Rutgers University's Bloustein Online Continuing Education Program is where the best and brightest in planning go to get smarter.

In April and May, we're offering several courses to help you build your practical skills in community development, sustainability, urban design and more. These courses combine the best elements of face-to-face workshops and traditional online courses. They are convenient, cost-effective and interactive. You can complete all of the courses entirely on the Internet.

From April 21 to May 29 , learners in Long Range Planning will together explore buildout analysis, cumulative impact assessment, benchmarking, agent-based analysis and scenario analysis, and how these can be integrated with current planning techniques of visioning and visualization. The course is practice-focused; it is intended to equip you to address your specific development and redevelopment planning challenges now and in the future.

The instructor, Bob Kull, is an expert land use planner and principal of Planygy, Inc., in New Jersey.

From April 28 to June 5 , learners in Programming Cultural Uses will explore a multitude of design standards, urban analyses, case studies as well as programming principles that focuses on urban design and architectural issues related to cultural and heritage uses, such as theatres, museums, spaces for public performances and festivals, and heritage sites. Class discussions and assignments will focus on the issues of programming for appropriate facility space and addressing the proper amount of land necessary to allocate for multi-purpose theatres, festival space, etc.

The instructor, Leland Edgecombe is an architect, urban designer and planner and principal of The Edgecombe Group in Maryland.

In both of these Deep Learning courses, learners have five weeks to learn, put their knowledge to practice, and share their findings with classmates. There are no scheduled meetings. Learners share ideas through classroom discussion boards facilitated by the instructor.

Each Deep Learning course costs $295. Planetizen readers can get a $50 scholarship by using promotion code BGBBS. Every Deep Learning class earns 14 AICP Certification Maintenance credits.

Now through June 1, learners in Urban Design for Community Development are learning skills to help them improve physical space and quality of life, and sharing ideas in a learning network.

In this Collaborative Learning Lab, learners participate in live Learning Labs in April and May, then continue the conversation in a private online learning forum. Already, 30 professionals from around the country have enrolled. You pay only for the webinars you want to participate in, and access to the learning forum is free.

There are four more Learning Labs in this series. Each costs $35 for each of the five sessions. One AICP CM credit to be requested per session.

There's an even wider variety of classes in April and May, including:
*Landscape Design: Values, Challenges and Solutions (April 20)
*Cultural Heritage Tourism Basics (April 23)
*Business Development for Planners (May 26 to July 3)
*Cultural Community Economic Development Studio (May 26 to July 3)
*Ethics in Planning and Land Use Regulations (May 26 to July 3)
*Introduction to Environmental Planning (May 26 to July 3)
*Retail Market Analysis (May 26 to July 3)
*Urban Design Studio (May 26 to July 3)

Learn more or register at http://www.policy.rutgers.edu/bocep

BOCEP is produced by the Professional Development Institute of Rutgers University's Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy – one of the best planning schools in the world.

For more information, please contact Professional Development Institute Director Leonardo Vazquez at [email protected] or 732-932-3822, x711