Online Teaching Certificates
These online teaching certificates were developed through research in teacher training and professional competency development and are open to all Penn State instructors, graduate students, and staff.
Foundations for Online Teaching Certificate
This is a four-course online certificate that helps you develop essential competence in online teaching. As you gain experience, a variety of courses, credentials, and opportunities become available to support your professional development. Earning this certificate will also earn you recognition through the Provost Endorsement Program.
Certificate courses:
- OL 1200: Student Support and Advocacy in Online Learning
- OL 2000: Essentials of Online Teaching
- OL 2050: Essentials of Online Teaching for Graduate Students
- OL 2150: Canvas Hands On
- OL 3000: Supporting Accommodations for Online Learners
Accessible Online Course Authoring Certificate
Designing an online course that is fully accessible for all students may sound like a daunting process, but with the right knowledge and tools, it’s a challenge that can easily be overcome. This certificate includes three courses that will guide you through the course accessibility process, beginning with OL 2610, which provides an overview of accessibility laws and policies, disability types, and assistive technology. The second course, OL 2625, will teach you about essential accessibility best practices and how to implement them in a digital learning environment. Finally, OL 2650 dives deeper into how to find, create, and enhance multimedia elements like images and videos to ensure they are accessible for all students. While not a part of this certificate, a fourth course is available, OL 2675, that will teach you how to create accessible math equations. Completing this certificate will equip you with the skills and knowledge needed to design and teach courses with accessibility in mind, ensuring all students have equal access.
Certificate courses:
- OL 2610: Accessible Online Course Authoring: Introduction
- OL 2625: Accessible Online Course Authoring: Essentials
- OL 2650: Accessible Online Course Authoring: Multimedia
Online Course Design Certificate
Designing an effective online course requires more than subject expertise — it calls for a thoughtful approach to learning design, accessibility, and the online student experience. The Online Course Design Certificate helps Penn State faculty build these skills through a practical, application-focused sequence of courses. Through a mix of theory and hands-on practice, you’ll apply design principles directly to your own course context while receiving guidance on creating flexible, engaging, and accessible learning experiences in Canvas.
By completing this certificate, you will be able to apply Penn State Quality Assurance eLearning Design standards; align learning objectives, assessments, activities, and content using a coherent strategy; build accessible Canvas courses that support diverse learners; and integrate effective online pedagogy to enhance student engagement and success. This certificate is ideal for faculty developing new online courses, redesigning existing ones, or preparing to collaborate with an instructional designer.
Certificate courses:
- OL 2150: Canvas Hands On
- OL 2610: Accessible Online Course Authoring: Introduction
- OL 2625: Accessible Online Course Authoring: Essentials
- OL 3400: Online Course Design
- OL 3600: Universal Design for Learning
Foundations of Academic Advising Certificate
This is a four-course online certificate that helps you develop foundational competency when providing academic advising for Penn State students. Understanding individual needs while building positive relationships provides support for a diverse student population. Navigating and using Penn State technological tools to use pro-active advising concepts is one of the main objectives when building an understanding of academic advising. Participants in these courses will develop skills to support student persistence, retention, and graduation from the time of matriculation to graduation.
Certificate courses:
- OL 3800: Excellence in Academic Advising: Building a Foundation
- OL 3825: Excellence in Academic Advising: Under-Resourced Students, Part I
- OL 3850: Excellence in Academic Advising: Under-Resources Students, Part II
- OL 3875: Excellence in Academic Advising: Career Advising