A short debate among the Santa Barbara City College Board of Trustees on Thursday night eventually led to the unanimous approval of 29 new Continuing Ed courses for the campus’ Center for Lifelong Learning, starting in the fall.

In discussing proposed courses for the self-sustaining, fee-based Center for Lifelong Learning, campus Superintendent/President Dr. Lori Gaskin and Trustee Veronica Gallardo discussed whether the courses within the new Parent Education Programs are necessary.

“How is it different from our parent-child workshops?” Gallardo asked.

The parent-child workshops function as preschools during the day and parenting classes at night, and Gaskin said there’s a big difference between the two.

“(The Parent Education Programs) are stand-alone courses that target specific topics short term,” she said. “Our parent-child workshop is an institutional set of programs that is child development focused.”

She added that the new Parent Education courses are open to anyone, unlike the parent-child workshops, which are specifically child development programs.

The new courses to be offered in the fall include film, writing and literature; music, fine arts; cooking; health and fitness; and psychology. Minimum and maximum course hours are indicated after each master course. The tuition fee will be $5 per class hour, and specialized classes may cost more. Studio laboratory sections will cost $3 per class hour.

Gaskin also took the time to congratulate the board on demonstrating to the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges that SBCC now meets the required governance-related accreditation standards, allowing for the campus’ removal from warning status. The process stemmed from a complaint filed with the ACCJC last summer, alleging that the board was not complying with its own rules of governance.

“Congratulations, and I thank you,” Gaskin said. “We do have a responsibility, however. That responsibility is to prepare another report that’s due to the accrediting commission on March 14, 2014.”

The report will be followed by a visit of ACCJC representatives, and the college is scheduled to receive its next complete evaluation in the fall of 2015.

— Noozhawk intern Linda Sturesson can be reached at lsturesson@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.