Offered for the first time this fall, the Certificate in Faculty Preparation: Teaching in Higher Education will focus on the unique challenges facing today’s higher education instructors: teaching students with different learning styles, teaching to English-as-a-Second-Language learners, designing large lecture classes and using technology in the classroom.
“Our hope is to make this program accessible to anyone, anywhere, interested in teaching,” said HSU’s Associate Dean of Professional Studies Chris Hopper. “It could be a graduate student in education interested in pursuing a doctorate who wants teaching experience, a community college faculty member who wants to improve their skills or a professional horticulturist with no teaching experience who wants to teach at a local community college,” Hopper said.
Education and experience requirements for teaching at California community colleges vary by discipline. While some fields—such as English, Business or Computer Science—require a Master’s degree, others such as Carpentry, Electronics and Interior Design, require a Bachelor’s degree and two years of experience or an Associate’s degree and six years of experience. Education and experience requirements for teaching at public and private colleges and universities vary by school.
The certificate will consist of four online courses, taken consecutively over three semesters, culminating in a capstone “Apprentice Teaching” experience consisting of 90-hours of faculty mentored instruction at a community college or university.
To earn the certificate, students must earn 12-units in the following classes: Foundations of Teaching in Higher Education (three units); Student Centered Design (three units); Instructional Planning & Pedagogical Reflections (three units); Apprentice Teaching (two units) and Reflective Practice Seminar (one unit).
The inaugural course, Foundations of Teaching in Higher Education, will be taught by Professor Emeritus in the Department of Kinesiology and Recreation Administration and former Associate Dean in the College of Professional Studies
Kathy Munoz and will explore educational philosophy and theory, faculty roles and responsibilities, teaching styles, educational models and the use of technology in the classroom.
The school’s original faculty preparation certificate started in the 1990s and was a classroom-based program for HSU graduate students that included an internship at College of the Redwoods. The program awarded hundreds of certificates before its elimination in 2009 due to budget cuts.
The new online certificate represents significant cost savings and broadens the program’s reach to include national and international participants, Hopper said.
“We’ve already had interest from universities in Vietnam interested in learning the American style of teaching,” he said.
Online instruction has become more popular in recent years as colleges and universities look to cut costs and make higher education more accessible. Among the California State universities, Sacramento State and Cal State Dominguez Hills also offer online faculty preparation programs, according to their websites.
In addition to its faculty preparation certificate, Humboldt offers online certificates in Exercise Nutrition and Ecotourism Planning & Management through the Office of Extended Education. The university also conducts several courses either partly or fully online.
“The old ‘sage on the stage’ model of teaching, with professors standing up in front of the class and deciding what information the students need to know has become outdated,” Hopper said. “Today, teachers must determine what the students need to learn to be successful. This certificate reflects the new pedagogy.”
The online program begins Oct. 17. For more information, visit humboldt.edu/facultyprep, call the Office of Extended Education at 707.826.3731 or email extended@humboldt.edu.
The Office of Extended Education offers numerous certificate, distance learning and continuing education programs. For more information, visit humboldt.edu/extended.