The University of Idaho Faculty Senate discussed the Continuing Adult and Professional Education program’s benefits and structure at the weekly senate meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 14.
CAPE is designed to simplify enrollment and credit requirements to support nontraditional adult learners. The program has classes in professional development designed to support educators and administrators in maintaining credentials or adapting to modern environments with online and independent study course options, according to the CAPE website.
“[The goal is] to create a platform that made the whole sort of shopping and studying experience easy and enjoyable for prospective and enrolled students,” said Ken Udas, vice provost for digital learning at UI.
There are no residency requirements for students enrolled in CAPE, meaning in-state and out-of-state students pay the same fees.
The program launched in September 2024 and currently has 3,712 enrollments, as of September 2025.
The College of Education, Health and Human Sciences; the Center on Disabilities and Human Development and the Indigenous Knowledge for Effective Education Program are partners of CAPE.
Tim Murphy, the UI Faculty Senate chair, gave the chairman’s report announcing future senate meeting agendas to discuss the Inclusive Access program from the company VitalSource and the Ph.D. incentive program. Murphy said he hopes to bring guest speakers to present on these topics to the senate.
During the weekly provost report, Torrey Lawrence, provost and executive vice president, reminded the senate that midterm grades are due Monday, Oct. 20.
“This is a really important deadline for us … this is a great moment for getting the attention of students that are struggling and might need some help,” Lawrence said.
The Faculty Senate will meet every Tuesday throughout the fall semester to discuss academic policy and campus-wide events. Meeting agendas and minutes are available through the UI Faculty Senate website.
Scarlet Herway can be reached at [email protected].