Higher Education, Certificate Programs

"In Higher Education, More Weight Should Be Given to Certificate Programs, Perhaps Degrees Should Be A Matter of Certificates" by v. johns

When it comes to pursuing educational dreams, I’m well aware of the personal motivational implications that may or may not present a challenge to the person in pursuit of those dreams. I don’t need any lectures from so-called “Conservatives” on values and drive. What I’d like to see is a higher education system that keeps tradition at its core but is innovative and flexible enough to address the needs of those of us whose lives aren’t always so neatly ordered and perfectly primed. You may call it welfare or handouts to people who are lazy and don’t deserve so much as a leg up in life; I call it wanting a system that works and is able to accommodate anyone who uses it: athletes, people with medical problems, family problems, etc.

Like any other product or service, education is one that requires frequent updates and modifications to keep pace with customer demands. While the way we watch TV and listen to music has brought more options, the way we are educated has yet to fully evolve into the digital world we find ourselves living in. In Florida, the standard 15-week slog, found in most of our public colleges and universities, while marginally optimal for kids fresh out of high school, with no job or family commitments, can prove to be quite tiresome and unproductive for a 50 plus individual with a wife, two toddlers, a “tween” and a teen, and who has been recently laid off.

One unsung solution I see, for working adults and other people who are not able to acquire full-fledged academic degrees, is Florida’s state certificate programs. I’ve seen certificates in everything from urban planning to web design to real-estate licensing. I myself have just completed a web design certificate at Palm Beach State College, with the intention to follow it up with yet another certificate in digital media production. The idea being that these two certificates, along with perhaps a third, will not only make me more marketable to work in Florida’s on-the-verge-of booming film industry, but will also prepare me to study at Florida State University’s forthcoming School of Motion Picture Arts to be located in downtown West Palm Beach, should it become a reality.

Since I’ve essentially been unable to acquire a full-fledged degree, in any one specific thing, I’ve decided to focus on acquiring certificates in closely related areas of study as a means of achieving some significant degree of educational and vocational progress. The question is, will these certificates be attractive to employers at entry level? I’m not so sure that my web design certificate will be, because of the nature of the information technology industry, but because of the film industry’s traditionally low barriers to entry, and an allegedly constant demand for film editors, I’m pretty sure I’ll have little trouble, if any, finding work in that industry.

All this, along with the way Palm Beach State College offers its certificate programs (as a component of a degree), has gotten me thinking about whether or not degrees, themselves, should actually be a matter of certificates. Perhaps degrees should be composed of certificates of achievement. 

Consider this… When we first enter college, we are told to pick a major and slug it out over 120 hours of homework, papers, late-night studying and real-life problems in between. The result: Not many people finish on time and even more drop out altogether.

The tradition of leaving home, learning to be responsible for one’s self,  and finding one’s own way is fine, but also not very efficient at getting most people where they need to go: out into their filed BEFORE their knowledge and skills become obsolete. This is especially true in the information technology industry and is one of the main reasons why I believe that in addition to the traditional way of approaching higher education, I’d like to propose that degrees be broken up into specific, concrete, visual levels of achievement that are awarded with certificates at each stage. I recommend the following guidelines to be of concern:

• GORDON RULE CERTIFICATE: This stage of degree completion would consist of 30 hours of Gordon Rule classes, general electives, academic development classes and the opportunity for those who are behind to catch up with remedial classes.
• LIBERAL ARTS CORE CERTIFICATE: This stage of degree completion would consist of 30 hours of more general electives, preparatory electives for future major(s), and an opportunity to apply for a traditional A.A. transfer degree upon completion.
• MAJOR CORE CERTIFICATE: This stage of degree development would consist of 30 hours of any core classes pertaining one’s chosen major. Double majors would acquire two major core certificates.
• PRE-GRADUATE CERTIFICATE: This stage of degree development would consist of upper division classes needed to complete the degree, as well as any professional development classes, seminars and internships. The actual degree, as always, would need to be applied for, evaluated and either mailed, picked up by the student or presented to them upon graduation.
• POST-GRADUATE CERTIFICATE: These certificates already exist in a number of interesting fields of study. Some, however, are reserved not for people who want to start anew, but for those who are already working in their chosen field of endeavor.
• TECHNICAL CERTIFICATE: These certificates already exist in a number of interesting fields of study. They range from web design, to nursing, to firefighting, to systems administration, to real estate and range from study for entry-level employment to continuing education for those already working in their filed of choice.
• NON-ACADEMIC GENERAL EDUCATION CERTIFICATE: This type of certificate does not exist and would serve as a way for those who simply love to learn (via art classes at the Armory in West Palm, or history classes at FAU’s Lifelong Learning Society in Jupiter, or Beginning Photoshop classes through Palm Beach State College’s Center for Corporate and Continuing Education in Lake Worth or any other non-credit study) to showcase their desire to learn, on paper. This certificate would be useful to those with no formal education or those with gaps in their education, should they find themselves having to change jobs, re-enter the workforce or would like to distinguish themselves in some way to move up in their company if they lack formal academic training, or as credit for those who are attending college late in life.       

I think that some kind of enhanced state certificate program that integrates smoothly with the traditional higher education system we already have would not only allow better tracking of students readiness and success, but would lend heavily to continuity of knowledge and skill. Furthermore, I believe that even if many students are not able to complete a full four years of college, they’d feel that they have something to show for their efforts as they check the “some college” box on a job application. 

Instead of separating education and training, as I’ve previously suggested, this system would acknowledge academic training, job training, corporate training and civics as being part of what we call “education,” in a clearly delineated manner. In order for our education system to thrive, the last mile, higher education, must be flexible and competent enough to accommodate those arriving from all walks of life, not just those fresh out of high-school with parents who can pay. Even those with little or no formal education and training must feel that they have a vital stake in our education system.

It has become abundantly clear to me that Florida has all the tools it needs to build and establish a world-class education system… one that cultivates the talents of the brightest among us, but also reaches and caters to those who would like to begin their own journey toward tapping into their own genius. The question is does it have the will to put education front and center in state culture and life… Does Florida really have what it takes to refine one of the core components (education, transportation, good governance, scientific innovation) that will allow it to become the best place in the world to live, work, study, play, relax and do business?