The Noncredit Course Makes a Comeback
Michael P. Lambert, executive director of the Distance Education and Training Council discusses vocational noncredit distance learning programs. Academic degrees are a good thing for people to have, no doubt about it. But many military members do not want to earn a degree since they may have other goals in life, and forcing them into degree studies may not be the most productive exercise.
Mike Lambert has spent over 36 years in distance education and training with the DETC. He spoke with Military Advanced Education about the rebirth of interest in noncredit vocational programs that, due to technological advances, are making a strong comeback after decades of an academic degree program fixation. Lambert believes that academic degrees are a good thing for people to have, no doubt about it. But many military members do not want to earn a degree since they may have other goals in life, and forcing them into degree studies may not be the most productive exercise. There are many hundreds of skill-producing and job-enhancing noncredit training programs that will benefit military people, and the mindset of getting everyone a degree needs to be revisited.
Michael Lambert was interviewed by MAE editorial coordinator Diana McGonigle
Q: What is a noncredit vocational certificate program?
A: A noncredit certificate program is a formal [that is, one that requires formal enrollment and has a record of study kept] structured, evaluated learning sequence that, when successfully completed by a learner, results in the acquisition of knowledge, skills and behaviors intended by the provider of the instruction. It does not result in the award of academic credit, nor does it normally lead to the award of an academic degree.
It may be offered via any medium, including online, in a class or by correspondence study. It requires study records, includes examinations or assignment that are evaluated and returned to students and produces measurable outputs.
It results in the award of a completion document called a certificate, or alternately called a diploma.
In addition to noncredit certificate courses, there are academic credit-bearing courses that are sometimes “bundled” into a package of courses or a sequence leading to the award of a specialized certificate, such as a graduate certificate in educational technology. These certificate programs fall short of being an academic degree program, but can generally be transferred into a degree program wholesale.
Certificates—either noncredit or for credit—should not be confused with “certification.” Certification is the awarding of a credential or designation, like Certified Financial Planner or CFP, or Certified Public Accountant or CPA, for passing one or sometimes a series of independently created competency tests. Certification examinations are created and administered by third party organizations external to the provider of the instruction that prepares the candidate to sit for the examination.
Q: What is the market for distance learning noncredit programs?
A: The market is very large and diverse, and reportedly American businesses spend over $30 billion annually on corporate training from commercial training providers, and spend another $10 billion on internally provided training. Certificate training occurs in trade schools, community colleges, online schools, military training institutes, and corporate universities.
Wherever there is a need for just-in-time training, or when people feel they need to get some job-enhancing and skill imparting learning, there is an instant market for a certificate course.
We have become a society of lifelong learners, and the market for certificate training is strong and getting stronger. In online training for noncredit courses, the market grows at least 25 percent annually.
Q: Why would a military member want to take a noncredit course or program instead of enrolling in a degree program? Why bother with noncredit when credit courses are available?
A: In the past two decades, there has been an inexorable trend toward steering military people who wish to use their voluntary education benefits into academic degree programs. This was an understandable position for counselors and commanders to take: a degreed person is a better educated one, one who could presumably think at a higher level, who was more rounded, and who would—as a result of earning a degree—become ipso facto more valuable to his or her family, his or her unit and his or her country. And the folks who make the tuition assistance policies—as well as those who provide the counseling—are most often the products of a traditional academic experience.
So channeling military members into academic degree programs fits squarely in with the national push to get every citizen a degree, since there appears to be a consensus we would all be better off if everyone had a degree. To help this happen, the country spends over $80 billion dollars on higher education annually, and higher education is a big business. It has a powerful congressional lobby, has a sophisticated public relations apparatus and has become accustomed to getting its way in federal legislation.
But if we stop for a moment to think about the authentic needs of the individual in today’s world, not every job requires an academic degree, although most jobs in our information society do demand technical training. Maybe some people do not want nor will they ever want an academic degree. Maybe what they really need is some first class training to equip them with a salable civilian skill.
There are many very good reasons for a military member to take a noncredit certificate course:
- Test their aptitude for a subject or a career field
- Test their ability to “go back to college”
- Just-in-time learning for job promotion
- Learn a skill for a second income
- Pursue a hobby
- Low threat way for them to learn “on their own” without pressure
- Keep their sanity and composure in a high-stress deployment
For example, there are dentists who study yacht design online because it is a welcomed change to their daily job routine. There are teachers who like to tinker with auto engines, and policemen who want to study photography. The reasons for taking a noncredit course are numerous.
Q: What should a prospective student look for in seeking excellence in online noncredit programs?
A: The student should look for:
- Self-contained, up to date, complete materials
- Internet access for exams and questions
- Student performance-based refund policy
- Prompt and efficient student services
- Practical, hands-on assessments and real world projects
- Self-paced, study wherever and whenever
And in making a decision to enroll in a certificate course, here are the key questions for any prospective student to ponder:
- Length of program—how long will it take to complete?
- Convenience and access [requires Internet? Class schedule?]
- Total program costs [including opportunity costs]
- Does the program have up-to-date content?
- Can the provider show acceptable outcomes data?
- What is the employer acceptance/job placement
- Does the program included real-world applications
Most importantly, even though the course is not for credit, the prospective student should be sure to check to see if the institution offering the program is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting association. The quickest way to check on any institution’s accredited status is to go to www.chea.org and there is an up-to-date list of every legitimately accredited school and college.
Q: What are some examples of distance or online certificate courses?
A: We can think of several examples, but these rank at the top in student popularity:
- Bookkeeping
- Medical Transcription
- Day Care Management
- Computer Skills
- Website Design
There are courses in photography, interior design, gun repair courses, yacht design, gemology, tax return preparation, auto engine repair and hundreds more topics.
Q: What is the profile of a typical certificate student? Who takes these courses?
A: Here is the profile of the typical DETC noncredit certificate student:
- Average age is 37
- 55 percent are male
- 75 percent are employed
- 94 percent have a high school diploma
- 48 percent have an undergraduate degree
- 35 percent have tuition paid by employer
Q: What are the traits of successful distance learners?
A: Successful distance or online learners, those who finish their studies and gain the most from learning, are typically mature adults. They are self-motivated, disciplined and highly organized. They are the kinds of people who volunteer to run a Girl Scout Troop or coach a youth soccer team, and they always seem to find time to get a lot done in a busy day.
We know that most distance learning study occurs in the home in the study or at the kitchen table after 9 p.m. Distance students set aside the time three times a week for their studies, and they stick to a schedule, and are obsessive calendar markers, keeping track of their study assignments.
Many tens of thousands of distance students, including myself, are business travelers, road warriors who study on planes and in hotel rooms and waiting rooms of airports. We use our laptops to e-mail our exams and papers to the school, and we e-mail our instructors when we have questions. The new technology allows us to download our lectures and lessons into an iPod or other playing device, and we can listen while we are sitting on the train to work or while we are working out on a stationary bike.
As a group, successful distance learners possess
- An ability to learn on their own without a support group
- High reading comprehension skills
- Persistence in spades, and are not easily deterred from task completion
- Are able to see the final goal and drive themselves to it
- Have the ability to apply what they learn to their lives or jobs
Online learning is growing at a 25 percent per year rate in our colleges, and in just of few years, we predict that there will be as many online learners as there are fixed facility learners now, a figure over 17 million people. ♦