About Certificate Policies
Certificates provide accessible, timely, relevant, and rigorous learning experiences and skill development that connect current and prospective students to their interests and careers. They enhance Evergreen’s reputation as a valued and contributing community partner in Southwest Washington by offering essential workforce and professional development opportunities.
Definitions
- Certificate Faculty: The faculty member(s) responsible for developing and/or teaching the certificate curriculum.
- Matriculated Student: a student who applied and was accepted to The Evergreen State College as a degree-seeking student and is actively seeking that degree, as determined by the College. Matriculated students may choose to enroll in a certificate program.
- Non-Matriculated Student: a student who registers for and takes classes for academic credit at The Evergreen State College but has not been admitted into a degree program or is no longer actively seeking a degree, as determined by the College. Non-Matriculated students may choose to enroll in a certificate program.
- Certificate Enrollment/Enrolled certificate student: Students who completed the Certificate Enrollment form and paid the Certificate Enrollment Fee, indicating to the College their intention to study in a specific certificate program. Students enrolled in a certificate program may be matriculated or non-matriculated. In any given term, they may be registered or not registered.
- Registered: A student is registered when they sign up for a class. Registered students may or may not be matriculated and may or may not be enrolled in a certificate program.
Academic Certificate Policies
Academic Certificates are comprised of academic courses and/or coordinated studies programs that are offered as part of the regular curriculum. As such, all institutional academic, tuition, student conduct, transfer and award of credit policies apply. Registration in courses or programs that are part of an Academic Certificate are open to all matriculated and non-matriculated students, not only those enrolled in the Certificate.
Academic Certificate Enrollment and Registration
Students who wish to earn a certificate must enroll in the certificate and meet any prerequisite requirements set by the certificate faculty. The prerequisites for enrollment vary by certificate.
Students may register for academic offerings that are a component of a certificate without enrolling in the certificate. After registering for the first offering, students enrolled in a certificate with a set sequence of offerings have priority registration for associated academic offerings over students not enrolled in the certificate. Students must be enrolled in the certificate and registered in the first course of the certificate sequence or a core course to have priority registration for subsequent certificate offerings.
Students enrolled in a certificate program are expected to complete the requirements of the certificate as designed in sequence in a single academic year. Students may opt to delay completing all requirements for a certificate program for one year, provided the certificate program continues to be offered. Students delaying more than a year without completing the certificate will no longer be enrolled in the certificate. Students wishing to pursue the certificate again must re-enroll and pay an additional certificate enrollment fee.
Students must be enrolled in the certificate program to earn a certificate credential. Students are encouraged to enroll in the certificate prior to their first certificate class. However, students are allowed to enroll any time up until the 2nd Friday of the quarter of their final certificate course. In exceptional circumstances a student may appeal to the dean for late certificate registration.
Academic Certificate Tuition and Fees
Students enrolling in a certificate program are required to pay an enrollment fee. The enrollment fee is reduced by 50% for students currently seeking an Evergreen degree. The fee covers enrollment and delivery of the certificate credential upon completion. It does not cover tuition and other fees associated with registration in the academic offerings required for the certificate.
Academic certificate offerings will normally be provided as state-supported, with tuition charged according to the regular tuition table. However, academic certificate offerings may also be provided as components of a self-sustaining unit such as Summer School, for which the tuition may vary.
Visit the Professional and Continuing Education Cost and Aid page for current rates.
Academic Certificate Credit
Students must earn full credit in each required component of the certificate to earn the certificate. Credit earned in an academic certificate is degree applicable.
Academic Certificate Student Records
Degree applicable credits for components of an academic certificate will be recorded in the regular student academic record and transcript along with other degree credit and will include a narrative evaluation and credit equivalencies. Once all the requirements for a certificate have been met, including earning full credit in all the certificate offerings, the certificate will be awarded. Completion of a certificate will be noted in the certificate student record and transcript.
Waiving of Academic Certificate Requirements
Some certificates may allow equivalent course credits or experience earned elsewhere to be counted toward certificate requirements, waiving the need to earn those credits at Evergreen. Approval for waiving requirements comes from the Academic Dean of Professional and Continuing Education upon recommendation from the Certificate Program faculty. Approved waivers only apply to the Certificate Program that initiated the recommendation and do not apply to degrees.
No more than fifty (50) percent of the credit requirements for a certificate may be waived.
Professional Certificate Policies
Professional Certificates are comprised of courses that are not part of the regular curriculum. These programs may be offered in partnership through outside agencies and may have different and/or additional application, enrollment, participation, and registration requirements.
Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
Continuing Education Units are units awarded by The Evergreen State College to students who successfully complete course work in their program. These units are not applicable towards a degree and are awarded as “Pass/Fail.”
For each CEU, students are required to participate in 10 hours of instruction either synchronously or asynchronously. Students must also satisfactorily meet minimum standards for completing additional out-of-class assignments such as reading and project work as outlined in course syllabi.
Costs and Fees
Cost for each certificate is dependent on the number of credits and any relevant organizational partnerships. Review the page for the certificate you are interested in and visit the Professional and Continuing Education Cost and Aid page for current rates.
Professional Certificate
Students who successfully complete all requirements for their program will receive a Professional Certificate from The Evergreen State College. A Professional Certificate is a sequence of professional and continuing education and/or workforce development learning experiences that are distinct from the regular curriculum.
Reading Endorsement Policies
Eligibility, Fees, Cancellation, Refunds, Hours, Testing
Eligibility Requirements
This is an add-on endorsement program for current K-12 educators. To be eligible for this program students must have a valid Washington State teaching certificate and be employed as a teacher in a Washington State school district during the 2023-24 academic year. Students must also have the consent of their building principal or district administration to complete the video practicum in their classroom. Students must submit the Field Experience Site Agreement Form as evidence of their building/district support during the application process.
Students who are currently enrolled in degree program or academic certificate program at Evergreen cannot concurrently enroll in the Reading Endorsement program.
Registration Dates
Students will be registered for courses after receiving confirmation of acceptance to the Reading Endorsement program. Directions for paying course fees will be provided via email with the acceptance letter.
After the first quarter, students will be automatically enrolled in the following quarter unless:
- The student provides written notice of withdrawal.
- The student does not successfully pass the course
- The student has not paid the registration fees
Each term after a student is registered for courses, fees will be charged to the student’s Evergreen account.
Fee Schedule and Quarter Dates
Fees due the Friday before each quarter starts:
- Summer: June 21
- Fall: September 27
- Winter: January 3
- Spring: March 28
Cancellation
Evergreen will decide if the Reading Endorsement program will be canceled due to insufficient enrollment by Tuesday, June 11, 2024 (2 weeks before start of classes). If the program is to be canceled, all approved applicants will be notified by June 14, 2024 and issued refunds for any fees paid.
Student Withdrawals and Refunds
To receive a 100% refund the student must withdraw by providing written notification to Evergreen no later than 2 weeks before the start of the quarter. Students will receive a refund of 50% of class fees if they cancel before Friday of the first week of class. After class begins a student may withdraw from the program, but no refunds will be given.
Students who withdraw may reapply to the Reading Endorsement program in a subsequent year. Any CEUs previously earned will be evaluated for applicability to program requirements at the time of reapplication.
Clock Hours
According to WAC 181-85-030, CEUs earned at accredited institution of higher education can be accepted towards a teacher’s continuing education (clock hour) requirement. Students should contact The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) Certification Office at cert@k12.wa.us or (360) 725-6400 if they have questions.
Students will be able to request a transcript from The Evergreen College which will document all CEUs earned at the college.
Professional Certificate
Students who successfully complete all requirements for this program will receive a Professional Certificate from The Evergreen State College. A Professional Certificate is a sequence of professional and continuing education and/or workforce development learning experiences that are distinct from the regular curriculum.
A professional certificate from Evergreen is not the same as a Washington State Teaching Certificate and is not recognized by The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).
Typically, learners will receive their certificate 3-6 weeks after posting of the final quarter of the certificate. Learners will receive an email from Parchment, the college’s contracted transcript vendor, letting them know how to access a digital copy of their certificate and how to track their physical copy in the mail.
Reading Endorsement and Required Testing
Students will be eligible to be recommended to The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) for the Washington State Reading Endorsement after completion of the required courses and receiving a passing score on the National Evaluation Series (NES) Essential Components of Elementary Reading Instruction Exam.
Students register for the NES exam online through Pearson. Please select Evergreen to receive your scores electronically. A passing score on this exam is 220. Upon receiving notification of a passing score, Evergreen will recommend successful candidates to OSPI for the endorsement. To learn more about adding endorsements to a teaching certificate, visit OSPI’s website.