About our Courses, Micro-Credentials and Post-Secondary Teaching and Learning Certificate

The certificate is made up of 30 course credits (174 course hours plus an additional 12-hour capstone course). The certificate fosters the development of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that promote effective teaching and learning for online, hybrid, hyflex, and in-person classrooms. In order to be registered in this certificate program, participants must meet certain criteria, which includes having a post-secondary teaching subject. Learn more at Continuing Education. 

Conestoga defines micro-credentials as “a certification confirming that the recipient has completed one or more courses that are focused on skill(s) or competency(ies) attainment. Micro-credentials are short, concentrated groups of courses that are flexible, innovative, timely, and based on industry needs. They are designed to be high-quality and meaningful credentials. Micro-credential programs are offered on campus, online, or in hybrid formats. Some micro-credentials may be stackable and can be combined to form a part of a larger credential.”

Each course provides a total of six hours of asynchronous or synchronous study on timely and high-impact post-secondary teaching topics. Courses take two weeks to complete. In that time period, the facilitators guide participant learning both asynchronously (flexible, anytime online) and synchronously (live online). An assessment must be submitted and passed by the course end date.

Yes, they can be taken in any order.

No. Please feel welcome to choose your courses on a course-by-course basis or based on the requirements of a particular micro-credential.

In a course listing on the Student Portal, the hours in the first or top row refer to the asynchronous (self-study, anytime) learning (see Figure 1). The Start Date and End Date refer to the total duration of the course, typically 2 weeks. The course will be available 3 days before the start date in eConestoga.

If there is a synchronous class meeting during the course, it will be listed in the next row with a specific date, time, and time duration (see Figure 1, blue dotted line). Information on accessing course meetings is in the course in eConestoga.

Unfortunately, no. Since our previous workshops were not assessed, they do not qualify for credit transfer. These micro credential courses are too short for a meaningful PLAR experience. A PLAR would require about as much time and effort for registrants to complete as a course itself.

These course are provided free of charge for those currently teaching at Conestoga, and those with active or on-going employment at Conestoga. For those with expired contracts or non-Conestoga employees, the cost is $150 per course.

The course offerings rotate by semester. A micro-credential, composed of 5 themed courses, can normally be completed in less than 1 year and a half. 

Participants will receive credits as recognition for completion of courses. No additional compensation will be provided. However, the four mandatory courses do receive payment.

Review the current list of micro-credentials available and included as part of ourPost-Secondary Teaching and Learning Certificate.

Submission and passing of a learning assessment based on the asynchronous and synchronous course content. The type of assessment will vary from course to course. The assessment is pass/fail. Feedback will be provided.   

Conestoga employees make formal requests for accommodations through HR. Non-Conestoga employees are eligible for support through Accessibility Services. Contact your course facilitator to ensure that the course will be accessible to you. 

Participation in synchronous meetings is encouraged but not required. A recording of the class will be made available to all participants. 

All courses in a micro-credential will be offered at least once every 18 months. 

The capacity for micro-credential courses is normally 25 participants. Most courses are repeated in the following months. If you’d like consideration, please e-mail Teaching and Learning and indicate the course, its date and time and we will respond promptly.

First check that you are logged into the Student Portal. If you are, then once the course(s) are added to your cart and you have confirmed your address, any fees should be removed (Figure 3). This will appear on the Checkout and Enroll page.

If you cannot complete the course, you are encouraged to drop the course before the academic withdrawal date, which for is 9 days from the course start. You may withdraw from the course in the Student Portal. Dropping the course before the academic withdrawal date will result in a Withdrawal (W) on your transcript. Failure to drop before the withdrawal date will result in a Fail (F) on your transcript. 

You may communicate with your facilitator to arrange a few extra days to complete the course if there are extenuating circumstances. A facilitator may also be able to assign an Incomplete, where warranted, and work with you to arrange a time to submit. After a fixed number of days, that Incomplete will roll over to a Fail if not completed. It is important to complete the course as per the timeframe arranged with your instructor in order to avoid receiving an F for the course. 

Yes. Each course credit achieved in a micro-credential can also be applied to the Post-Secondary Teaching Certificate. 

When registering for a credit course at the college, you automatically receive a student e-mail account. You can continue to use your employee e-mail for work/teaching purposes, and set your student email to auto forward to your employee email.

• Log in to the Student Portal.
• Choose the Grades tab.
• Scroll down to find Part-time Studies.
• Every course for which you’ve registered will be displayed; if a course is completed, the letter P will appear beside it.

A micro-credential may be earned by completing all of the courses associated with a particular theme. For example, if you complete all five courses in the Academic Integrity in Post-Secondary Teaching theme, you will earn the associated micro-credential.

No. Course listings follow the format currently used by Continuing Education, which automatically refers to our courses as electives and lists the courses in random groups. You can complete any 30 of our available micro-credential courses to earn the Post-Secondary Teaching Certificate. If you complete all five courses listed within a particular micro-credential theme, you will earn that micro-credential.

If you have registered for, and successfully passed all courses within a particular theme, you can claim the micro-credential. To do this:

• Log in to the Student Portal.
• Choose My Courses.
• Choose Micro-Credentials.
• Type in the name of the micro-credential you’ve completed. For example, input Academic Integrity in Post-Secondary Education in the search box.
• In View Progress, you will be able to claim your micro-credential.

Apply for the Post-secondary Teaching Certificate. 

Those who complete one or more Ontario Extend badges may apply them as credits to the Post-Secondary Teaching Certificate. One completed module/badge equals one credit, up to six credits. The eCampusOntario Empowered Educator badge reflects that you have completed all six modules. You do not receive an additional seventh credit for obtaining the micro-credential.

How do I apply my Ontario Extend credit(s) to the Post-Secondary Teaching Certificate?

1. Log into the eCampusOntario Passport portal.
2. Set the digital badge(s) you have completed to Public.
3. Choose Share Link.
4. Send the copied hyperlink via email to Teaching and Learning.

Note that if you have obtained the Empowered Educator micro-credential, you may submit the digital credential hyperlink for a total of six (6) credits.