Community College Teaching and Learning Online

Graduate Certificate

This program is no longer accepting applicants due to revision of the curriculum.  Please view our other many online programs from the College of Education.

The four-course Graduate Certificate in Community College Teaching and Learning (CCTL) at the University of Illinois is designed to increase the teaching effectiveness of community college faculty and build the instructional leadership of supervisory personnel. This curriculum is focused on the effective design and implementation of quality instruction, contemporary instructional technologies, and other instruction using innovations such as peer-based collaboration and active learning strategies.

Courses are highly interactive and provide participants with a foundation of instructional theories, skills, and practices to support existing professional development efforts in community colleges. The CCTL curriculum is a cost-effective professional development model that is accessible to all faculty and instructional leaders in community colleges, irrespective of fields of specialization or location. 

This certificate program is designed for community college faculty and instructional leaders who desire to expand their knowledge and skills in instructional strategies and methods.  The curriculum is also appropriate for faculty supervisors who make decisions about classroom instruction.

A Graduate Certificate of Professional Development will be awarded after completion of 16 credit hours (four 4-hour courses). This certificate can be completed in one year.

A bachelor’s degree is required for this certificate program. You will need to provide official transcripts from any community college or university you have attended. "Issued to Student" copies are not considered official.

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Tuition

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Courses & Schedule

Course instruction is 100% online, allowing students great flexibility in scheduling their learning. Course requirements include a time each week when students participate in synchronous online group sessions live synchronous online class sessions.  Each course is 10 weeks long. This schedule allows students to complete a graduate certificate in one year. However, the certificate may be completed at a slower pace.

This customizable certificate requires four courses from the following list:

HRE 501: The Community College (4 hrs)

This course is considered a core course in the CCTL curriculum. It provides an overview of how various types of two-year postsecondary institutions, primarily comprehensive community colleges, function. The course requires students to critically analyze community colleges, and consider their strengths and weaknesses within the broader context of the nation’s P-16 educational system. Ultimately, the course provides the foundation for students who aspire to community college employment or advancement in community college positions. The course is designed to assist students to understand, assess, and contribute to the betterment of community college education, both today and in the future.

Download a sample syllabus for the course. (PDF)

HRE 412: Instructional Techniques (4 hrs)

Provides a research-based exploration of effective teaching techniques for instructions of business, industry, and community college programs. Equips students with a conceptual framework for instruction and provides guidance and experience in the planning, delivery and evaluation of instruction.

Download a sample syllabus for the course. (PDF)

HRE 592: The Community College Student (4 hrs)

This course provides an in-depth examination into the body of research of students in community, junior and technical colleges in the United States. The course highlights current theories of student development as they apply to community, junior, and technical college students. Emphasis of the course is placed on examining various student populations and their learning and instructional needs.

Download a sample syllabus for the course. (PDF)

HRE 590: Assessing Learning Outcomes (4 hrs)

Practical application of theory and recommended practices to develop and evaluate teaching and learning in classroom settings. Oftentimes assessment is viewed narrowly in terms of tests which only assess student knowledge. Many instructors adopt the mindset of assessment of learning rather than assessment for learning. In order to assess higher levels of classroom learning as well as assess for learning, other types of methods must be employed. This course will aid participants in identifying, designing, and developing assessment methods appropriate to their content areas and students.

Download a sample syllabus for the course. (PDF)

EPSY 407: Adult Learning and Development (4 hrs)

Theory of, and research on, adult learning and development; includes societal context, performance, physiology and health, personality, and learning; and considers stability and change during young adulthood, middle age, and old age.

Download a sample syllabus for the course. (PDF)

HRE 472: Learning Technologies (4 hrs)

This course aims to develop learners’ skills in identifying, selecting, and justifying the implementation of learning technologies in the overall learning environment design process. The course requires learners to align learning theories, introductory instructional system design models, existing learning technologies, and the learning environment design blueprint together in order to solve organizational problems (for example, lagging performance). Learners will experiment and evaluate a variety of learning technologies such as screen capture tools, online games and simulations, test development tools, etc. Learners will actively engage in learning activities and discussions with their instructor and classmates. Learners are expected to produce presentable final deliverables for the final design portfolio.

Download a sample syllabus for the course. (PDF)

HRE 517: Community College Program Development (4 hrs)

Synthesizes selected sociological, psychological, and epistemological foundations for curriculum development in education and training; application of theories from fundamental disciplines to practice in existing and emerging curricula involving perceptual and psychomotor learning.

EPS 500: History of Work and Educational Policy (4 hrs)

The purpose of this course is to look at the changing conditions of work today, in both a contemporary and historical context, and how education can and cannot - and should and should not - respond to these changes. Students in this course will look at the past, present, and future of the US economy and society, in relation to new conceptions of employment, education, and job training. This larger context of historical and philosophical questions will provide a better context for understanding exactly what these changes are, and what they might portend.

Download a sample syllabus for the course. (PDF)

Courses begin in January, April, July, and October!

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How to Apply

Please see the Certificate section of the Prospective Students page for step-by-step instructions on how to apply!

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