Can I
register for just one seminar or do I need to enroll in the certificate program?
What is the format of the seminars?
Do I need to be available every day
during the two weeks?
How will I interact with
the faculty expert and other participants?
What does “asynchronous”
mean?
Why does the seminar begin on a
Wednesday?
Can I receive tuition reimbursement for
this?
Could I do this with a colleague or
group?
How
does the Professional Certificate from Ithaca College compare to other professional
certifications?
What is your policy for withdrawing from
a seminar?
I am not able
to complete 4 seminars this year, will they be offered again?
You can register for as many seminars as you wish. Each topic is designed to stand on its own. By completing any 4 seminars, you will earn a Professional Certificate from Ithaca College. Just remember…the seminars do have a capacity and are filled on a first come, first served basis…so register early when you decide to go for the certificate.
The seminars are active for a two-week period. There is no requirement to be in the course on a specific day or time. Instead, participants would enter the course as often as possible and should expect to spend about 10 hours of time over the two weeks. The time will be spent on reading course materials, working on the course project and participating in online discussions with the faculty expert and other participants.
You’ll get the most from this experience by interacting with your faculty expert and other participants as much as possible. You should plan to take advantage of this great learning and networking opportunity by entering the website every day or two. However, one of the advantages of this format is that you are not required to be there on any particular day or time, so you have the opportunity to participate as your schedule allows. Ideally, you will be able to distribute the estimated 10 hours of work over the two weeks – you might check in every day for a short time, or every 2 or 3 days for a longer time. Whichever approach you choose, you will find value in the balance between the structure of a two-week facilitated, collaborative online learning experience and the flexibility of being able to fit it into your schedule. Plan your time accordingly.
You will receive an e-mail welcome from your faculty facilitator with expectations and instructions for entering the website. The group online discussions use a discussion forum on the website. Your faculty expert will seed the discussion with a question or topic for you to address. All participants are expected to contribute and will be able to see each others responses. The faculty expert monitors the discussion and keeps it focused through expert facilitation, which unfolds over several days as people come in and out.
Synchronous communication refers to interaction happening in real-time – a meeting or phone conference, for example. Asynchronous communication happens anytime and doesn’t rely on being together at the same time – in person or electronically. E-mail is a good example of asynchronous communication. Unlike e-mail, asynchronous message boards allow an online discussion to be well-organized into threads. It is a common technique used in online learning.
Some participants will participate in this professional development experience as a part of their workday, others may only find the time during evenings or weekends. The two-week seminars begin on a Wednesday to allow those focused more on weekend learning to be in the middle of each week. We hope this design accommodates the widest range of interest. Your facilitator will send a welcome e-mail a day or two before you officially begin the session.
Some organizations may offer their employees a tuition reimbursement program for educational expenses. If your organization has a program, make sure it covers non-credit programs or ones that offer continuing education units (CEU). Sometimes tuition reimbursement only applies to courses offering credit, and sometimes only credits offering letter grades or leading to a degree. Have your company contact the Ithaca College Office of Continuing Education (607-274-3143) with questions.
One of the great values of this format is the networking opportunities created by interacting not only with your faculty expert, but your professional peers around the world. You might also find value in sharing this experience with colleagues. That creates a good opportunity to blend the richness of online asynchronous learning with the comfort of interesting synchronous off-line discussions with a colleague – the power of blended learning!
Ithaca College has a long and well regarded history as a comprehensive college – often cited as an example of the “New American College”, which combines liberal arts and professional education. One of the professional schools at Ithaca College is the Roy H. Park School of Communications, well known as a leading program of its kind. Their Department of Strategic Communication has a 30+ year history as a unique program blending corporate communication, project management, digital media, organizational communication, and instructional technologies. The Ithaca College Division of Graduate & Professional Studies, which includes the Office of Continuing Education, creates Professional Certificate programs developed by the faculty experts at the college.
This particular certificate focuses on management skills for communication, training and performance improvement professionals. Many fields have organizations or associations offering certificate programs or certifications. In addition to it's connection to excellent professional associations, a significant difference of our certificate program is that it is offered by an academic institution and is designed and actively facilitated by a person with both a Ph.D. in the field as well as many years of professional experience. The courses are limited to a small number of individuals, and there is a lot of collaboration encouraged. Learners work on 'real world' projects based on their current job assignments and get feedback from not only the instructor, but from each other. Our courses provide you with a rich set of tools and contemporary readings drawn from the best professional and academic journals in order to give you a solid research base from which to draw. And, since our program offers CEUs, these experiences often satisfy any continuing education requirements of professional certifications.
Once you enter the seminar website, you are no longer able to receive a refund through withdrawing. If you choose to withdraw from a seminar prior to entering the website, you may be eligible for a partial refund. Contact us for details.
Participants earn a Professional Certificate from Ithaca College upon the successful completion of any 4 seminars. We expect to offer this program on an ongoing basis, but have currently only scheduled sessions through July 2008. Assuming we offer the program on an ongoing basis, we expect to allow participants to combine certificate courses over the life of the program -- even if that occurs over the course to two or more years.
If you have any other questions, contact Ithaca College Continuing Education and Summer Sessions.
http://www.ithaca.edu/cess/ or 607-274-3143 or cess@ithaca.edu
