The University Senate of Michigan Technological University

 

Proposal 11-10

(Voting Units:  Academic)

 

“Amendment of Senate Proposal 20-04, Graduate Certificates”

 

 

Proposal 20-04 is amended by replacement of the entire text of Proposal 20-04.

 

Rationale

In the last two years several new graduate certificate programs have been established and others are in the proposal stage.  The amended Graduate Certificate Policy builds on existing policy and adds the following provisions:

a.   Recognize the student category: graduate certificate-seeking.  These students will be admitted to the Graduate School, but will not be seeking a specific graduate degree.

b.   Establish a residency policy for graduate certificate-seeking students and degree-seeking students also pursuing a graduate certificate.

c.   Establish a differential in maximum minimum credits for the certificate:  degree-seeking, 12 credits; certificate-seeking, 15 credits.

 

 

Amending Text:  The text replacing Proposal 20-04 follows.

 

Graduate Certificates

Graduate Certificates will be granted to students who have completed the Graduate Certificate requirements established by academic or research units at Michigan Technological University. Graduate Certificates will be noted on official transcripts, and a written certificate will be given to the student upon completion of the requirements. The Graduate School will administer the Certificate Programs and develop procedures regarding faculty oversight, program re-evaluation, scholarship support, and other fiscal and management issues.

 

Michigan Tech degree-seeking graduate students who wish to earn a graduate certificate must complete an application for the certificate program available through the graduate school.

 

Individuals who wish to earn a graduate certificate from Michigan Tech and who are not currently enrolled at Michigan Tech as degree-seeking students must complete the University’s online graduate admission application.  Applicants seeking a graduate certificate must meet the same admission standards as degree-seeking applicants.  Upon formal admission to the Graduate School, these students will be assigned an academic advisor by the certificate's program director.  These students will be charged the same tuition and fees as degree-seeking graduate students in the advisor’s administrative home department or school.

 

Individuals seeking to earn a graduate certificate from Michigan Tech should note the following:

 

1)   Applicants to a Graduate Certificate program must have a Bachelors degree or equivalent.  Individual Graduate Certificate programs may have additional admission requirements. The time limit during which a student is expected to complete all of the requirements of a Graduate Certificate may vary, but is not to exceed four years.

2)   No more than 3 credit hours may normally be 3000 or 4000 level courses, however interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary certificates may have a maximum of 6 credit hours at the 3000 or 4000 level. All other credits must be at the 5000 or higher level, and may include no more than 3 credit hours of research.

 

3)   A minimum grade of B is required in all course work. Graduate Faculty must teach all courses required for a Graduate Certificate, except for the allowed 3000 or 4000 level courses.

 

4)   A maximum of 1/3 of the coursework credits required for a certificate can be transferred in from another university. Research credits (if required for the certificate) must be earned through Michigan Tech.

 

5)   Non-degree seeking students who earn Michigan Tech credits prior to formal admission to a certificate program can apply those credits to satisfy up to 1/3 of the coursework-credit requirements for the certificate. Non-degree seeking students should update their enrollment to certificate-seeking prior to earning more than 1/3 of the coursework credits required for the certificate. Research credits earned by non-degree seeking students cannot be applied toward a graduate certificate.

 

6)   Credits may be double counted between a single certificate and a single master's or PhD program.

 

7)   Michigan Tech requires that students earning a graduate certificate complete a minimum of 15 credits beyond the bachelor’s degree. Students concurrently earning a graduate certificate in addition to a graduate degree at Michigan Tech are allowed, with the approval of the certificate program advisor, to complete 12 out of the 15 credits required for the certificate in order to obtain both certificate and graduate degree. A 12-credit certificate will not be awarded until completion of a Michigan Tech graduate degree. 

 

Faculty Endorsement & University Approval of a New Graduate Certificate

Graduate Certificates may be proposed by individual faculty, groups of faculty, departments, or groups of departments in any academic or research unit at Michigan Tech. Graduate Certificates may be proposed in disciplines without a preexisting graduate degree program. A proposed Graduate Certificate curriculum may contain fieldwork, distance learning, and laboratory courses in addition to traditional classroom offerings. Additional admission requirements for a Graduate Certificate program beyond that stated above must be listed in the proposal.

 

Proposals for Graduate Certificate programs will follow the usual procedures for university degree programs, and be submitted to the Senate by the Provost.



Introduced to Senate: 01 February 2010
Editorial Change (in blue): 01 February 2010
Adopted by Senate: 24 February 2010

Approved by Admin with addition of one word (in red) for clarification: 04 March 2010