Credit and Non-credit Certificates, Awards and Diplomas

Curriculum Development

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to set out the criteria and protocol for the establishment and approval of credit and non-credit certificate (non-degree) credential programs at the University of Denver. University departments may offer credit-bearing and non-credit certificate programs in accordance with this policy. Academic certificates must be approved through the institution’s curriculum approval process.

Definitions

A certificate program provides a set of learning experiences concentrated in a specific set of educational goals. Academic credit earned in certificate programs may be awarded at the graduate or undergraduate levels. Such programs may include certificates, diplomas or other non-degree awards. Certificate programs may grant academic credit, continuing education units (CEUs), or they may include non-credit offerings. 

  • Certificates of completion/participation (non-credit)

    These certificates may be awarded for completion of workshops, short courses and shorter sequences of credit courses. The certificate issued at the completion of the program does not indicate certification of attainment of any specific level of knowledge or competence. Admission requirements vary by program. Certificates of completion/participation do not indicate credit completion. Certificates of participation do not appear on transcripts. Certificates of participation may be produced by individual units and should not bear the University seal. Certificates of completion/participation are approved through departmental curriculum approval procedures with no further institutional review.   Examples include the Publishing Institute Certificate

  • Specialized Certificates (academic credit) 

    Specialized Certificates may be awarded for completion of shorter sequences of credit courses (12-23 quarter hours or 8-15 semester hours). Specialized certificates issued at the completion of the program indicate certification of attainment specific skills, knowledge, or competencies in a well-defined area of study. While admission requirements and standards vary by program, applicants must meet minimum requirements for admission to the University. Specialized Certificates appear on transcripts and are approved through the institutional curriculum approval procedures. Credits applied to specialized certificates may be applied to Academic Certificates or degrees at the same level (i.e., graduate or undergraduate). Credits may not be applied to multiple specialized certificates. Transfer credit toward a certificate is limited to 25% of the minimum number of credits required for the certificate. Course substitutions and/or waivers are not accepted for a Specialized Graduate Certificate. Institutional time limits for completion apply. Digital and paper certificates are produced institutionally. 

  • Certificates of specialization/concentrations (academic credit)

    These credentials  provide substantial education in an academic discipline and represent the achievement of competence in a well-defined area of study and are embedded within the major and degree programs. The number of credits in the specialization/concentration may vary by unit. Units are encouraged to use “concentrations” to officially denote a specialization within a student’s primary area of study.  Admission requires acceptance and enrollment into the degree program. Certificates of specialization appear on transcripts associated with an awarded degree. 

  • Academic Certificate Programs

    Academic Certificate Programs provide substantial education in a specific academic discipline or in interdisciplinary areas, but center on a coherent and specific body of knowledge. Academic certificate programs represent the achievement of competence in a well-defined area of study. Academic certificates require a minimum of 24 quarter hours or 16 semester hours of credit. While admission requirements and standards vary by program, applicants must meet minimum requirements for admission to the University. Academic certificates appear on transcripts and are approved through the institutional curriculum approval procedures. Credits applied to shorter certificate programs (e.g., specialized certificates) may be applied to academic certificates, but may not be applied to multiple academic certificates. Credits applied to Academic certificates may be applied to degrees at the same level (i.e., graduate or undergraduate). Transfer credit toward a certificate is limited to 25% of the minimum number of credits required for the certificate. Institutional time limits for completion apply. Digital and paper certificates are produced institutionally.

Noncredit Certificates

  • Continuing  Education Unit (CEU) Certificates

    Continuing  Education Unit (CEU) Certificates may be awarded for education programs. A CEU is a standard unit for measuring continuing education and training activities. CEUs generally are calculated based on contact hours. 1 CEU = 10 contact hours. Continuing education units should be awarded based on standards developed by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) or other recognized organization governing professional continuing education. Admission requirements vary by program. CEU courses appear on a distinct institutional CEU transcript. CEUs are not equivalent to academic credits and do not count toward academic degrees. CEU certificates may be produced by individual units but should be distinct in appearance from that of any academic certificate or institutional diploma. 

  • Micro-credentials and badges

    A micro-credential may be awarded for completion of a shorter class, workshop, or program to gain specified skills or competencies. A digital badge is the visual representation of having earned a micro-credential and can be shared on various online platforms as evidence of the earner’s achievement. Micro-credentials are approved through the institutional curriculum approval procedures.

Miscellaneous Procedures

  • All University policies, including those related to admission, retention, eligibility for financial assistance, contact hours, course formats apply to credit certificate programs. 
  • University English proficiency requirements (where appropriate) apply to admission to certificate programs. Other admission requirements are established by the academic unit offering the certificate.
  • Administration of a certificate program rests with the academic unit offering the program. The academic unit is responsible for certifying completion of transcripted certificate programs to the Office of the Registrar. 
  • Credit-bearing certificates will be produced by the Office of the Registrar. 

Classification and Coding of Certificate Programs

Certificate programs are classified based on federal reporting and financial aid requirements. Non-degree (special) Banner coding will be established for programs and students in noncredit or CEU programs. Academic Certificate programs will be established using the following “degree” codes:

  • CERT – A postbaccalaureate (graduate) academic certificate program requiring at least 24 quarter hours or 16 semester hours of coursework. These awards will appear on transcripts upon approval and will be reported to IPEDS.
  • CRTG – Any approved postbaccalaureate (graduate) academic certificate but requiring less than 24 quarter-hours of credit. These awards will appear on transcripts upon approval and will be reported to IPEDS. (This designation is used only for consistency with existing programs.) 
  • CRTU – A postsecondary (undergraduate) academic certificate program requiring at least 16 quarter hours of coursework. These awards will appear on transcripts upon approval and will be reported to IPEDS.
  • CRTX – Any approved postsecondary (undergraduate) academic certificate program requiring less than 45 quarter hours of coursework. These awards will appear on transcripts upon approval. These awards are not reported to IPEDS.
  • CRTS – any postsecondary certificate of specialization that is embedded within degree programs and generally involve between 18 and 27 quarter hours or 12 to 18 semester hours of credit. These awards will appear on transcripts upon approval. These awards are not reported to IPEDS. Certificates of Specialization may not be awarded separately from the associated degree program.
  • CRTM – Specialized Graduate-Certificate – A postbaccalaureate (graduate) academic certificate requiring 12 to 23 quarter hours (8 to 15 semester hours) of coursework. These awards will appear on transcripts. They are not eligible for federal financial aid but are reported to IPEDS. 

Federal Financial Aid Eligibility

To be eligible for federal student aid, certificate programs must be at least one academic year in duration and prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation (“gainful employment requirements”). A recognized occupation is one that is listed in the “occupational division” of the most recent edition of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) (published by the U.S. Department of Labor – http://www.onetonline.org/) or one that is considered by the Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Labor to be a recognized occupation. Occupations must align significantly and substantively with the program learning outcomes that the institution has evidence that graduates of the program found employment in these fields. 

For purposes of financial aid eligibility, “one academic year” is defined as follows:

  • Graduate certificates: 24 quarter-hours (3 quarters x 8 credits)
  • Undergraduate certificates: 36 quarter hours (3 quarters x 12 credits)
  • Law certificates: 16 semester hours (2 semesters x 8 credits)

Only academic (credit) certificate programs are eligible for federal financial aid and only those programs that meet all federal requirements. It is not required that academic certificate programs be eligible for federal financial aid. All consumer information produced for certificate programs for which federal financial aid is not awarded should indicate that aid is not awarded. 

Federal Financial Aid Eligibility Requirements

In order to offer federal financial aid, certificate programs must:

  • be approved by a recognized accrediting agency or is otherwise included in the institution’s accreditation by its recognized accrediting agency;
  • be programmatically accredited if such accreditation is required by a Federal governmental entity or by a governmental entity in the State in which the institution is located or in which the institution is otherwise required to obtain State approval under 34 CFR 600.9; and
  • in the State in which the institution is located or in which the institution is otherwise required to obtain State approval under 34 CFR 600.9, satisfies the applicable educational prerequisites for professional licensure or certification requirements in that State so that a student who completes the program and seeks employment in that State qualifies to take any licensure or certification examination that is needed for the student to practice or find employment in an occupation that the program prepares students to enter.

Credit Certificate Program Approvals

Proposals for academic certificates or certificates of specialization should follow standard institutional formats for other curriculum proposals. 

The University must request approval from the U.S. Department of Education to award federal financial aid for certificate programs. The following supplemental information should be submitted to the Office of the Registrar for that approval:

  • The rationale or need for the new program.     
  • The federal Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) [http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/] 
  • Occupations for which the certificate program prepares students [http://www.onetonline.org/]
  • A statement of whether programmatic or specialized accreditation is required.
  • Locations in which the certificate program is offered.
  • Does the certificate program consist of 50% or more of new courses developed specifically for the requested program (i.e., the certificate is NOT a subset of courses from an existing degree program)? (Additional information may be required by DU’s accreditor if this is true.) 

For additional information on federal financial aid eligibility for certificate programs, contact the Office of the Registrar.