Like the local high-tech industry, the UC-Santa Cruz Extension has experienced setbacks since the 2001 economic downturn. Enrollment in the extension's classes dwindled over the last four years, dropping from 55,000 to less than 25,000. The decline in students forced the extension, which operates independently of the main UC-Santa Cruz campus, to borrow from that institution to offset a deficit of $20 million.

"After the peak of dot-com era, we've had to reduce staff and close some locations," Sandeen said. Established in 1965, the UC-Santa Cruz Extension program has recently closed its programs in Monterey and Santa Clara. "Enrollments have definitely declined," she said.

Even so, Sandeen said the extension's main mission of professional development (its students are primarily working adults) will help it pull through the recent slump and economic difficulties.

"We're responsive and flexible to local needs," she said, "and we're unique in being committed to the cutting edge."

Dr. Dilip Dedhia, a professor of computer sciences for Cupertino and Sunnyvale extension classes, agreed innovation is a part of the extension's success. "We offer something you cannot find at a typical university," he said. "At a university it can take years to put a course together; here we can do it right away."

As a part of that commitment to innovation, the extension has developed certificate programs designed to appeal to adults working in the region's growth industries. The certificate programs include bioinformatics, biotechnology and medical device technology. At the same time, Sandeen formed an advisory board of local companies such as Apple and Sun Microsystems to help ensure the extension's courses remain relevant.

"Employers value certificates," Sandeen said; "it shows an employee is serious about career development." She said certificate programs offer more specialized, advanced coursework compared to those available at community colleges, and most of the students already hold at least one advanced degree. Dedhia said the majority of his students are working adults in their 30s who work for such companies as Hewlett-Packard.

The extension's offerings are not limited to career development, though. The program also offers personal enrichment classes in areas as diverse as birding and art history. And for the first time this September, it will offer degree-credit courses that can be applied toward UC-Santa Cruz degrees or other four-year schools.

"We're rebounding like everybody else," Sandeen said. "It will just take some time."

Extension classes begin the second week of September. For more information visit, www.ucsc-extension.edu or call 1.800.660.8639.