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Online teaching & alt-ac certifications?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a regular reader asks:

Is this a certification that is meaningful? Does anyone know anything about it?

https://yougotclass.org/register.cfm?action=add&certificate=16

I have to confess that I don't know much about this kind of thing. It might be good to hear from readers, including which kinds of certifications might be helpful for obtaining 'alt-ac' jobs in industries outside of the academy. Given how expensive these kinds of certifications appear to be, it might be worth hearing whether any of them are worth it, and if so, precisely which kinds. Alternatively, are there good free or low-cost options available that early-career academics should consider instead?

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3 responses to “Online teaching & alt-ac certifications?”

  1. insight

    I am inclined to think these things are worth nothing. They are preying on the anxiety of people looking for a job. I just reviewed files for a permanent position this year – granted I am not in the USA – and no one had any such certification. People have to look at what the faculty have at the institutions to which they are applying. Especially look at the recent hires. You should try to have what they have. And this will vary from institution type to institution type.

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  2. Sam Duncan

    To my mind having actually taught online courses is the important thing. If you’ve done that then a certificate like this wouldn’t really add anything and if you haven’t it wouldn’t overcome that deficit. Also, most places that have online teaching have their own training for it, which they usually require before they’ll let you teach online, and it’s pretty much always free as far as I know. So if the school where you’re doing your grad program has online courses then complete their program and try to get a few online classes. If they don’t or they won’t let graduate students teach them then adjunct at a community college or other teaching focused institution for a year or two while in grad school and pick up a few online classes there.

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  3. Bill Vanderburgh

    We don’t hire people for online teaching explicitly. We do have (have had) some of our part time instructors teach online. But I don’t think we would ever give much weight in a hiring decision to having an online teaching certificate. That training might enable you to better convince us that you know how to do the work, by giving you knowledge, skills, and ways of talking. But you can acquire the knowledge, skills, and ways of talking in much less expensive ways. (There’s plenty of free content on YouTube, for example.) Such a certificate would never be definitive in any tenure track search at our place, and I doubt anywhere else. Internally, we sometimes offer stipends or professional development funds for people to take home-grown pedagogy or Quality Matters training. That’s the way to acquire those certificates: Have your employer pay you to take them.

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