Formerly known as the Adult Education and Extension Services (est. 1921), the Brigham Young University Division of Continuing Education was renamed and redesigned in 1964. The division was designed to provide educational programs and services offered to regular university students to adults who do not have opportunities for day time study. Services offered range from off-campus programs, lectures, correspondence study, and community services — both through the off-campus centers and extended programs in wide geographic areas— to formal, on-campus classroom offerings, both credit and noncredit, extended and short-term in nature.

Departments within the Division of Continuing Education include the Bachelor of General Studies, Religious Enrichment, EFY Programs, Conferences and Workshops, Evening Classes, Independent Study, and the Salt Lake Center. Deans of the division have included Harold Glen Clark (1964-1973), Stanley A. Peterson (1973-1978), William R. Siddoway (1978-1986), Richard C. Eddy (1986-2009), and Wayne J. Lott (2009- ).