College of Professional and Continuing Studies Teams Up with Coursera Career Academy to Offer Certificate Programs

A who's who of top industry experts lead more than 20 professional programs covering today's most in-demand skills.

A partnership between online Coursera Career Academy initiated by College of Professional and Continuing Studies (CPCS) Dean Andy Atzert, EdD, is offering free, innovative, noncredit certificates to students, faculty, alumni and staff who are bridging the gap between academic studies and in-demand industry skills.

Coursera courses, created and led by industry professionals from companies such as Google, IBM, Meta, Microsoft and Salesforce Inc., verse students in skills needed to compete in today's competitive workforce.

CPCS launched the Coursera pilot program in Spring 2024, according to Dr. Atzert. The program enrolled 498 learners: 338 students, 107 faculty and staff, and 53 alumni. "Students benefit from skills-based, industry-produced content that complements their degree programs and prepares them for employment," he said. "Faculty benefit from having cutting-edge content that can be incorporated into their courses, and staff benefit from the opportunity to learn new skills relevant to their jobs."

"A Terrific Complement to an Adelphi Education"

Thomas J. Ward, Jr. '93, assistant vice president for career development and strategic partnerships, and colleagues worked together with Dr. Atzert to bring Adelphi's partnership with Coursera Career Academy to fruition.

"As career counselors, we see it as a valuable tool in terms of high-tech, hi-touch," Ward said. "It offers great courses from great industry experts and employers-and it's a great way for our students to really learn. It's part of the Adelphi experience and a terrific complement to an Adelphi education, and it's very user-friendly."

Coursera courses are broken into easily digestible, industry-produced, bite-sized videos and interactive text that are downloadable to mobile devices and computers, for learning anytime and anywhere. Upon certificate completion, students receive digital badges to include on their LinkedIn profiles and résumés. Coursera is also an easy way for students to connect with future employers and expand their professional networks.

Popular courses, according to Ward, include project management, cybersecurity and data analysis, all of which teach skills valued by a range of diverse industries-from Fortune 500 technology companies to law enforcement and banking.

Supplementing and Enhancing Coursework

Thiminhhoa "Jenny" Tran is nearing completion of her Master of Science degree in business analytics. She also earned the IBM Data Analyst Professional Certificate and completed the SQL: A Practical Introduction for Querying Databases course and is currently taking the Tableau Business Intelligence Analyst Professional Certificate.

"I wanted to further enhance my skills outside of my coursework, gaining more practical experience to better prepare myself for a career in data analytics," she explained. "I appreciate the flexibility of the program and the opportunity to learn from industry experts. The practical, hands-on assignments allow me to directly apply what I'm learning at my own pace."

Tran has gained relevant, essential in-demand skills, she noted, from "courses that complement my business analytics studies by providing deeper insights into tools like data visualization, SQL and machine learning, which I'm applying in my academic projects and portfolio."

The Best of All Worlds

"The goal of CPCS programs is to produce students who are broadly educated and specifically skilled," explained Dr. Atzert. "Thus, any of the Coursera programs can complement CPCS degree programs because the certificates are designed around specific skills required in today's workplace-regardless of a student's major."