HACC, Central Pennsylvania's Community College, has moved its full noncredit course catalog online and the college is offering a selection of free classes - including a special introduction to the special King Tut exhibit in Philadelphia - to anyone willing to log on and take a look.
"For more than forty years, we've relied on a direct mail catalog but the growth in our non-credit classes was making the book too big to mail," said Jim Fox, dean of noncredit operations. "We looked at ways to make the courses easier to search and for more convenient ways to register and moving the whole system online just made the most sense."
Fox said that, to help introduce consumers to the new system, the college developed a pair of special courses that are available free to anyone who registers online at www.hacc.edu/noncredit. One is a course on time management - one of the most popular business subjects the college offers. The other is a special introduction to the King Tut exhibit which will come to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia early next year.
"The last time the King Tutankhamun artifacts toured the country, it played to sold-out crowds," Fox said, "and since Philadelphia is one of only two stops for the exhibit this time, we expect a similar response."
The free seminar will help participants learn more about the exhibit and the boy king so they can better appreciate the exhibit when it comes to Philadelphia.
"Even if you don't go to the Franklin Institute to see the artifacts in person," Fox said, "you'll enjoy learning more about Tutankhamun and you'll have a great time."
While they're checking out the King Tut and time management classes, Fox said he hopes visitors to the website will also take a look at the wide range of courses offered through HACC's noncredit division.
"We offer a wide range of classes to improve job skills as well as a great number of classes for personal enrichment," he said. "These classes don't carry college credit, but they have to meet HACC's standard for high quality. Most are much shorter -- often a single session -- and the atmosphere is generally more relaxed."
Registration for any of the free classes is limited and must be completed online. Registration must be completed no later than September 30 to take advantage of the free classes - and seats are limited. No credit card is required to register for the free classes although payment for any of the other classes is required at the time of registration.