Designing for Community Impact with AI

April 13 - May 17, 2026

This foundational course establishes the groundwork for your project. You will learn to identify meaningful social challenges, connect with communities through empathy, define specific problems, and brainstorm initial AI-driven solutions. The course begins by helping you identify your driving force—your Massively Transformative Purpose (MTP)—and culminates in the ideation of diverse potential solutions using AI as a brainstorming partner. By the end, you will have transformed empathy-based understanding into a clear problem statement and a set of initial concepts.

1 PDU

May 25 - June 28, 2026

Pivot from the theoretical "What If?" to the practical "What Works?" This course is dedicated to bringing your ideas to life through tangible, iterative prototypes, moving from simple sketches to a functional, AI-powered solution. You will select your most promising concept and translate it into a public-facing artifact, such as a product page or video. Through rapid cycles of building and user testing, you will gather feedback to refine your Minimum Viable Product (MVP), ensuring your solution is grounded in real community needs before you launch.

1 PDU

July 6 - August 9, 2026 

Prepare for real-world implementation by embedding the engine of longevity into your launch. You will integrate the most critical component of long-term social impact: sustainability. Taking your refined MVP from Course 2, you will develop a sustainable business model using the Business Model Canvas, identifying key partners and revenue streams to ensure operational longevity. You will build an online presence for your solution, design a social media and outreach campaign, and create a comprehensive launch plan to recruit allies and funders to your cause.

1 PDU

Undergraduate Extended Education Units (EXTN)
(15 hours = 1 unit) Semester units, unless otherwise noted, will be listed on your university transcript. All subject codes begin with an X.

Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
Continuing Education Units were established by a national task force of educational associations and are intended for use where employers, re-licensing agencies or others require a specified number of hours of study, and noncredit study is acceptable for fulfillment of those requirements. One CEU is awarded for each ten hours of contact participation. Benerd College is an approved continuing education provider for the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (Provider #PCE 760), and the California Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors (Provider #5-91-266-0799). All subject codes begin with a U.

Professional Development Units (PDUs)
Post-baccalaureate professional development (9000-9999 level) coursework designed specifically for graduate level educators and administrators. Semester units of non-degree graduate level credit are awarded for successful completion of coursework. In addition, these courses will be listed on a university transcript. All subject codes begin with a P. While it may be possible for the credits earned in these courses to be used for salary advancement and state licensing requirements, we do not provide assurance that any state licensing board or school district will accept these credits for those purposes. Individuals seeking credits for those purposes are advised to check with the appropriate agencies and gain approval prior to registering.

Cancelation & Refund

All cancelation requests must be received in writing and refunds are subject to approval. Forms can be obtained here.

Extension (EXTN) and Non-Credit courses:
A $10 cancelation fee will be assessed when a cancelation request is received, in writing, at least 3 business days prior to the course start date. No refund will be given to no-shows or requests received less than 3 days prior to start date.

Continuing Education Units (CEUs):
A $25 cancelation fee will be assessed when a cancelation request is received, in writing, at least 3 business days prior to the course start date. No refund will be given to no-shows or requests received less than 3 days prior to start date.

Online Courses:
A $25 cancelation fee will be assessed when a cancelation request is received, in writing, within 3 days of registering and before the student has signed into the class/received the materials. No refund will be given after 3 days or upon entering the online class.

Declined Checks

There will be a $25 charge for all declined checks.

Overload

The maximum study load during a semester for undergraduates without special permission is 18 units. Students who wish to enroll for units in excess of the maximum study load must petition their school or college for approval in advance. Approval is based to a great extent upon the student’s past academic record and will result in additional tuition charges.

Accreditation

University of the Pacific is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

Here are a few frequently asked questions for our online registration portal:

How do I sign in as a student?
There are three options to sign in as a student.

1. If you already have a PacificNet ID, do not use the option on the left. Register like you are a new user.
2. If you are a new user, then you need to register for a new account using the option on the right. You will be emailed a username and temporary password to use for our registration portal (uc.pacific.edu).
3. Once you receive the email with your usename and temporary password, you will use the option in the middle to sign in.

How do I register for a course or certificate?
After searching and finding the course or certificate you would like to register for, add it to your cart and go through the checkout process. Here is a guide that takes you step-by-step through the checkout process.

I am a current Pacific student, but I am receiving a "validation error" when trying to login through Canvas. How do I resolve this?
University College registration is separate from University of the Pacific's registration. Please use the third column that states: "I am a new user.." You may still use your Pacific student email address. New login information will be sent to the email address you provided. 

Don't see your question? Contact us at 209.946.2424 or continuinged@pacific.edu .

If you would prefer to register offline, download a copy of the Offline Registration Form and submit it using one of two ways:

• Fax it to: 209.946.3916
• Mail it to: University of the Pacific/Benerd College, 3601 Pacific Avenue, Stockton, CA 95211

Questions? Call us at 209.946.2424

Professional development grades generally take four to six weeks from time of completion to be processed. You will receive confirmation in the form of an unofficial transcript, accompanied by an official transcript request form.

We ask that you do not request an official transcript until you have received these in the mail. Be sure to order your transcript from the Stockton transcript ordering link (shown below). For information on your final grades or a status report on processing, contact Benerd College at 209.946.2424.

Click here to learn how to request a transcript.

• Benerd Professional Development and Professional Development for Educators students should choose “Yes, currently attending” for the Enrollment Status question, so that the Hold for Grades option does appear.