FAQ Page

FAQ About the STEM Certificate

How Long Does It Take to Earn a STEM Certificate?

The STEM Certificate is available in online course delivery. Individuals that undertake a Master of Arts in Educational Technology have the STEM Certificate courses embedded into their programs of study, which will grant them the ability to graduate with an M.A. and a graduate certificate in STEM simultaneously, without taking additional courses or paying any extra fees. The M.A. in Educational Technology Programs typically take two years to complete. 

Individuals that are members of a Partner School District Cohort for non-credit can complete the STEM Certificate in as little as 15 weeks!

What Are the Benefits of a STEM Certificate?

The STEM Certificate Program has tremendous, measurable impact on school communities. A STEM Certificate from NJCU allows teachers, school leaders, SLMSs, and educational professionals the following benefits:

  • Become highly skilled at teaching STEM or technical content
  • Learn in-demand skills in UX/UI, STEM, CTE for K-12, HE, and corporate L&D spaces
  • Earn a NJDOE State approved Certificate in STEM
  • Develop proficiency in cutting-edge, emergent technologies 
  • Refine leadership practices for operating in next-generation teaching and learning environments including revision, adoption, and implementation of new innovations and curricular considerations

For K-12 Educational Systems

The STEM Certificate Program was designed to help educators and school leaders adopt and deliver effective best practices in pedagogical approaches in teaching STEM principles across the disciplines. The program’s courses intersect the areas of pedagogy, content, and educational technologies. The courses will help educational professionals not only recognize new and emergent instructional technologies that can impact their practices, but also facilitate the appropriate selection and effective application of instructional technology into teaching STEM to diverse populations of students in a variety of grade levels in PreK-12 education. In doing so, our program helps stakeholders within an LEA, cultivate rigorous, culturally-relevant STEM classrooms for diverse students and faculty. 

The STEM Certificate also provides school districts with an edge in preparing faculty for new N.J.A.C. 6A:9B proposals and amendments to broaden middle school endorsement specialization in STEM. The STEM Certificate also incentivizes individuals to enter the STEM teaching fields, and gives educators the foundational support needed to feel confident in designing and delivering high-quality instruction. In this regard, districts can demonstrate the value they place on the continuing professional growth of their teaching faculty that equips them with the skills and acumen needed to help students recover from pandemic learning loss in critical areas of mathematics, science, and reading informational text. 

For Industry and Training

Corporate trainers, instructional designers, ISDs, instructional coaches, and even UX designers in the program will benefit from a holistic learning experience that accounts for the academic, behavioral, social-emotional, and executive functioning needs of learners within their institution. Students will experience standards-based instruction that makes purposeful use of flexible grouping in the instructional processes of their training and adult education routines. Further, students will benefit from the wide array of deliverables to create that demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and abilities in an innovative, and safe learning environment that embraces human-centered design thinking. 

Because our Ed Tech Department has invested a commitment to the You Belong in STEM Initiative with the U.S. Department of Education, individuals from private industry or K-12 school districts that complete the program are able to advance their personal commitment to STEM as well.

What Does it Mean That The STEM Certificate Program Uses "Evidenced-Based" Practices?

Our program is proud to make use of practices, activities, strategies, and tools that are "evidenced-based" as supported by empirical research and the extant body of literature on STEM, CTE, and human-learning theory. We recognize that emerging technologies, approaches, and innovations are constantly evolving, and in such case, we use the evaluative framework offered by "Tier 4" evidence that the US DOE says "demonstrates a rationale based on high-quality research findings or positive evaluation that such activity, strategy, or intervention is likely to improve student outcomes or other relevant outcomes and includes ongoing efforts to examine the effects of such activity, strategy, or intervention." In addition, our program's activities, strategies and tools are evaluated against the standards of the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC).

Can I Just Take the 4 Classes To Get the STEM Certificate, or Do I Need to Get a Master's in Educational Technology, Too?

Every individual seeking to earn a STEM Certificate that is not part of a Partner School District Cohort must meet the minimum requirements to enter and apply for the program. Individuals can elect to earn the Graduate Certificate in STEM by taking just the 4 courses needed "a la carte." You are not required to enter the Master of Arts in Educational Technology Program to earn the STEM Certificate, though we encourage it! 12 credits from the STEM Certificate courses are applied to the 36 credit MA in Ed Tech with STEM Certificate, leaving only an additional 24 credits needed for the Master of Arts in Educational Technology with STEM Certificate! 

Do I Need to Be a Certified Teacher to Get the STEM Certificate?

No! Our STEM Certificate Program does not require state educational licensure. This is what makes the program great for professionals looking to enter private sector STEM-based industries for training, adult education, instructional design, and more!

If you are looking to get your NJDOE Teaching credentials and a STEM Certificate, you may visit the New Pathways to Teaching in NJ website fore more information.

Is There a Degree Minimum To Get the STEM Certificate?

For individuals in the STEM Certificate Program, whether it is for credit or continuing education, NJCU requires a minimum of a Baccalaureate Degree.

If I Am Already in a Master's Program in the Educational Technology Department, How Can I Get a STEM Certificate?

All of our M.A. students are eligible to earn a STEM Certificate! All you need to do is reach out to  and ask to switch your program to the M.A. in Educational Technology with STEM Certificate.  Contact Dr. Shamburg for advisement -- cshamburg@njcu.edu

Is There a Difference Between the Graduate STEM Certificate Program and the Continuing Education STEM Certificate Program?

Though the STEM Certificate Program is offered in two, unique pathways, the quality, rigor, and focus of the program remains the same regardless of pathway. One of the benefits of the Continuing Education STEM Certificate Program is that cohorts are comprised of faculty from the same district, and the unique needs of the district are greatly factored into the transactional teaching and learning that occurs during the program in an effort to address district goals. Another fundamental difference is in the time it takes to earn the STEM Certificate. The Continuing Education STEM Certificate can be earned in as little as 15 weeks, as 2 classes are taken simultaneously in 7 week sessions. 

How Will I Be Assessed in the Continuing Education Cohort?

We are a project-based program that employs relevant application of course content in diverse academic settings in PreK-12. All the non-credit courses in the STEM Certificate will use a grading scale for those individuals that will seek graduate credit conversion, and a pass-fail system for those individuals that only want to earn the continuing education units.

I am Interested in Establishing a LEA/IHP Partnership. Is the Program a Qualified Activity that May Support the Allowable Uses of Funds Listed in Any of the ESSR Programs?

Yes! According to the letter signed by the Education Secretary in December 2022 in support of the Biden-Harris Administration Initiative, Raise the Bar: STEM Excellence for All Students, the STEM Certificate Program and Continuing Education STEM Certificate Program is considered an allowable use of funds. Some examples for the relevance for funding the STEM Certificate Program include:

  • Title II, Part A funds may be used for professional development for educators on how to teach STEM concepts and approaches.
  • Title III, Part A funds may be used to provide access to STEM professional development specifically designed for ELLs, or to help increase student access to high-quality STEM programming.
  • Title IV, Part B funds may provide students at 21st Century Community Learning Centers with the opportunity to engage in authentic STEM content that aligns to their school day and focuses on hands-on, experiential, STEM-rich experiences.
  • Perkins V may be used to develop comprehensive STEM career pathways and programs of study, including instructor compensation and professional development.
  • IDEA Part B section 611 funds set aside for other State-level activities may be used to provide professional development for STEM educators to support the needs of children with disabilities, to improve the use of technology in the classroom by children with disabilities to enhance their STEM learning, or to support the use of technology in STEM programs to maximize accessibility to the general education curriculum for children with disabilities.

Additional considerations as to how the STEM Certificate Program is a relevant and acceptable program to apply funding for an LEA with ESSR funds to support activities that are listed in section 18003(d) of the CARES Act, section 313(d) of the CRRSA Act, and section 2001(e) of the ARP Act that are:

  • Any activity authorized by the Carl D. Perkins Career & Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins V) (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.).
  • Providing principals and other school leaders with the resources necessary to address the needs of their individual schools.
  • Planning and implementing activities related to summer learning and enrichment and supplement after-school programs, including providing classroom instruction or online learning during the summer months and addressing the needs of low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and children and youth in foster care.
  • Addressing the academic impact of lost instructional time among and LEA's students, including low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and children and youth in foster care by implementing evidenced-based activities to meet the comprehensive needs of students.
  • Other activities that are necessary to maintain the operation of and continuity of services in the LEA and continuing to employ existing staff of the LEA. 

I Am Interested Enrolling Faculty, But Am Worried About the Rigor and Demand. Is This Program Truly Feasible for Working Professionals?

Absolutely! The Continuing Education STEM Certificate Program was designed by working educational professionals for educational professionals. Also, the Continuing Education STEM Program can be as flexible as your district needs it to be. Typically, our program is structured to have 2 courses taken simultaneously in 7-week sessions. The estimated completion time for the full program is just 15 weeks! However, we recognize that this sequence and number of courses may need to change depending on the demands of individuals in the cohorts. If need be, cohorts can utilize the Summer I and Summer III sessions to engage in the program over the summer while the K12 may not be in session; or, district cohorts can take just 1 course per Spring and Fall over two years. 

If My School District Enrolls Faculty in a Continuing Education Cohort and They Drop Out, Can We Be Refunded?

For school districts that are interesting in enrolling cohorts of faculty across their campus, an MOU is completed that specifies enrollment numbers and cost. NJCU provides students with a deadline in which they have to withdraw from the cohort without cost to the district. Students that drop after the deadline are typically not refunded, but can be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

My District Uses a Curriculum Program to Provide Students Hands-On Learning in STEM. How Does the Continuing Education STEM Certificate Program Align with Structured PBL Curriculums?

As educational professionals we know that there is no magic panacea that will solve every challenge we face in our work providing top-notch academic experiences for diverse learners in our classrooms. Limitations that exist in even the most research-based programs can leave teachers feeling exasperated, and administrative leaders questioning the validity of implementation or the program in relation to intrinsic student needs. Our STEM Certificate Program rests on the intersection of content, pedagogy, and innovative technologies with targeted strategies for working through the content, process, and product of those activities often found in structured curriculums. The result is a holistic, transformative learning environment that focuses not just on the physicality of learning spaces and the tools found therein, but also the social-emotional well-being of students, teachers, and support staff that are using the curriculum as a springboard for engagement. Pedagogy first. Content and technology follow.

This concept holds true for industry professionals that also use specific training resources created through L&D as well.

If I Started as a Continuing Education Cohort Student and Want to Seek Graduate Credit, What Do I Need to Do?

The STEM Certificate Program offers flexibility in the pathway in which students complete the certificate. Unlike other universities, we offer partnerships with public school districts for non-credit, continuing education courses that can be converted to graduate credit if the student applies for our 36-credit, M.A. in Educational Technology Program, and pays the difference in tuition, which offers students a considerable savings. The school districts pay an amount towards each course, which then gets deducted from the current tuition rate of a 3-credit class. For example: If the district paid $300.00 per class for each student that amount would be deducted from the current fiscal year's graduate tuition rate of a 3-credit, in-state course. For 2022-2023, that is $2,402.10 a course. So in the example, students would pay only $2,101.20 per course to transfer the non-credit to graduate credit. See here for the NJCU Tuition & Fees Schedule.

The NJCU STEM Certificate is one of the most economical choices in online STEM Graduate Certificate Programs from accredited 4-year institutions in NJ.

Please note: All Continuing Education Cohort Students need to achieve an academic grade of B or higher in the course in order to be eligible to pursue graduate credit conversion. 

If I Started as a Continuing Education Student and Want to Enroll in a Master of Arts in Educational Technology Program, What Do I Need to Do?

Students that have achieved a grade of B or higher or P for passing would need to apply to NJCU Graduate Admissions, and become a student. Next, through attendance of a 3-day Summer Institute at NJCU during the summer, students that came to NJCU as a continuing education student in a partner school district cohort can engage in activities and projects embedded into each of the four required courses. This allows individuals the ability to enroll in their chosen program in Fall 2023 with part of the work already completed! Students would need to then successfully complete the rest of the 24-credits to earn the M.A. in Educational Technology.

If I Want to Transfer My Non-Credit Classes to Graduate Credit For Another University, How Do I Do This?

Students in cohorts that have taken the non-credit classes as part of an established partnership with a school district may choose to convert their non-credit classes to graduate credit at another higher education institution. Students must still apply to NJCU Graduate Admissions, become a student, then transfer if they want to use the credits at another institution. 

How Long Do I Have to Buy-Back Credit for Non-Credit Courses?

Students in cohorts that have taken the continuing education classes have a one-time opportunity to take advantage of the credit conversion for courses for a period of 5 years after the completion of the program.

 

Have Additional Questions? Please visit our Contact Us Page to Inquire.