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Workplace Experience Certificate

Program Description
"Build up your resume credentials with a Technical Writing Certificate
without having to enroll in a formal course of study."

Make your life and work experience skills count! This service is designed for professionals who have well-documented workplace experience and are considering earning an Accredited University Certificate in Technical Writing. Those in the technical writing fields or related areas can use this service to have their work formally evaluated and gain valuable academic recognition for their work.

Why?

It is common for individuals with many years of life and workplace experience to undervalue their accomplishments. They tend to think that a formal education is the only way they might achieve success both personally and in the workplace. Our service will help you rethink your Prior Life and Workplace Experiences and Accomplishments. You will soon discover that you have a rich history of learning and experience that can help differentiate you from others, build your self-esteem, and give you a vital competitive edge in the workplace and in seeking new career-paths.

Do you have the necessary experience already in place? Are you seeking to advance your career goals and objectives? Then use the Workplace Experience Certificate Service to propel your career forward.  

What does this service include?
  • A comprehensive review of submitted portfolio work products.
  • Issuance of a Technical Writing Certificate from an accredited university upon successful review of your completed application.
  • All certificate processing fees.
  • 1 additional free re-evaluation (if needed) of the workplace experience certificate application including supporting documents.
  • A free copy of "How to Enhance Your Marketability Based on Prior Life and Workplace Experience" by Dr. John Reid.
About Us:

JER Online (JER Group, Inc.) is a leading provider of online training and certification in Continuing Workforce Education. Now in our 17th year of business, JER Online has established itself as a highly respected and credible resource for individuals and corporations nationwide. We also hold over 100 contractual partnerships with accredited colleges and universities.

JER Online was founded by Dr. John Reid, whose extensive experience in Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) has been used to develop this program. This, along with JER Online's flagship technical writing certificate courses serve to give us the necessary grounding to conduct assessments and ensure our quality standards to the workplace.  

JER Online is also a long standing and recognized member of the Society for Technical Communication. Our tech-writing faculty members, professors, and practitioners serve as reviewers and evaluators.

How it Works:
Workplace experience certification is a departure from typical PLA assessment programs which normally focus on earning standard college credit for what you know. Here, experiential learning specifically targets your relevant workplace skill-sets and provides university level acknowledgement of your abilities.

Our certification program service encompasses the full spectrum of the technical writing & content development professions, which also include adjacent fields of expertise.

Upon a successful review and award recommendation, a Certificate in Technical Writing will be processed and issued in your name. If there is a specialty area we may also add this to your certificate after careful review of your portfolio submissions. The applicant will be given the opportunity to specify a single specialty area they wish to have added to the Certificate Credential. NOTE: Portfolio work products weigh heavily and must support the request by demonstrating proficiency in one specific area of expertise rather than that of multiple areas of general knowledge.

Some specialized areas could include but are not limited to the following:
  • Writing Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
  • Authoring Data Reports
  • Creating User Guides
  • Developing Proposals
  • Research Document Authoring
  • Technical Analysis
  • Tool Use including Graphics Applications and Popular Tech-Writing and Authoring/Development Programs
  • Web Authoring, etc.
For software proficiencies, applicants are given the opportunity to identify specialty areas in which they are qualified to have added to their certificate. Portfolio work products weigh heavily in these circumstances and therefore certification is individually recognized on separate credentials as opposed to multiple areas of expertise on one document.

Examples of how a Certificate In Technical Writing might read when a specialty area has been identified:
  • Someone with expertise in writing Standard Operating Procedures would earn a Certificate in Technical Writing with Emphasis Skills in SOP Authoring.
  • Skilled practitioners in Framemaker can earn a Certificate in Technical Writing with Emphasis Skills in Framemaker Tool Use.
  • An expert in web content can earn a Certificate in Technical Writing with Emphasis Skills in Web Architecture.
These certifications carry weight. Hundreds of major corporations across the United States are well aware of the standards established for certification from JER Online. They are stringent, and include both electronic and hard copy portfolio examination. Materials submitted must meet or exceed our levels of expectation following prescribed criteria. This is described in detail and is provided to you at the time of completing and submitting your application.

Getting Started

We recommend you contact us to discuss firsthand your specialty areas of expertise. We can then offer critical personalized counseling and strategically guide you in promoting your skill-sets effectively. Our staff is available from 9:00-5:00, M-F, EST at 706-216-3406.

There are two distinct methods we use to carry out comprehensive skills assessment; Electronic Submission Materials, and Hard Copy Work Samples. The following offers a brief description:

Electronic Submission  
  1. Completed online application.
  2. Narrative document describing work history with specific attention to current work projects and reason and rationale for requesting a formal review.
Hard Copy Documentation and Work Product Samples
  1. An up-to-date resume listing skills.
  2. List of current or past work references.
  3. The submission of five work product documents.
For Certificates in Technical Writing in a designated specialty, ALL of your submitted portfolio materials must demonstrate expertise in that one area alone.

Review and Evaluation

The full application upon final review will be given a P=Pass or R=Revise. These are non-academic grades and do not count for transfer to a credit based program. Those applicants who receive a "P" will receive their awarded certificate document from one of our accredited university partners.

Applicants whose work is reviewed and subsequently receive an "R" will be sent a checklist of criteria items that indicate deficiencies. The applicant may resubmit their revised work one additional time at no additional cost as long as it is done within 60 days of the original date of payment. After a second submission there are fees for additional reviews, as noted below..  

Generally however, most applications are processed and recommended for certificate issuance. Do note there is no guarantee that by submitting an application along with supporting documents you will automatically receive the Certificate Credential the first time.

The good news is this!
Applicants are able to resubmit a second time at no additional cost as long as this occurs within 60 days of the original date of your official application payment. We genuinely want to see you succeed in the workforce marketplace.

In revision instances, your evaluator(s) will provide you with a checklist of corrective action to be taken. They may also suggest optional "gap" training in some aspect of technical writing. If so, you will also be provided with a detailed document outlining more specific criteria regarding the evaluation process and the enhanced development of your portfolio.

If upon this second revision it is found that your work still needs additional fine tuning, all subsequent materials will have to be submitted under the Extension Fee Schedule, located under the Submission Guidelines section of this document. Do note that this can happen, but in our experience it has been quite rare.   
Application Process Prior to review the applicant will:
  1. Fill out all sections of the online application.
  2. Submit the application online.
  3. Follow instructions on how to prepare a hardcopy portfolio and other work products for submission.
Materials that the applicant submits for evaluation include:
  1. Up-do-date resume.
  2. Narrative document that supports the application.
  3. A documented history of prior and current work in the field.
  4. Various documented work products in area(s) of expertise.
  5. List of current or past work references.
Approval process:
  1. Submitted application materials reviewed for completeness.
  2. Reviewer gives recommendation that application and supporting materials including portfolio meet or exceed criteria based expectations.
Resubmission process:
  
Reviewer notes deficiencies in application and or supporting materials including portfolio.
  1. Applicant resubmits updated review materials.
  2. Approval process repeated.
Certificate Processing
  
Upon successful review and recommendation that a Certificate in Technical Writing be awarded to the applicant the following will take place.
  1. JER Online (JER Group, Inc.) will submit to the university a "P=Pass" that will allow for the processing of a paper-based certificate.
  2. The university will generate the certificate which will include the applicants name along with the university name, watermark or other similar printed impression.
  3. The university will mail the applicant a Certificate in Technical Writing.
Miscellaneous Information
  
A. Program Completion

Applicants are encouraged to have other prior or current workplace experience evaluated for issuance of additional Certificates in Technical Writing in areas of specialty.

B. Release of Materials

As part of the application process, all submitted materials that originate and are generated as a result of engaging in paid or non-paid work for a company as an employee or consultant must not violate copyright and confidentiality policies of that company. All evaluation materials submitted to JER Online (JER Group, Inc.) are not returnable.