Bloustein Online courses that can be useful to cultural and creative economy professionals

Want to help develop an arts district in your community?  How about a plan to better connect the arts with quality of life in your municipality? Or maybe you're interested in making your community a more attractive and better place to live, work and play?

The Bloustein Online Continuing Education Program has courses that might interest you:


*Retail Market Analysis -- May 26 to July 3: If you want to convince businesspeople, economic development professionals or business-minded elected officials to support the arts in a commercial area, you will be more successful if you understand how retailers make decisions about where to locate.  This course is taught Deborah Brett, a nationally-known real estate market expert.

*Cultural Community Development Studio -- May 26 to July 3: Working to benefit the old mining town of Bisbee, Arizona, this course will develop a strategy for connecting the growing arts environment there with quality of life issues.  In other words, how can the arts support community development in Bisbee?  All members on the class will work on the project, hear from experts in creative community building, and get feedback on their work from an official in Bisbee.  No travel necessary -- you can complete the course from anywhere on the Internet.  The instructor, Rhonda Phillips, is an Arizona State University professor with expertise in economic and community development. Her book Concept Marketing for Communities is a great resource for cultural heritage tourism.  (Picture: Sam*Poe Gallery in Bisbee, Arizona. http://www.sampoegallery.com/)

*Urban Design Studio -- May 26 to July 3:  The Urban Design Studio will prepare a design plan for the area around the NJ Transit station in Perth Amboy, NJ.  Perth Amboy is a historic waterfront community with a growing arts community.  If you're interested in architecture, public art, or connecting the arts with community planning, this will be a fun and informative class.  The instructor is Matt Wanamaker, an urban designer, architect and planner with Brown & Keener in Philadelphia. (Image: Illustration of Perth Amboy street from CanalPhotos gallery. http://www.canalphotos.com/index.html)


If you think an online course is just a webinar or a glorified PowerPoint presentation, a BOCEP course will surprise you.  Our courses are convenient, interactive and affordable.  You can complete them from anywhere you can get Internet access.  There are no scheduled meetings, you can participate in the class at your convenience.  You can share ideas through discussion forums and webconferences with other smart and interesting people from around the world.  You get the time to learn at a comfortable pace, test your skills, then come back and share your experiences, or learn from others.  BOCEP offers a new experience in online education.

The basic course fee is $295, but a limited number of scholarships of up to $145 are available for all of these courses.  To find out what scholarships are still avaiable, please contact Professional Development Institute Program Manager Swena Gulati by email or at 732-932-3822, x636. Or you can subscribe to the Professional Development Institute newsletter.

Learn more about the Bloustein Online Continuing Education Program.

Read more...