A certificate program, shorter and less structured than a formal degree program, teaches knowledge and skills in a specialized area and awards a certificate after participants complete a series of required courses. VMG's Certificate Programs are designed for busy professionals, college students and laypersons who want to advance in their careers and participate with the flexibility of an online or classroom experience.
An online course utilizes the Internet and a web browser as a means of creating a learning environment outside of the traditional classroom. The lectures and discussions will take place on a Distance Learning Center Web site. You will access the online lectures through WebEx and during class you can communicate with your classmates and instructors through the use of a chat feature. The online courses follow a classroom structure of covering a lesson a week.
All VMG online classes are instructor-led meaning that there is an instructor online with the students to facilitate learning. The instructor is delivering a lecture and leading the class during the entire class time. The class is a combination of lecture utilizing a PowerPoint presentation and other supplemental online learning tools, and classroom discussion whereby students are encourage to ask questions and discuss a topic or viewpoint as put forth by the instructor.
Like a traditional course, your online course has an instructor that will conduct the class by giving a lecture using a PowerPoint presenation, answering questions and leading discussions, and giving students a VMG Challenge assignment to work on in between part 1 and part 2 of a course. Grades are not given for the courses, but feedback is provided as it relates to a VMG Challenge assignment.
No. The VMG Certificate program courses are non-credit, continuing education certificate programs. As a result, participants can enroll at any time and do not need to go through a lengthy application and acceptance process.
There are no specific educational requisites for registering for a program. Students wishing register should go to the Register Today link in the navigation bar on the VMG home page on the VMG web. Click on Certificate Program Registration form. Download the form, fill it out and send in via fax or mail. Payment is accepted via check or credit card. Payment must be received in full prior to participation in class.
-Teaching objectives and subject matter are similar.
-In general, the classroom instructors and online learning instructors are the same individuals.
-Online and classroom courses have similar standards of excellence in course work.
-Tuition fees for online and classroom courses whether taken with VMG or at Hostos are identical.
Differences
-Online students do not appear in a classroom.
-Online courses are eight weeks in length; classroom courses are eight consecutive Saturdays (excluding any college holiday weekends)
-Online courses are more intensive on a week-to-week basis than classroom courses.
-Classroom courses are taught on the Hostos Community College Campus in the Bronx, NY; access to online courses is from anywhere in the world where a reliable, high-speed internet connection and a web browser is available.
-Online courses place a premium on asynchronous online discussions and VMG challenge assignments; classroom courses use a more traditional approach to learning involving lecture and interactive exercises.
- An Executive Director or associate director of a nonprofit
- Those considering a career change to the nonprofit sector
- Undergraduate and graduate students trying to decide on a particular are of concentration in their studies
- "Soon to be graduates" who want to get a leg up on the competition and be able to interview with broader knowledge about the field
- A member or officer of a nonprofit board of directors
- A program associate interested in a position of greater responsibility
- A consultant currently or considering working with volunteering organizations
Certificate courses are facilitated by subject matter experts (SME's) in the respective field they are teaching. To learn more about VMG instructors, click the link on the navigation pane in the VMG Web titled "Instructors".
Each certificate program is specific an unique. Please read through the certificate program descriptions for each program and decide on the best fit for where you are at now in your career and professional goals and give consideration of where you hope to be in another year or two after completing the certificate. If you are interested in the corporate side, it's pretty straightforward, you should register for the corporate philanthropy certificate. If you are on the non-profit side and want the big picture view, we recommend you start out with a nonprofit certificate and follow that up with volunteer management and grant writing certificates in either order. Volunteers and grants are critical needs to a nonprofit, and if you plan to manage a nonprofit, you should complete all three programs: Nonprofit Management, Volunteer Management and Grant Writing. In addition, if you are a college student and want to decide on a particular concentration within the nonprofit management field, the Nonprofit Management Certificate program will definitely help you. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact Julie Marks, Rick Akin or Jerry Pannozzo at 917-829-8344.
Technical requirements for participation in an online class are:
- a computer with internet access
- basic computer skills like Word processing and opening PDF documents using Adobe Acrobat Reader (available free online and already installed on newer computers)
- must have an active, functional email account that will handle large file attachments
- For audio purposes, you will be sent an email the day of the class indicating the dial in number. Please be sure the email you have on file with us is the email that you check regularly, ie, at least once a day.
Registration is on a first-come first-served basis. To ensure you secure a seat in the class you want, we suggest you register as early as possible. Course registration cut-off is three business days prior to the date of the course.
After you complete the eight courses comprising the certificate program you are enrolled in AND provided your balance has been paid in full, you will receive your Certificate of completion in the mail within four to six weeks.
- An Executive Director or associate director of a nonprofit
- Those considering a career change to the nonprofit sector
- Undergraduate and graduate students trying to decide on a particular are of concentration in their studies
- "Soon to be graduates" who want to get a leg up on the competition and be able to interview with broader knowledge about the field
- A member or officer of a nonprofit board of directors
- A program associate interested in a position of greater responsibility
- A consultant currently or considering working with nonprofit organizations
- An Executive Director or associate director of a nonprofit
- A Development Director of a nonprofit
- Those considering a career change to the nonprofit sector
- Undergraduate and graduate students trying to decide on a particular are of concentration in their studies
- "Soon to be graduates" who want to get a leg up on the competition and be able to interview with broader knowledge about the field
- A member or officer of a nonprofit board of directors
- A program associate interested in a position of greater responsibility
- A consultant currently or considering working on seeking funding for a nonprofit project
We will honor an "authorization to bill" letter at the time of registration. This should come from your employer and be on letterhead. Please be sure that your employer includes the contact information of the person who will be authorizing the payment. Payment must be received in full prior to the start of class.
Yes. For example, if you took the Volunteer Program Management class and wanted to earn both the Nonprofit Management Certificate and Volunteer Program Management Certificate, you would not have to take that particular class twice. To earn the second certificate, you would pay for those courses on a one-off basis at the individual course fee of $149.
Registration is first come, first served. Space is limited. Due to space arrangements all registrations are final. No refunds possible. Cancellations in writing 72 hours prior to the first class can transfer to the same program in the following session.
The earlier, the better. Registration is on a first come first served basis. The registration deadline for each course is five days prior to the course start date.
All online classes are conducted using an online synchronous (synchronous meaning participants in these courses will be online and in the course at the same time) application called VYEW. VYEW requires no installation.
You will receive copies of the lectures for each course in addition to any links to articles or reference material that the instructors request you read for the purpose of class discussion.
Students will need a PC or Mac computer with high speed internet connection. Synchronous sessions will be conducted using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), so you will need to have speakers to hear the audio on your computer. We recommend a headset (headphones with integrated microphone) for easier use with less feedback.
Online certificates have various pricing schedules: Standard Registration is $825; Special Member Registration is $750; College Student with valid current student ID Registration is $675. These prices include the technology fee and registration fee.
Anyone can take an online course as long as they have access to a computer with Internet capabilities, have an active email account, and have a basic understanding of how a computer works. An online student also must actively participate in discussions during lecture and self-motivated to keep up with the course work.
A great way to enhance your qualifications and resume, the VMG Certificate Programs allow you to demonstrate expertise in the growing fields of nonprofit management, volunteer management, grant writing and corporate philanthropy. The VMG Certificate is designed to provide you with a core foundation of knowledge and skills in the respective subject matter of the certificate that you choose. Each required course is interactive and involves lecture, group activities(for classroom) and online discussion for the online courses, instructional activities, case studies, usage of video clips and the internet, and a VMG Challenge assignment to maximize learning and skills building. In a 2009 NYAVA Professional Profile and Salary Survey of NYAVA member-volunteer resources managers in organizations in New York City, nearly 45 of 107 respondents indicated a salary of more than $40,000. Increase your qualifications with a VMG certificate. (NYAVA is the New York Administration of Volunteer Administrators.)
Online courses require a significant time commitment and level of participation. You will spend approximately 4 hours per week participating in the online lectures and 2-3 hours minimum working on a VMG Challenge assignement that is related to the course lecture for that week; however, the actual time required for VMG Challenge assignments for each course will vary.
Unless there is an extreme instance, all communications with your instructor will be done during the online lecture or if needed, off-line through brief email.. Please do not expect your instructor to telephone you or meet with you in person.
You can access the course anywhere that you have Internet access. Some companies have firewalls that prevent you from participating in the chat sessions. Please check with your company before you attempt to access the course.
Your instructor should be very explicit on the course syllabus or welcome message as to their availability. If the instructor is going out of town or will be away from the computer for an extended period of time, he/she must notify the class. Any instructor-related issues should be brought to the attention of Julie Marks, Founder and President of Volunteer Management Group. Julie can be reached at 917-829-8344.
To earn a certificate in any given certificate program, you must complete the 8 required courses. Upon completion of the 8 courses comprising a certificate, you will receive a Certificate of Completion for that particular program.
