Academic Services

Frequently Asked Questions

Application Process

• Can I apply for the Certificate after graduation? No. The CCUT is awarded concurrently with the MFA/Ph.D. degrees. Once students have graduated, they are no longer eligible for the CCUT.
• Can I receive the CCUT without getting a UCSB graduate degree? No. The degree is conferred in conjunction with a Ph.D. or MFA degree. In unusual circumstances, the Faculty Advisory Board would consider conferring the certificate on a candidate for a terminal Masters degree who had completed all certificate requirements.

Requirements

• I did not attend the TA Orientation as a new TA; is there any other way I can satisfy this requirement? Yes. You are welcome to attend the new TA Orientation at the beginning of any academic year. It is usually offered on the Tuesday of Registration Week, and consists of a general session and three workshop sessions. There are five or more workshop choices for each session, some of which are appropriate for students with previous teaching experience. If you cannot attend any of the annual orientations, contact Shirley Ronkowski, Coordinator of the TA Development Program.
• What courses have been approved to meet CCUT Requirement 2, Bullet 1 (courses in pedagogy or student learning)? Click here for a list of approved courses.
• What if the professor of the course in Requirement 2 is out of town and I cannot get his/her signature for the portfolio cover sheet? In lieu of the instructor's signature, a copy of your transcript or a signature from the Registrar's Office may be obtained to fulfill Requirement 2.
• Could a supervised Teaching Assistant experience fulfill Requirement 4? No. To fulfill Requirement 4, you must be appointed instructor of record. A supervised teaching assistantship does not qualify you as an instructor of record.
• How do I get a position as an independent instructor of record? Start with possibilities on campus. Some departments hire students as Teaching Associates (UCSB Title Code 1506) during the regular session, and many hire Teaching Associates during the summer session. This position entails "independent instruction." The local community also offers other opportunities for independent instruction: Santa Barbara City College, Westmont College, UCSB Extension at Ventura, CSU Channel Islands, and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo all hire UCSB graduate students to teach courses on occasion. If certificate awardees attain positions at other institutions not included in this listing, we will add them to the list.
• Can I use previous college teaching or high school teaching to satisfy Requirement 4? The CCUT is awarded only to students who have successfully taught one or more college courses as Instructor of Record, while under the mentorship of a UC faculty member. If the applicant has had extensive college teaching experience elsewhere, and can make a case that the intent of Requirement 4 has been fulfilled, the applicant should submit a letter for exception to the CCUT Faculty Committee for approval before submitting a CCUT portfolio. Letters for exception should be sent to Diane Mackie, Psychology Department, or Shirley Ronkowski, Office of Instructional Development.
• Can I make substitutions for some of the requirements? For more information on the exception process, please read our Exception Information.

Porfolios

• Is the CCUT portfolio the same as a teaching portfolio? The CCUT portfolio is one type of teaching portfolio. As long as the CCUT portfolio does include the required information (see CCUT Requirement #5), we encourage you to make the portfolio as tailored to your discipline and as "application-ready" as possible. For more information and examples of teaching portfolios, see the UCSB Instructional Development teaching portfolio website.
• Can I submit an electronic portfolio? Hypertext portfolios can be submitted as PDF or html documents if they provide links to documentation (e.g., summaries or scanned ESCI results, web-based instructional projects, etc.). Portfolios that are text-only documents should be submitted in hard-copy form.
• Where can I get advice on my portfolio?
  • The UCSB Instructional Development teaching portfolio website provides links to portfolio sites at other campuses.
  • A copy of the book The Teaching Portfolio: A Practical Guide to Improved Performance and Promotion/Tenure Decisions (call number: LB2333 .S46 1991/1997) by Peter Seldin is on reserve at the Reserve Book Room outside the Davidson Library.
  • A CCUT portfolio workshop is offered quarterly. See Important Dates for details.
  • Once you have completed a draft of your CCUT portfolio, you may make an appointment with Diane Mackie or Shirley Ronkowski to discuss whether your portfolio meets the CCUT requirements.
• If I include a videotape in my portfolio, do I need to submit three copies of it as well? No. Just one copy is fine.

Conferral of Certificate

• What happens once I have petitioned to add the certificate and submitted my portfolio? At its next meeting, the CCUT Faculty Advisory Board will meet to discuss whether your portfolio satisfies the CCUT Requirements. If your portfolio is approved, you will be notified, and the CCUT Director (Diane Mackie) will instruct Graduate Division to award the certificate.
• Will I receive an actual certificate? Yes. Every student whose portfolio is approved will receive a Certificate of Completion that is similar to a diploma. The Certificate of Completion may be picked up at the Office of the Registrar approximately six months after the quarter it is officially completed. Alternatively, students may request that their certificate be mailed through the Registrar's Office (the cost is $2 for domestic postage, or $7 for certified and overseas delivery).