Courses and Pathways
- Q. Can I take courses from different pathways?
A. Students may not mix and match courses from different pathways. Students select a particular career pathway and may take courses listed for that pathway only. Students are admitted as Special Session students, and choose classes from the Special Session schedule of classes. (Regular Session MLIS students who would like to complete the certificate and need access to certificate classes only offered special session, may switch to Special Session once they are at or near 19 units in their degree program.)
- Q. Can I just take one or two classes?
A. No. Students in the advanced certificate program take nine units in their chosen career pathway to earn their advanced certificate. For non-iSchool students who are interested in taking only a class or two, see the Open Classes program.
- Q. Can I request a class with a specific instructor?
A. Requests for instructors are not accepted. We cannot guarantee a particular instructor for any class.
- Q. Can I complete multiple advanced certificates in different pathways?
A. No. The university allows a student to complete one Advanced Certificate in Strategic Management of Digital Assets and Services.
- Q. How long do non-Master’s students have to complete the required nine units and outcomes assignment within my chosen pathway?
A. The advanced certificate program can be completed in as quickly as two semesters and a maximum of three years for certificate-only students. Students may take one semester leave without penalty (summer is not included). Students not enrolled for two consecutive semesters, i.e. fall and spring or spring and fall semesters, will be dropped from the program and must re-apply. Summer semester enrollment does not count toward the consecutive enrollment rule. MLIS and MARA students have up to seven years to complete the advanced certificate courses, within their required MLIS or MARA units. The portfolio outcomes assessment project must be completed by the end of the last semester the student is taking their last class for the certificate.
- Q. I’ve decided to change to a different pathway within the advanced certificate program. How do I change my pathway? Can the classes I have already taken in the previous pathway be applied to the new pathway?
A. Please contact Sheila Gurtu, our online student advisor. The only courses you can apply must be listed on your new pathway’s selection of courses.
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Current iSchool Students
- Q. I’m a current iSchool student and want to also earn the advanced certificate. Can I take more than the MLIS program’s 43 required units or the MARA program’s required 42 units?
A. No. You’d take the advanced certificate courses as part of the MLIS program’s 43 units or the MARA program’s 42 units.
- Q. Is the advanced certificate also available to matriculated students or just new students entering the master’s program in spring 2016?
A. The advanced certificate program launched in spring 2016. Current iSchool students and new students can incorporate the advanced certificate courses from their preferred pathway into their master’s program starting in spring 2016.
- Q. I’m a current MLIS student who changed from Regular Session to Special Session. If some of the advanced certificate units were earned while I was a Regular Session student will that be a problem?
A. No, that will not be a problem.
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Transferring Units
- Q. May I transfer in units from other institutions, or apply work experience skills or knowledge to be exempted from some of the units for the advanced certificate?
A. No. Advanced certificate units must be taken through the iSchool. A maximum of 3 units may be transferred in from the Open Classes program to the Advanced Certificate program.
- Q. May I transfer in completed units from the advanced certificate into a MLIS or MARA degree if I later decide to apply and am accepted to either of these programs?
A. You may transfer in a maximum of 3 units from an earned advanced certificate into a MLIS or MARA degree, as long as units earned in the advanced certificate were earned within the 7 year time limit for completing the MLIS or MARA.
- Q. Can I take classes through the Open Classes as well as simultaneously working on my Digital Assets Certificate?
A. No, as a matriculating student, enrolled in our certificate program, you only pursue your certificate classes. Later after having fulfilled the certificate you can access additional elective classes through Open Classes.
- Q. I am finishing my (MLIS/MARA) degree next term and already completed 6 units in Advanced Certificate classes from one of the pathways. Can I earn the last 3 units after I complete my MLIS / MARA and earn the certificate in this way?
A. No. To earn the certificate as a no-cost stackable certificate with the degree, the 9 units of certificate work must be earned within the MLIS and will listed on the student’s MLIS Candidacy form. Alternatively, an MLIS graduate may apply later to the Advanced Certificate as a stand-alone program and complete a new set of 9 units to earn the certificate separately.
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Financial Aid
- Q. Is there financial aid for students pursuing the certificate as a stand-alone certificate (not within their MLIS or MARA)?
A. Financial aid is not available, as the advanced certificate program is only nine units.
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Receiving Your Certificate
- Q. When will I receive the certificate?
A. Once the non-Master’s student has completed all course work and passed the portfolio, the student will complete and digitally sign an Advanced Certificate Audit form and submit it to the Outreach Specialist via email. (MLIS and MARA students completing the certificate will submit this to iSchool staff via the Advanced Certificate drop box in the Advising site on Canvas (see instructions) once their final semester grades are showing on MySJSU). Once SJSU Graduate Admissions and Program Evaluation (GAPE) staff processes the form and enters the certificate completion onto the official transcript, GAPE will issue a certificate to the address on file via US Mail. This process will take several weeks after the close of the student’s final semester. The certificate will not specify the pathway. It will state: Advanced Certificate in Strategic Management of Digital Assets and Services.
- Q. What are the grading requirements for my certificate?
A. Students must complete 9 units with a 3.0 GPA. Only 3 units of “C” and 0 units of less than “C” coursework can be applied toward a certificate. Only 3 units of an entire program can be repeated (and can be repeated a single time only). If a course is repeated, both grades will be used in the computation of program GPA. iSchool grading scale can be found on all syllabi.
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