, associate dean of outreach programs, UND Division of Continuing Education at 777-3633 or kerrykerber@mail.und.edu.