New Certificate Program Forms
Academic Certificates / Academic Micro-credentials
Academic Certificate Template (2023 Form)
Or Academic Micro-credential Template (2023 Form)
Certificate Program Assessment Plan (2023 form)
As outlined in UTDPP1120, Academic Credentials Policy – Micro-credentials, Certificates, Digital Badges, and Recognition of Completion, an academic certificate or academic micro-credential program "must be approved according to the school’s curricular approval process; the Chief Academic Officer; the Office of Institutional Success and Decision Support; the Graduate Council or the Council for Undergraduate Education, as appropriate; the Committee on Educational Policy; and the Academic Senate. An assessment plan must accompany every proposal request for an academic certificate program or academic micro-credential program. In addition, all graduate academic certificate programs that require more than 15 semester credit hours of graded, organized courses, and all undergraduate academic certificate programs that require more than 20 hours of graded, organized courses, are subject to review and prior approval by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). Certificate programs, regardless of semester credit hour length, may only be offered in areas and at levels authorized by an institution's Program Inventory in adherence to Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 5, Subchapter C, Section 5.48." Additionally, new academic certificates may be subject to the SACSCOC's Substantive Change Policy and Procedures. Also, according to the UTDPP1120 policy, academic micro-credentials have a maximum of 6 semester credit hours (SCH).
Approval Process
Internal Review
- Select the appropriate template, either the Academic Certificate Template (2023 Form) or the Academic Micro-credential Template (2023 Form) and complete the form.
- If there will be new faculty hired to initiate the academic certificate program or the academic micro-credential program, the school dean needs to inform the provost first before proceeding with the proposal.
- For assistance with the academic certificate or academic micro-credential process, please contact Dr. Serenity Rose King, associate vice president for institutional success and decision support, via email or by telephone at 972.883.6749.
- Evidence of vote/approval by program and/or school faculty[1]
- Endorsement from the school dean
- Submit the complete academic certificate template or the academic micro-credential template and the certificate assessment plan to Dr. King by email; she will review and route the request through the governance approval process.
- Council for Undergraduate Education or Graduate Council approval or both
- Committee on Educational Policy approval
- Academic Council/Senate approval
- When applicable, the Office of Institutional Success and Decision Support will prepare the THECB’s New Certificate Program Certification Form to secure appropriate signatures for submission for external review and approval.
NOTE: If an academic certificate or academic micro-credential program needs to be renamed and/or modified, please notify Dr. King by email only before the request is submitted and routed through the annual catalog revision process. This will assist the Office of Institutional Success and Decision Support to maintain the authorized program matrices.
External Review
- Will take place only if the graduate and undergraduate academic certificate programs exceed more than 15 and 20 semester credit hours of graded, organized courses, respectively.
- Texas Higher Education Coordination Board (THECB) approval with an automatic copy to UT System Office of Academic Affairs
- Southern Association Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) notification and/or prior approval per substantive change policy
NOTE: In adherence to Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 2, Subchapter B, Section 2.32, no later than 90 days after the institution initially offers the certificate, the institution is required to notify THECB information about the program, including:
- The number of SCH for the program
- CIP Code for the program
- CIP Codes for all courses comprising the certificate
- The name or designation of the certificate
- Whether the certificate is a stand-alone or embedded with other requirements leading to the award of another credential, such as a bachelor’s or a graduate degree
Professional Certificates
Professional Certificates (non-credit) must follow the procedures outlined in the provost's memorandum to the school deans. [Memo] (2019 version)
Approval Process
Professional Certificate Template (2022 Form)
Prior to submitting the completed certificate template, please follow the steps outlined below to secure the necessary internal approval:
Internal Review
- If there will be new faculty hired to initiate the professional program, the school dean needs to inform the provost first before proceeding with the proposal.
- School Dean receives the Provost's pre-approval to proceed.
- For assistance with the professional certificate process, please contact Dr. Serenity Rose King, associate vice president for institutional success and decision support, via email or by telephone at 972.883.6749.
- Please contact Dr. King for assistance with professional micro-credentials because the template is now under construction and will be released in the near future.
- Evidence of vote/approval by program and/or school faculty[1]
- Endorsement from the school dean
- Submit the completed professional certificate template to Dr. King by email; she will review the proposal and then obtain the provost's approval as applicable.
Corporate or Non-Profit Organization Offering with Certificate of Completion
Certificate of Completion Template (2022 Form)
Some units may offer non-credit corporate training for clients while other units may provide training for specific targeted audiences which are supported by non-profit organizations or their respective endowments. This form should be used instead of the professional certificate template due to a different set of criteria.
Internal Review
- For assistance with the certificate of completion process, please contact Dr. Serenity Rose King, associate vice president for institutional success and decision support via email or by telephone at 972.883.6749.
- Evidence of vote/approval by program and/or school faculty[1]
- Endorsement from the school dean
- Submit the completed certificate of completion template to Dr. King by email; she will review the proposal and then obtain the provost's approval as applicable.
- Pursuant to school's bylaws.