Providing practical tools to meet today’s challenges in sustainable, community-driven development. Experienced practitioners gain fresh perspective. Newcomers and volunteers receive the training they need to be successful.
“For 26 years, I had worked with an international NGO assigned in several countries but I must admit that despite these years of doing development work, it is only now that I have a deeper understanding of what community-based development should be..” — Course Participant
Students can enroll in just one course or complete all four courses to receive a Colorado State University Certificate in Sustainable Community Development. We are now offering specialized tracks for those who would like their certificate program to focus in on a particular subject area within the field of sustainable community development.
To earn the certificate, you must complete the required courses of your chosen track and any elective courses of your choosing. Each course runs five weeks and requires a minimum of 20 hours of student participation. You may take courses in any order. Each course costs $390.
These are the courses currently offered:
NOTE: Admission to Colorado State University is not required. |
Village Earth provides innovative online training courses through Colorado State University’s Department of Continuing Education Online Plus program to provide students with practical tools to meet today’s challenges in sustainability and community development. Admission to Colorado State University is NOT required, making this unique program easily available to all who would like to participate.
Curriculum
To earn a certificate in sustainable community development, you must complete the required courses of your chosen track and any elective courses of your choosing. Each course runs five weeks and requires a minimum of 20 hours of student participation. You may take courses in any order. Each course costs $390.
This online certificate program uses a multi-sector, participatory approach that focuses on empowerment of people as both the ends and means of a sustainable development process. Rather than teaching prescriptive solutions to community problems, we provide you with the tools to use the community’s input and vision to create options and solutions that truly meet community needs.
The courses use the flexibility of online delivery to help you learn through case studies, exercises, and group discussions, providing a complete learning environment. You will learn from, and share experiences with, practitioners working in the field all over the world. These courses give experienced practitioners a fresh perspective and provide novices and volunteers the training they need to be successful working in the field of development.
Specialized Tracks – Choose Your Area of Focus or Create Your Own Track
Certificate in Sustainable Community Development with a Specialization in:
- Economic Development
- Natural Resources Management
- Political Empowerment
- Disaster Relief
- Food Security / Agriculture
- Participatory Facilitation
- Community Planning and Development
- Create Your Own Track
Economic development
Required
Choose 3 courses
- GSLL 1504 – Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation
- GSLL 1507 – Tourism and Development
- GSLL 1512 – Micro-Finance Projects: Sustainable Community Development and the Role of Women
- GSLL 1524 – Social Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development
Natural resources management
Required
Choose 3 courses
- GSLL 1504 – Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation
- GSLL 1514 – Climate Change and Community Development: The Impact of Carbon Offsetting Schemes
- GSLL 1520 – Community-Based Forest Management
- GSLL 1522 – Participatory Water Resource Management
Political empowerment
Required
Choose 3 courses
- GSLL 1503 – Community Mobilization
- GSLL 1504 – Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation
- GSLL 1509 – Development and the Politics of Empowerment
- GSLL 1517 – Community-Based Organizing
- GSLL 1521 – Community-Driven Dispute Resolution
Disaster relief
Required
- GSLL 1501 – Approaches to Community Development
- GSLL 1511 – Grassroots Participatory Disaster Management
- GSLL 1513 – Community-Based Disaster Mitigation
Choose one elective (see list below).
Food security/agriculture
Required
Choose 3 courses
- GSLL 1504 – Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation
- GSLL 1505 – Community-Based Health
- GSLL 1508 – Challenge in Smallholder Agriculture
- GSLL 1518 – Community-Based Food Systems
Participatory facilitation
Required
- GSLL 1501 – Approaches to Community Development
- GSLL 1504 – Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation
- GSLL 1515 – Participatory Research and Development
Choose one elective (see list below).
Community planning and development
Required
Choose 3 courses
- GSLL 1502 – Technology and Community-Based Development
- GSLL 1504 – Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation
- GSLL 1507 – Tourism and Development
- GSLL 1510 – Community-Based Mapping
- GSLL 1517 – Community-Based Organizing
Create your own track
Required
Choose any 3 other courses to complete your own certificate in Sustainable Community Development.
Elective courses
- GSLL 1503 – Community Mobilization
- GSLL 1504 – Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation
- GSLL 1505 – Community-Based Health
- GSLL 1510 – Community-Based Mapping
- GSLL 1516 – Gender Equity in Development
- GSLL 1521 – Community-Driven Dispute Resolution
Benefits & Outcomes
This online certificate program is designed for people who plan to work or volunteer in community development, or who already work in this field and want to advance their careers. You will be prepared with practical tools to meet today’s challenges as project directors, community leaders, grassroots activists, funders, and field workers in community-based organizations and governmental and nongovernmental organizations. With a wide variety of electives, you are able to tailor the program to meet your needs and interests.
Course Capacity
Our classes are capped at a maximum capacity per course to be able to deliver the most personal training experience possible. Therefore, we encourage you to register early to ensure your enrollment in your desired course and session.
General Course Information
Course Format
All Village Earth online courses are organized in a seminar format with weekly readings, presentations and assignments along with discussion among participants. While participants are not required to access the courses at specific times it will be necessary to access the course at least two or more times each week to download assignments, post reactions, and give feedback to other course participants.
Materials
All content and readings required for Village Earth courses will be downloadable from within the online course or linked to from the course. Participants will not be required to purchase any additional materials.
Grading
All Village Earth online courses are non-credit but are graded on a Pass/Fail basis. The criteria for passing or failing will be determined by each instructor and should be clearly explained in the course syllabus or course description. Following the completion of each course, students will be mailed a letter indicating their grade which should be retained for your records.
To be awarded the Certificate in Sustainable Community Development students must pass the required course, Approaches to Community-Based Development along with three (3) other elective courses in the program.
Academic Credit
CEUs or Professional Development Units (PDUs) are awarded for participation. Each CEU represents 10 hours of instruction; a PDU represents one hour of instruction. These units are respected in many industries as proof of commitment to continuous learning and accepted for recertification requirements as a measure of in-service activities in professional fields.
CEUs and PDUs do not, however, count toward a degree nor are they recorded on an official transcript.
Technical Requirements
Village Earth online trainings are based on the RamCT Blackboard system. The minimum requirements to use this system include the following:
- Operating system – Windows 7, Vista, or XP; or MacOSX 10.5 or higher (Leopard or Snow Leopard)
- High-speed internet connection – cable, DSL, or wireless
- Compatible web browser
- Internet Explorer 8.0 or higher
- Firefox 3.6 or higher
- Safari 3.2 or higher
- Google Chrome
- Java 6
Blackboard Mobile Learn can be used on a variety of mobile devices, including BlackBerry®, Android™, and iOS devices such as iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch.
Additionally, many Village Earth courses share documents using the freely available Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you don’t have a reader installed you can download one for free at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
Contact
For more information about this program please contact Kristina Pearson at kristina@villageearth.org or +1-970-237-3002 ext. 503.
