Urban Programs Resource Network is your link to the University of Illinois Extension in Urban Illinois.
Visit the Urban Programs Resource Network for full details on programs and resources offered.
Serving Urban Communities in Illinois
University of Illinois Extension is the flagship outreach effort of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, offering educational programs to residents of all of Illinois’ 102 counties – and far beyond. They teach, learn, lead, and serve connecting people to the resources of the University of Illinois.
U of I Extension's urban programs are aimed at making life better, healthier, safer and more profitable for individuals and their communities. U of I Extension offers educational programs in five broad areas:
- Healthy society
- Food security and safety
- Environmental stewardship
- Sustainable and profitable food production and marketing systems
- Enhancing youth, family and community well-being
While most Extension programs are offered on an informal, non-credit basis, U of I Extension does offer continuing education credits in some fields of study. Extension programs may be offered as hands-on workshops, field days, self-paced tutorials via the World Wide Web, or in other formats that are suitable for the audience and subject-matter.
More than 2 ½ million Illinois residents take part in Extension programs each year, including nearly 300,000 who participate in 4-H youth programs. Each month, U of I Extension web pages draw more than 4 million page views, and people in more than 200 countries access Extension’s web-based information.
Communities are directly served by Extension staff in 27 units located throughout Illinois. Extension educators in local offices and specialists located on the U of I campus develop and deliver in-depth programming locally, in regional venues, and through distance-learning technologies.
As part of the nationwide Cooperative Extension System, U of I Extension also is able to draw on research-based expertise from land-grant universities all across the country. Volunteers who serve on local advisory councils provide direction for U of I Extension programming, ensuring that programs continue to meet critical needs.
U of I Extension is based in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
