ADMINISTRATOR (Australian): Hello. How can I help you today?
ISAAC (British): Hi. This is the Graduate College of Education, right?
ADMINISTRATOR: Yes, it is. Are you students here?
LAURA (British): Yes, we’re both international graduate students here at the University of Sydney. I transferred from University of Kent and he just started this year, but he did his undergraduate degree at University of Plymouth. Anyway, we’ve got a few questions because we’re thinking about getting a certification in online teaching while we’re pursuing our degrees here.
ADMINISTRATOR: I see. So, let me get this straight. You’re both in the graduate teaching program here, right? But you’re interested in getting certificates as well?
ISAAC: That’s right. I saw a flier for the certificate in online teaching and thought it’d be great to add that to my resume. Is it possible to do those courses while being enrolled as a full-time graduate student?
ADMINISTRATOR: Yes, it is. However, you’ll have to pay for each credit that is over 12 credits. So, if you’re already taking 12 credits and you add a class for the certification, then you’ll be enrolled in 16 credits so you’ll have to pay extra. Each class is four credits.
LAURA: How many credits does it take to get the certification?
ADMINISTRATOR: Twenty. It’s five classes in total. Also, most students don’t realise that the classes for the online certification are only taught on Monday nights and Tuesday nights. They used to be on Thursday and Friday, then they switched to Wednesday and Friday, but not anymore. So, those nights have to be clear, because each class is three hours long.
LAURA: Can we take more than one class for the certification during the regular school term?
ADMINISTRATOR: That depends on how many hours you’re already taking. There’s a cap at 20 hours per term. How many classes are you taking this term?
ISAAC: We’re both taking three classes right now, which is 12 credits total.
ADMINISTRATOR: In that case, you could take two additional classes before you hit your maximum of 20 credits for the term.
ISAAC: How much does it cost to get the certification?
ADMINISTRATOR: You pay by the class. It’s $1000 per class. That’s $350 per credit. No, uh, I mean $250 per credit. And it’s five classes for the degree, so in total the certification will cost you $5000.
LAURA: Are the classes for the certification taught online or in a classroom?
ADMINISTRATOR: It depends on which class. They’re set up in a specific order. So, the first three classes that you have to take are all taught in a traditional classroom setting. The last two are taught online, however, those classes use a software program called CLOUD.
ISAAC: Oh, didn’t that used to be called ANGEL?
ADMINISTRATOR: No, that’s something else. CLOUD used to be called WHITEBOARD, but it’s been updated. ANGEL is an online program for grading. Now, the last two classes for the certification are on CLOUD. It’s an interactive program and classes are held online but they’re live, so students can interact with each other in real time. The point is to help students get used to the program so that when they begin teaching online, they’re familiar with the software program already.
LAURA: That sounds great. What are the first three classes about then?
ADMINISTRATOR: Those classes focus more on strategies for developing content for online courses, and how to prepare. The last two focus on how the whole process works from a technical standpoint.
LAURA: Sounds wonderful. Just out of curiosity, does the Graduate College of Education offer a diploma in online teaching?
ADMINISTRATOR: No, only the certification. The difference mainly is in the amount of time it takes to earn one or the other. A certification normally only requires three to eight classes. Diplomas require 18 to 22 classes and also involve a graduate thesis and exam. But, uh, we haven’t developed a program that awards the diploma for online teaching.
ISAAC: Are there any exams or major projects required to earn the certificate?
ADMINISTRATOR: Not outside of the class assignments. You’d have to check with the specific professors that teach those classes to ask about what those requirements are.
ISAAC: OK. So, how do we sign up?
ADMINISTRATOR: Just go to registration and enroll in the class you want to take. You’ll also need to fill out the certification enrollment form that we have on our website and send it in to our office. Once that’s complete, you’re enrolled in the program and once you finish the classes, we’ll award you the certificate.