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2003.04.23

Undergraduate Certificate Programs in the College of Arts and Sciences

An undergraduate certificate signifies the completion of a suite of courses in a technical expertise or narrow aspect of a field, intended to either:

1. Accommodate areas of specialization not available in existing degree programs,

2. Identify on record that a student has gained a valuable narrow expertise, and/or

3. Serve a clientele needing the expertise without forcing it to complete an entire degree program.

The first two sections below describe general admission requirements and awarding requirements that all Arts and Sciences College undergraduate certificate students must fulfill. The last two sections describes procedures for proposing new undergraduate certificate programs and/or deleting existing programs.

For present reference, here are some websites describing undergraduate certificate programs at other liberal arts institutions.

University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee: http://www.uwm.edu/letsci/nondegre.html

Ohio University: http://www.cas.ohiou.edu/undergrad/certificate.asp

University of Akron: http://www.uakron.edu/studentaff/2002-2003.pdf (pages 173 and following)

Cleveland State University: http://www.csuohio.edu/undergradcatalog/a_s/a_s.htm - Certificate

1. Admission to programs

a. Admission to certificate programs requires either

i. Good standing as an undergraduate at the University of Toledo, or

ii. Application to the University of Toledo under current policies for new, transfer, readmit, and transfer readmit students.

b. Certificate students are subject to all certificate course pre-requisites but not general education requirements.

c. Admission also requires the approval of the certificate program director and/or the department chair.

d. The A & S college office is responsible for the actual program data entry.

2. Certificate award requirements

To receive a certificate for the designated program, the student must achieve a 2.0 or better in each of the certificate courses.

3. Proposing new certificate programs

a. New certificate program proposals must follow the same procedures as any other new program proposal in the College of Arts and Sciences.

b. A certificate program must include a minimum of 15 course credit hours at 2000 or above.

c. The proposal must demonstrate: [sets the standards]

i. An externally driven need for the program, which may include accreditation advantages or letters from the community justifying a need that has emerged in the field.

ii. How the course work serves the demonstrated need.

iii. Its relation to other existing degree majors, minors or concentrations, specifying why the certificate is needed in addition to or instead of the degree programs.

iv. A prospective clientele. The proposal must specifically state the expected enrollment, in number, origin, and qualifications for admission.

v. Admission requirements beyond the general College requirements, if any.

vi. Awarding requirements beyond the general College requirement, if any.

vii. A defined procedure for applying the certificate to a degree program.

viii. The officer(s) in charge of monitoring the certificate program within the department.

4. Termination of certificate programs

The College will monitor the throughput of each certificate program, and alert the department and the A&S Curriculum Committee if the program seems no longer to be serving a useful purpose and should be considered for termination.