August 14, 2025
It’s never too late to learn something new, whether you’re an established professional or entering the world of business. Fine-tuning preexisting skills, or acquiring new ones, can allow for growth or pivoting when work becomes stagnant. Utah Valley University’s Professional Education is here to help you take those steps to success.
Started in 2019, the program provides noncredit, high-impact learning for professionals to advance leadership, business, and organizational skills — ultimately supporting UVU’s dual mission of providing career-focused learning alongside university-level academics.
“It’s really for people looking to make changes in their lives,” said Brenda Betteridge, the program’s business development manager. “They might have just been laid off, realized their degree isn’t going to get them where they’d like to be, or are looking to gain new skills to advance their current career.”
UVU’s Professional Education provides a consistent rotation of curated courses. Offerings like its Career Essentials course, which covers skills to help people back into the workplace, or its AI for Professionals course, which culminates in the creation of a personal GPT, showcase the variety of its curriculum.
“While we have a set of core courses, our recent rebuild allowed us to take everything we knew was great and restructure the program to make it even better,” said Betteridge. “Although we’ve sunsetted some of our offerings, we plan to add more in the future.”
Because courses change regularly, and prices can differ depending on how they’re administered, check the Professional Education website to find current offerings and avoid missing the deadline for an upcoming cohort. You can also learn about the national certifications some classes provide, such as the Certified Public Manager course, or how to earn Continuing Education Unit hours from classes like Trauma Informed.
“We take great care in keeping our website current,” Betteridge said. “Each course is different. Some start on specific dates, whereas others can be taken at any time since they’re fully online. We’re also working on getting more to qualify for CEU hours.”
When it comes to pursuing new skills, Betteridge shared, “Education doesn’t have to end with a degree. Whether talking to your neighbor about their garden or taking some courses, lifelong learning keeps your brain hopping.”
Want to bolster your skills and support your small business? Visit UVU’s Professional Education website for more information, and the Startup State Initiative’s resource page to find more tools, programs, and communities to move your business forward.
The information in this article is current as of the publishing date and is intended for informational purposes only. This article does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal, tax, or business advice. Any resources and organizations mentioned, unless an entity of or a partner of the state of Utah, are not formally endorsed by the Startup State Initiative or state of Utah.