Academic Program Development – Academic Certificate

The Academic Certificate is a defined and coherent program of study that is recommended for students who wish to gain additional expertise in an academic area. While this program of study can result in proficiency in specified skills and competencies, as well as mastery of knowledge, it is not designed to prepare someone for employment in a specific occupation. The content for an Academic Certificate may be derived from a variety of disciplines or it can be discipline specific. The Academic Certificate does not require a general education component even though requirements of the certificate may include courses that currently meet specific general education designations such as Humanities and Fine Arts, Social and Behavioral Sciences, etc.

The Academic Certificate:

Generally ranges from 12-39 credit hours in courses numbered 100 or above, although there is no minimum number of credit hours required for an Academic Certificate;

Requires a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better for completion;

Follows the graduation policies within the general catalog;

Accepts one of the courses that is cross-referenced with other courses;

Includes both courses and their modular equivalents, either the course or the modular
equivalents will satisfy the Academic Certificate requirements:

Does not presume block transfer value. Consequently, in most cases the Academic Certificate should not be a subset of an existing transfer degree;

May have admission criteria established by the college if and when appropriate;

Is for the most part college specific.

General Processes

The development and approval processes for the Academic Certificate parallels much of the existing District Curriculum Committee process used for Certificates of Completion. For example, the proposed academic certificate is sent to the College Curriculum Committee, the appropriate instructional council, and the District Curriculum Committee for review and recommendation. The MCCD Governing Board would take final action on the program (approval/disapproval)

A discipline specific Academic Certificate will be assigned to its respective instructional council. For the Academic Certificate with requirements that may be derived from a variety of disciplines, the developer of an Academic Certificate will identify a primary instructional council for the review and recommendation process. Related Instructional Councils will receive notification of the certificate proposal as an informational item. An advisory committee with content experts including faculty members is required to
support the development and maintenance of each Academic Certificate.

Sample: New Academic Program Proposal Document

Template: New Academic Program Proposal Document

Sample: Modified Academic Program Proposal Document - Revised 10/11/07

Template: Modified Academic Program Proposal Document - Revised 10/11/07

The Curriculum Procedures Handbook is a product of the Maricopa County Community Colleges District. Any and all changes to the Handbook are monitored and coordinated through the District Curriculum Office. Please give credit to the Maricopa County Community College District if the Handbook or sections of the Handbook are duplicated.