Professional Development

Oregon State U Launches Online Certificate for Higher Ed Professionals

• By Joshua Bolkan
• 11/05/14

Oregon State University has launched a new online certificate program designed to help higher education professionals improve their teaching abilities.

The 18-credit Graduate Certificate in College and University Teaching is designed to be flexible enough to meet education professionals at their skill level, offering professional development for tenure track or adjunct faculty looking to advance, new faculty members looking to ease their transition graduate teaching assistants seeking to distinguish themselves.

"As new technology emerges and the demographics of student populations change, this program will help colleagues refine their skills," said Jessica White, certificate director and an instructor in OSU's College of Science, in a prepared statement. "Through certificate course work they will experience the latest research in college teaching and learning, explore innovations like the flipped classroom and other strategies to address recent shifts in class sizes and composition."

Delivered through Oregon State's Ecampus initiative, the program will also facilitate internships aligned with students' career goals for further personalization.

"The program will be taught by a multidisciplinary team of instructors from various geographic locations," according to information released by the university. "The faculty includes a professor from a small private college, a community college, a large public university in an urban setting and the retired director of Oregon State's adult education program."

"Our instructors expect to mentor participants with a wide range of experiences, expertise and motivations for pursuing this certificate," added White. "Our courses and assignments are structured in such a way that people can approach them from where they're at professionally and what they need to get out of the program."

The application deadline for the program, which will begin this winter term, is December 5. For more information, or to submit an application, visit ecampus.oregonstate.edu.