Certificate in the Foundations of Public Health program

The Certificate in the Foundations of Public Health (CFPH) program is a 16-credit graduate program taught fully online by faculty at the University of Michigan School of Public Health (UM SPH).  The program is designed primarily for students choosing to later pursue a Masters in Public Health degree and for those public health professionals who have never received formal training in the foundational science and skills of the public health profession.  The program was launched in Fall 2008 and has currently awarded 15 Certificates.  In addition, seven program students are currently enrolled either at UM SPH or elsewhere in Masters in Public Health programs.  Less than 15 % of program students have withdrawn from the program to date. 

The program uses the UM-brand of Sakai, C-Tools, as the course management system for the five graduate courses which are offered. The courses are:

• Principles of Environmental Health Sciences
• Psychosocial Factors in Health-Related Behavior
• Introducation to Biostatistics
• Strategies and Uses of Epidemiology
• Survey of the U.S. Health Care System

In addition, a web meeting software, Centra, is used for virtual weekly class sessions with the faculty and to teach the statistical software laboratory sessions.

The unique bedrock of this program is the partnership between the program's administrative and technical staff and the faculty.  The combined staff function as both the instructional design and implementation group.  Staff advise faculty on syllabus development, as well as orient them to distance learning principles.  Staff also provides feedback to faculty throughout course design and implementation.

Courses in the program are dimensional.  They include a combination of faculty video introductions, recorded classroom or studio lectures [in both cases annotated, narrated PowerPoint presentations], live web meetings, current/relevant readings, graded assignments, exams, papers and required student presentations, and written C-Tools threaded discussion [Forum].  The syllabus is "over-developed" for each course.  If a student reads the syllabus, they are able to understand exactly everything that is required of them for the semester, and the schedule by which these requirements must be met.  The syllabi typically run 20 pages with schedules, detailed objectives, and specific logistical information. Staff goals here are to minimize the cognitive effort required of the students to understand the expectations of the course.  To be additionally directive and helpful, the C-Tools sites are tailored with weekly "To Do" lists that break down the syllabus for the students. The "To Do" list provides links to the required lectures, readings, assignments, virtual meetings, etc. The student is generally able to view the "To Do" list for only the current and following week.