Advisement
The Certificate adviser is not the same person as the student's degree program adviser.
The certificate advisement process is driven by the student. The process begins after the student has been admitted to the certificate program. That's when the certificate coordinator sends to the student the name and contact information of his/her certificate adviser. A certificate program objective is to match each student with an adviser from outside his/her discipline in order to expose students to a variety of perspectives. Certificate advisers have said that this benefits them in the same way!
Students are responsible for scheduling meetings with their certificate adviser to discuss and plan their certificate program. Requirements for completing the certificate are detailed for both students and advisers on the 'Curriculum' page of of this site. (Link also at left side of this page.)
In addition, each student is given a certificate checklist to guide them through all the procedures for completing all certificate requirements. The checklist is also available on the "Forms" page of this site.
Objectives of the Certificate adviser
The objectives of the Certificate adviser are to:
help students plan their certificate program;
advise students on their project; and
evaluate whether the student has fulfilled the requirements for the project.
Helping students plan their certificate program
The first certificate advisement meeting
During the first certificate advisement meeting, the student and certificate adviser will talk about the courses the student will take to complete the certificate. Students are encouraged in their admission letter to start thinking about this before they meet with their certificate adviser.
Some certificate students develop their entire curriculum plan on their own and some would like advice from their adviser. For students who need input, the certificate adviser can help them select elective courses relevant to their unique research and career interests. See more below under 'Electives'.
The curriculum-plan-and-tracking form
Students are encouraged to start filling out a curriculum-plan-and-tracking form to take to their initial certificate advisement meeting. (This form is accessible through the 'Forms' page of this site.
Choosing electives
Students are encouraged to think before the first certificate advisement meeting about what three elective courses they would like to take (using the list of electives, which is linked to the 'Curriculum' page of this site). Some students already will have taken some of their electives, while some students would like advice before choosing their elective courses.
Two policies concerning electives:
At least 50 percent of students' certificate credits must be taken while enrolled at UW‐Madison as a degree‐seeking graduate/professional student.
At least one of students' certificate electives must be from outside their major.
Proposing an elective
Students may propose a course for consideration as elective credit that is not listed among approved electives, including a course they have already completed or one that fulfills a requirement for their degree program. To do this, the student completes the form 'Proposal of an Alternative Elective Course' (available on the "Forms" page of this site) and submits it with the course syllabus to their certificate adviser for approval and signature. The criteria for determining whether a course can be considered as fulfilling a certificate elective are stated on the form. Students are instructed to send a copy of the signed form with the course syllabus to Deidre Vincevineus; vincevineus@wisc.edu; 750 Highland Ave., University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53705; 608 263-3274.
Advising and evaluating students' projects for the certificate
Students are responsible for driving the process of fulfilling the project requirement and are given detailed instructions under "Detailed steps and suggestions for completing your project" (accessible through the 'Project' link on the 'Curriculum' page of this site). Advisers should refer to these instructions to understand their role at each stage of the process.
Students' project experience will be enhanced by taking the course POP HLTH 709 - Translational and Outcomes Research in Health and Health Care" before or during their project experience.
Certificate advisers typically serve as the student's project adviser but students can choose a different faculty member to serve as their project adviser. Either way, certificate adviser responsibilities in the student's project include the following.
Meet with the student to discuss her/his project ideas.
Review, provide feedback and sign off on the student's project proposal. (Project proposal template available on the "Forms" page of this site.)
When the student is ready to work on her/his project, arrange for department/program online authorization to register the student (for independent study) for project credit (two credit hours).
Work with the student to develop their rubric for evaluating their project. (Rubric template available on the "Forms" page of this site.)
When the student has completed her/his project, review and sign off on the project review form. (The project review form is available on the "Forms" page of this site.)