Nancy Trevino is planning to start the teaching credential program at California State University, Channel Islands, this fall. But before the 36-year-old Ventura woman can enroll, she has to take some prerequisites.

If she weren't able to take them this summer, the prospective special education teacher's entry into the teaching credential program would have to be delayed.

But the fledgling CSUCI just completed its first academic year and hasn't yet launched a summer school program. To help Trevino and other future teachers complete their required courses, university officials offered the courses through the Extended Education and Distance Learning program.

Now Trevino and 25 other CSUCI students can take English 475: Language and Social Context this summer. Their class is held at University Preparation School, a charter school.

"It's nice because this school is associated with the university," Trevino said. "You kind of see what you're learning in class on the classroom walls."

The Extended Education program provides the university an opportunity to figuratively extend the reach of the university by offering courses outside the traditional curriculum and schedule, certificate programs for specialized training, off-campus classes and much more.

"It enables us to implement partnerships in the community. It provides flexibility to offer courses outside the regular curriculum," university President Richard Rush said. "It allows us to tailor programs to specific businesses and industry."

The university may be new, but Extended Education was one of the first departments to start offering education classes through partnerships with the Navy and other Cal State campuses.

As the university grows, the Extended Education program is expanding, too. The university has developed courses and certificate programs in human resource management, production and inventory management and payroll administration, according to Gary Berg, who directs the program.

"The idea is to get us out into the community a bit," Berg said. "We're trying to find where the need is. We've started by focusing on two groups: businesses and teachers."

Many of the programs are geared toward working adults who are looking for additional training or education, not a four-year degree. Math and business law classes are being offered at Ventura College. And the university has begun partnering with local businesses to offer courses at their sites.

Rose Whalen, learning and development manager at Technicolor in Camarillo, teamed with Berg to offer the production and inventory management certificate to Technicolor employees. The classes are held after work hours at Technicolor. Employees enroll voluntarily, and the first course in the five-course series enrolled 24 people and had a waiting list, Whalen said.

"Attendance has been great and the feedback has been wonderful," she said. "(The class) is really helpful to the company from a quality standpoint" because Technicolor distributes directly to customers, and the training helps people learn about distribution and inventory control.

Technicolor paid for its employees to take the first course, and the company, with Berg's help, is now applying for a state employment training grant to pay for other courses in the series, Whalen said.

"Gary has been really helpful," she said. "He takes care of a lot of the administrative stuff."

Most of the students enrolled in English 475 are just happy they're able to to take the class, taught this summer by Erik Johansen. But 28-year-old Rochelle Davis did note one flaw in the program: The class costs more than it would if she took it during the regular school year.

Extended Education classes must pay for themselves, so tuition may run slightly higher for an Extended Education class than for its traditional counterpart. But Davis, who lives in Thousand Oaks, has no regrets about signing up for the course, which will help her graduate by next spring and be ready to enroll in the teaching credential program in fall 2004.

"I'm taking 21 units next semester," Davis said. (Full-time enrollment is usually 12 to 15 units.) "If I wasn't able to take this class this summer, I'd have to take it in addition (to the other 21 units). I'm just trying to use my time wisely."