Quick, Cheap, Easy Academic Certificate

[kevinmane]

So a community college near me has a couple of Certificates (not degrees) that are only 4-6 credits:

Certificate in Customer Service (4 credits)

and Assistant Preschool Teacher Certificate (6 credits)

Of course, you have to take all the classes for either subject at this particular community college to get the Certificate, and the 2-3 courses for either one are semester-long (16 weeks).

So it got me thinking:

Are there any very short (possibly self-paced) academic Certificates available at any college that can be done online? Or perhaps a school that allows transfer of credits for their Certificate, and you can get those credits from somewhere cheap/easy-ish (Shmoop, etc.).

Any ideas?

[burbuja0512]

There are quite a few out there, for example with Coursera or Edx. I don't know whether those count the same way as they would if they were from a traditional B&M school. However, in my experience, the value of a certificate can vary widely - even the hard-earned B&M cert might be worthless. For example, let's say you get a customer service certificate - does it really matter to an employer whether it's from a good school, or even a legitimate school? Most people go into customer service without any education that's specific to that field. You could say the same thing about the assistant preschool certificate, depending on whether it's a public or private school Just meet your state requirements, whatever those may be. And don't spend too much - your ROI won't be great for either of those, but there is a little more potential with customer service.

Yet, on the other hand, there are highly specialized fields where you want to be more careful. Project manager or other certifications can be more important than your bachelors in some instances. Just know what's important to the employer in the field and/or state requirements when applicable.

[Ideas]

There is a thread for one that is $200 about Capitalism. You take one course. For the course you are supposed to watch something like 24 hours of videos, read a long book, do many quizzes, and more. But that's very cheap, and only one course! It's one of the best for the money.

There is another thread on here, but it's only cheap for someone who already has police/fire/security training. It is also not college credit.

In general, there aren't cheap ones that are college credit. The above one isn't college credit, but it's issued by a college. Eriehiker, sanantone, LifeLongLearning and other DegreeForum members are good at searching and they post when they find something that is online, cheap, or ACE approved

Like Burbuja0512 said, some of the cheapest college certificates are in things that are relatively worthless. There are some where you get an IT certificate, but the whole certificate is just classes helping you prepare for the certification. If you have the certificate but not the certification, the employer would not be impressed.

[cookderosa]

This thread reminded me of a job interview I had a while back. My TESU degree is in Social Science and during the interview, I was asked why I never took a job as a social worker- that I only held chef / chef-instructor jobs. Confused, I said, "oh- my degree. That's in social science, not social work" and she says "what's the difference?" <eye roll>
Everytime I start to think that the person on the other end of my resume really knows about the nuances in education/credentials, something like that happens and I'm reminded that most people don't know. So, if you can get those certificates, get them. Use them. They are value-add!

[Ideas]

Confused, I said, "oh- my degree.  That's in social science, not social work" and she says "what's the difference?"

Everytime I start to think that the person on the other end of my resume really knows about the nuances in education/credentials, something like that happens and I'm reminded that most people don't know.  So, if you can get those certificates, get them. Use them.  They are value-add!

Wow.

Like you said in another thread, hiring managers might not even know what a "graduate certificate" is or "undergraduate certificate". That's crazy.

[hsfamfun]

In Kentucky, they started a new scholarship program last year that encourages students to get a certificate or diploma straight out of high school. It is called the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship. They will pay the tuition over and above need based awards for those who do not have an associates degree yet, for a 1 year or less certificate or diploma at the Community College level. There are a select few from state schools and private schools too. I have been trying to encourage those young people I know into giving this a try, but no one is interested. I think there is a stigma for such programs.

[CollegeStudentAC]

I know this post is old, but there are options for self-paced:

Penn Foster Career School - Nationally Accreditated

Ashworth College - Nationally Accreditated

Both offer non-credit certificates and diplomas, which can be done in a few days. Plus, they take ACE credit.

Blackstone Career Institute - Regionally Accreditated

Has easy diplomas and certificates, notably the certificate in leadership skills: https://blackstone.edu/leadership-skills/

It costs just $413 and consists of 5 modules and one multiple-choice exam, which I'm guessing is open book.

I don't know if they accept ACE credit. They do accept transfer credit, but it waives the cost of the transferred portion. You still have to do all the modules.

All of the certificates/diplomas from these schools look nice, especially Blackstone Career Institute.

California Coast University -

Accepts ACE credits and allows transferring in 50% for certificates. Has both undergraduate and graduate certificates.

NA and $170/credit hour. If you transfer in 2 courses, you will have 2 courses left which should amount to $1070.

You can pay upfront or unroll in a payment plan.
Payment plans - Pay $500 upfront then $150 per month, pay $300 upfront then $175 upfront.

You must be enrolled for at least 5 months before applying for graduation.

Nexford University - Nationally Accreditated

Costs $310/month

For-credit

Can do one course a month. The shortest certificate is Product Management which costs of 2 courses and the duration is listed as 3 months.

The total cost of the certificate would amount to $930 unless you are a Sophia Learning student, in which case you receive 25% off. The total cost then amounts to $697.50.

[sarahmac]

I know this post is old, but there are options for self-paced:

Penn Foster Career School - Nationally Accreditated

Ashworth College - Nationally Accreditated

Both offer non-credit certificates and diplomas, which can be done in a few days. Plus, they take ACE credit.

Blackstone Career Institute - Regionally Accreditated

Has easy diplomas and certificates, notably the certificate in leadership skills: https://blackstone.edu/leadership-skills/

It costs just $413 and consists of 5 modules and one multiple-choice exam, which I'm guessing is open book.

I don't know if they accept ACE credit. They do accept transfer credit, but it waives the cost of the transferred portion. You still have to do all the modules.

All of the certificates/diplomas from these schools look nice, especially Blackstone Career Institute.

California Coast University -

Accepts ACE credits and allows transferring in 50% for certificates. Has both undergraduate and graduate certificates.

NA and $170/credit hour. If you transfer in 2 courses, you will have 2 courses left which should amount to $1070.

You can pay upfront or unroll in a payment plan.
Payment plans - Pay $500 upfront then $150 per month, pay $300 upfront then $175 upfront.

You must be enrolled for at least 5 months before applying for graduation.

Nexford University - Nationally Accreditated

Costs $310/month

For-credit

Can do one course a month. The shortest certificate is Product Management which costs of 2 courses and the duration is listed as 3 months.

The total cost of the certificate would amount to $930 unless you are a Sophia Learning student, in which case you receive 25% off. The total cost then amounts to $697.50.

Blackstone is not RA.... it is accredited by DEAC. If you have read the accreditation portion of their website, you would see they mention accreditation by the Middle States Association Commission on Secondary Schools. Not higher education.

[CollegeStudentAC]

The California Coast University certificate would actually amount to $1020, my bad.

[TINASAM]

The California Coast University certificate would actually amount to $1020, my bad.

Again, once is probably enough instead of just posting the same thing in multiple threads