During his yearly sit-down with campus media outlets, University President John DeGioia announced Georgetown’s plan to provide a new location in downtown Washington for one thousand School of Continuing Studies students by the end of 2013. The development is an attempt to accommodate the growth of Georgetown’s Continuing Studies department, as well as a response to local neighborhood groups that have opposed the University’s expansion in the area.
“We’re now looking for something in downtown Washington, particularly for the adult learner,” DeGioia said. “We think that [it] will address a number of the concerns that we worked with our community—our neighborhood community—on, as it relates to the growth of Continuing Studies, which has been pretty exciting.”
The exact location of the development has not been determined, he added.
“[It’s] not clear yet what we can do, but we’re currently working with real estate brokers, trying to determine what spaces would make the most sense for us, for a Georgetown downtown,” DeGioia said.
Assistant Vice President for Communications Stacy Kerr said the University “is looking for locations all over the area.”
DeGioia said the top priority for the location of the satellite campus will be accessibility for the working adult. He said it would “likely be near a Metro site.”
He also claimed the new SCS site will serve to help ameliorate tensions with opponents of the Campus Plan, like the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E and the Citizens Association of Georgetown, which have opposed further campus expansion into the Georgetown neighborhood in the past. Issues with building the SCS near the main campus have been realized by the administration as well as the neighbors. “There is just not enough space,” Kerr said.
In an area where land is precious and tensions between the University and the neighbors run high, University officials hope that the new SCS be in a location that will address the demand for continuing studies in D.C. while providing a living environment that will not infringe on the needs and desires of students and neighbors.
Georgetown established its SCS in 1956, and the school was originally entitled “Georgetown University School for Summer and Continuing Education.” The school’s first degree program in liberal studies was launched in 1974, and it has since grown to offer more than 600 courses and degree programs ranging from bachelors to graduate and professional certificate programs. In addition, it is home to Georgetown Summer School and specialized Georgetown summer programs.
Today, SCS is primarily utilized by adult and graduate students, most of whom live in the greater D.C. metro area. Currently, SCS students study at a satellite location in Clarendon, Virginia. The expansion to another location in the D.C. area results from a growing need and demand for continuing studies among adults in our community.
The new site for the SCS also presents a new opportunity for Georgetown effectively to expand its role in the realm of adult education.
“In addition to being America’s college town, this is the most educated populace per capita of any city in the country,” DeGioia said. The D.C. community “wants continuing education, so we’re just trying to keep up with demand for us, for the kinds of programs we deliver.”
