Certificates

Dean: William H. Clements
Associate Dean of Administration: Debra R. Wick
Associate Dean of Enrollment Management (interim): John A. Kunelius
Chair, Division of Continuing Studies: Mark L. Parker

Certificate Programs:  

The College of Graduate and Continuing Studies is committed to lifelong and experiential learning in a distance education delivery format. The College of Graduate and Continuing Studies offers graduate certificates in:

• Teaching and Learning

Certificate Policy:  

A certificate may be awarded for a conference, a course, a seminar, or a designated set of courses or seminars focused on a specific topic or theme which students may study separately from or in addition to their degree requirements. The purpose of certificate study is to give students the opportunity to pursue a subject of interest in a prescribed manner and with specific completion requirements.  Completion of the requirements will be recognized by the awarding of a certificate document from the university.

Origination of a certificate offering will occur within an academic unit within a College.  Certificates may be constructed from existing and/or newly created courses or seminars.

All credit-bearing and non-credit certificates will meet the following quality standards:

1. Subject matter will be appropriate to the Norwich University mission;
2. Courses will be led by appropriately credentialed instructors;
3. Curriculum will address identified learning goals
4. Appropriate review and maintenance of the content will be conducted by the sponsoring academic unit. 

A.    Credit and Non-Credit Certificate Definitions:

1. Graduate Certificate - This certificate may be comprised of 6-36 credit hours of graduate credit. Origination and planning will occur within the College. Students enrolled in a graduate certificate program will be classified as non-matriculating graduate students.
2. Undergraduate Certificate - This certificate may be comprised of 6-36 hours of undergraduate credit or equivalent number of competency units .  Students enrolled in an undergraduate certificate program will be classified as non-matriculating students.
3. Certificate of Completion - This zero-credit certificate is awarded for participation in a short-term conference, course, set of courses, seminars or other learning event developed around a specific topic or area of knowledge for which degree credit is not awarded.  A certificate of completion requires a minimum of four contact hours of study.  Students enrolled in a Certificate of Completion program will be classified as students.

B.  Certificate Approval and Maintenance

1. Certificates must be approved by the University Curriculum Committee (UCC) and become effective for the next catalog.  Students who wish to meet the revised requirements must declare the catalog under which the revised certificate requirements were approved.
2. Credit-bearing or competency-based certificate offerings are reviewed and approved by the sponsoring academic unit (program/department/school), the unit’s Chair, Director and/or the College Dean, College Curriculum Committee and the University Curriculum Committee and are applicable under the next catalog.
3. Non-credit earning certificates will be reviewed and approved by the sponsoring academic unit (program/department/school), the unit’s chair/director/manager, the College Curriculum Committee, and the College Dean and are applicable under the next catalog.
4. Certificate curriculum/content will be reviewed annually for rigor and relevancy. Any changes made will be reviewed by the appropriate academic unit and approved by the sponsoring academic unit, the unit’s chair/director/manager, the College Curriculum Committee, and the College Dean and the University Curriculum Committee and are applicable under the next CGCS catalog.

C. Admission, Enrollment and Completion

1. The CGCS Program Director/Manager or on-campus College Dean or designee makes all admissions decisions.
2. Admission into a certificate program does not guarantee admission into a Norwich University degree program.
3. All courses/seminars required for a certificate are taken at Norwich University; transfer credit is not permitted.
4. For credit-earning courses/seminars that comprise certificates, the normal grade and/or GPA requirements are in effect for the level of credit the certificate carries:
   1. 2.0 cumulative GPA and D- or higher grades for undergraduate students
   2. 3.0 cumulative GPA and C or higher grades for graduate students
5. Credits earned as part of a certificate may be applied in whole, or in part, to a Norwich University degree program (subject to minimum grade and/or GPA requirements as listed above).  The Program Director/Manager/Chair of the relevant program approves/denies all requests for credit. 
6. Certificates cannot be attached to a previously awarded degree.
7. Students may not be awarded a Certificate and a Major Concentration in the same specialization.
8. Upon completion of all requirements the certificate will be posted to the student’s official transcript using the last day of the session/term in which the certificate requirements were completed. 

D.   Certificate Discontinuation

An academic unit may request the College Curriculum Committee, the College Dean and the University Curriculum Committee to approve elimination of a certificate program if:

1. There have been no certificates issued in a three-year period
2. The originating academic unit recommends