Want to learn more about electronic business without enrolling in graduate school? Then pick up a continuing education catalog. Area campuses offer a range of classes that can be taken individually or as part of a certificate program.

This is the third semester that courses for a certificate in marketing and electronic commerce are offered through San Diego State University's College of Extended Studies. A certificate is issued after six courses are completed. Class topics include marketing and e-commerce, strategies for advertising and public relations success online, marketing on the Internet, niche marketing, global marketing, the Internet and market research and successful Web site strategies with an exploration of why people buy.

The program "always sells out," says Dale Bonifield, college director of marketing.

The University of San Diego Computer Technology Center opens this month, and USD also will offer an e-commerce certificate program and continuing education classes, says Joshua Rovner, USD's continuing education business programs coordinator. The off-campus center is located in the Crossroads office building at the intersection of Linda Vista Road and Convoy Street in Kearny Mesa.

The first e-commerce seminar is scheduled for April 7. Details about the 10-course certificate program were being finalized at press time. Rovner says mandatory courses will cover topics such as how to build a Web site, Web site graphics, how to be interactive with customers, the ins and outs of marketing, and a comprehensive understanding of e-commerce.

Rovner adds the certificate program is not "overly technical." Instead, the emphasis is on e-commerce for the corporate or business professional.

International e-commerce was the subject of the first e-business course offered through the University of California, San Diego’s UCSD Extension. The one-day course on Feb. 18 covered topics including how to assess international marketing opportunities on the Internet.

Additional information about continuing education courses is available at:

• San Diego State University's College of Extended Studies: (619) 594-5821 or www.ces.sdsu.edu.
• University of San Diego Continuing Education: (619) 260-5986 or www.acusd.edu.
• UCSD Extension: (858) 534-3400 or www.extension.ucsd.edu.

— Liz Swain