UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS

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• UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS
• ALQUDS OPEN UNIVERSITY 
• BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN ACADEMICS AND
  PRACTITIONERS GRADUATE CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS
• PFDP ACADEMIC COLLOQUIUM
• JULY 31 AUGUST 1ST , 2010
• Mohammad Awad, PhD
• Kimberly A. Aaron, PhD

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• Introduction
• Local governments, businesses, and nonprofit
  organizations need talented, well-educated
  managers and staff to lead their organizations.
• Many employees find it challenging to pursue
  graduate degrees
• These certificates allow practitioners to gain
  valuable exposure to concepts that will help
  their organizations and will facilitate their own
  professional advancement
•  

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• Academic Certificate Programs in the United
  States
• The challenge of training students to be prepared
  in their jobs is determining how to provide
  relevant and practical concepts and approaches to
  their work (Cohen, Eimicke and Ukeles 1995)
• Academic certificate programs provide
  institutions of higher education with an
  alternative approach to meeting the demand for
  specific programs, while providing potential
  students with choices in pursuing graduate-level
  education.

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• The Range of Academic Certificates in U.S.
  Universities
• University of Southern Maine
• Literacy
• The certificate of graduate studies in literacy
  is offered to teachers and special education
  teachers, educational technicians, and other
  holders of baccalaureate degrees.
• Holders of the certificate have the competencies
  and proficiency levels needed to plan effective
  literacy instruction for their students

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• Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician
  (MHRT)/Community
• The MHRT/community certificate program is
  especially suited for
• Practitioners who work in the mental health
  system
• Persons with prior graduate training
• Persons with a bachelor degree and one year of
  direct experience in the mental health field

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• Middle Level Education
• The middle level education certificate program is
  designed to
• - Meet the professional knowledge certificate
  requirements for the middle level teacher
  endorsement
• - Provide a foundation for graduate work in
  middle level education

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• Performance Management Certificate
• The certificate in performance management is
  designed to equip managers with the knowledge and
  skills needed to monitor and report on
  organizational performance
• Present results-oriented information
• Students select four courses (12 credit hours),
  including one required course and three courses
  from a listing of approved courses.

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• Community Planning and Development
• The certificate in community planning and
  development
• - Provides students with a grounding in land use
  and environmental planning, economic development,
  law and policy analysis, infrastructure
  programming, and growth management
• - develops an understanding of economic, social,
  legal, ethical, and political contexts
• The certificate requires the completion of 12
  credit hours of coursework.

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• Seton Hall University
• Graduate Communication Professional Certificate
  Program
• The Department of Communications offers six
  professional certificates either as part of the
  Masters degree or on a standalone basis
• Each certificate is comprised of four courses or
  12 credits
• The six professional certificates offered
  include 1) Strategic Communication and
  Leadership, 2) Intercultural Communication, 3)
  Organizational Communication, 4) International
  Communication, 5) Strategic Communication
  Planning, and 6) Public Relations.

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• The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD)
• Graduate Certificate in Evaluation Research
• To gain competencies in the design and
  implementation of program evaluations
• The certificate may be incorporated into
  graduate degree programs, or may be taken on its
  own by non-degree seeking students
• Students must successfully complete three
  required courses and a two-semester long
  evaluation research project that culminates in a
  final report

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• Graduate Certificate in Non-profit Management
• Is designed to provide an overview of the nature
  and context of non-profit organizations, and to
  develop the competencies needed by non-profit
  managers
• The certificate is intended for
• - Professionals already working in the
  non-profit sector - Those working in private
  for-profit or governmental settings
• - Students without professional experience
• Completion of fifteen (15) semester credit hours
  are required

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• Graduate Certificate in Local Government
  Management
•  Offered for
• Local governments where citizens have the most
  direct contact with elected and appointed
  officials on numerous issues.
• Completion of 15 semester credit hours is
  required to attain the graduate certificate in
  local government management

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• Graduate Certificate in City Planning
• Is a 15 credit hour masters level certificate
  intended for
• - professionals already working in city planning
  in the public sector
• those employed in private for-profit or
  governmental settings
• students without professional experience

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• University of North Texas
• Graduate Certificate in Human Resource Management
  (HRM)
• Is designed to provide knowledge and skills
  related to a career in the field of human
  resource management
• Consists of 12 credit hours, chosen from the
  following courses
• (1)Managing Organizational Design and Change,
  (2) Organizational Behavior and Analysis, (3)
  Human Resource Management Seminar, (4)
  Employment, Placement and Personnel Planning,
  (5)Seminar in Labor Relations, (6) Management
  Strategies for Public Issues, and (7) Seminar in
  Compensation and Motivation Theory.

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• California State University, East Bay
• Graduate Certificate in Project Management
• Offers project managers a Project Management
  Institute (PMI)
• Gives graduates a way to complete the educational
  requirement necessary to qualify for the PMP
  exam

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• Drexel University
• Graduate Certificate in Engineering Management
• Is an optional professional credential awarded to
  students who successfully complete four
  graduate-level courses from the M.S. in
  Engineering Management curriculum
• Provides a solid introduction into Engineering
  Management through graduate courses in
  management, finance and economics.

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• Southern Methodist University
• Graduate Marketing Certificate Program
• - helps expand the marketing experience of
  students
• - increases marketing skills
• - exposes students to new marketing
  perspectives and
• ideas
• Network with executives, professionals, and
  entrepreneurs from a diverse group of industries
  and backgrounds

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• Opportunities for Certificate Programs in
  Palestine
• Why This Topic Now?
• First, there are a limited number of graduate
  programs at Palestinian universities, and some
  universities do not yet have graduate programs
• Second, the opportunity exists to leverage
  successful experiences in the U.S. with graduate
  certificate programs at Palestinian universities
• Third, the graduate certificate program provides
  the opportunity to both academics and
  practitioners to exchange information for mutual
  benefit

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• Opportunities for Certificate Programs in
  Palestine- Cont.
• Fourth, the expansion in the size of both public
  and nonprofit sectors in Palestine makes it
  necessary to prepare professionals with skills to
  run both sectors effectively
• Finally, the opportunity exists to explore
  possible areas of cooperation between Palestinian
  universities and U.S. universities.

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• Certificates of Particular Importance to
  Palestinian Universities
• Because resources are limited, the areas to
  which serious consideration is given should
  include those disciplines that provide the
  greatest benefit in the near term to Palestinian
  universities.
• Graduate certificates in local government, city
  planning, and nonprofit management could be of
  particular interest for two critical reasons.
• First, Palestinians are in the process of
  building their state, and developing talented
  public servants will be essential to the
  successful development of local governments
• Second, the size of the nonprofit sector is
  increasing as it steps in to meet the needs of
  Palestinian society as it grows and changes

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• Arab countries spend less than 1 from their
  general budget on research or 0.3 of their GDP)
• Weaknesses exist in scientific research in
  Palestine.
• The amount of research that is published
  internationally in 2007 is 1,148,612, where the
  total of research papers in the Arab world is
  15,000
• The number of papers published in Palestine in
  2007 was 212, compared to 89,013 papers published
  in Israel, and 1,345 in Jordan

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• Graduate Certificate in Evaluation Research
• In order to receive the certificate, students
  must successfully complete three required courses
  and a two-semester long evaluation research
  project that culminates in a final report
• The courses leading to the certificate in
  evaluation research are
• Descriptive and Inferential Statistics for the
  Economic, Political, and Policy Sciences
• Evaluation Research Methods in the Economic,
  Political, and Policy Sciences
• An elective course approved by the certificate
  coordinator
• Evaluation Research, which is six credit hours.

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• Graduate Certificate in Non-profit Management
• The certificate in non-profit management is
  designed to provide an overview of the nature and
  context of non-profit organizations combined with
  skill-based courses to develop the competencies
  needed by non-profit managers
• Core Courses Nine hours
• Leadership in Public and Non-profit Organizations
• Non-profit Organization
• Non-profit Management

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• Graduate Certificate in Non-profit Management
  Cont.
• Guided Electives Six hours from the following
• Public Management
• Financial Management of Nonprofit Organizations
• Marketing and Communications for Non-profit
  Organizations
• Human Resource Management
• Organizational Theory
• Domestic Social Policy
• Policy Research Workshop

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• Graduate Certificate in Local Government
  Management
• They are responsible for the provision of varied
  services directly to citizens
• How the professional staff delivers services to
  the public within the political environment in
  which it works is the topic of many of the
  courses in this program

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• Graduate Certificate in Local Government
  Management Cont.
• Completion of 15 semester credit hours is
  required to attain the graduate certificate in
  local government management program
• -Human Resource Management
• - Government Financial Management and
• - Budgeting
• - Local Government Management

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• Graduate Certificate in City Planning
• The Graduate Certificate in City Planning is a 15
  credit hour Masters level certificate
•   
• The following courses are required for obtaining
  the certificate
• - Community Planning
• - Basics of Development
• - Land Use Law and Development Regulation

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• DISCUSSION