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Certificate Basics

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    Required Courses

    Completion of the Advanced Diversity, Equity and Inclusion certificate plus addition course work
     

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    Time to Complete

    18 months
    Time participants have to complete the entire certificate program

Certificate Details

Overview

This certification provides experienced professionals with an opportunity to promote individual growth and organizational success through deeper knowledge, honed skills and additional DEI strategies.

Requirements for CCDP Certification

Additional Information

Review Session and Exam

  • The 3-hour mandatory review session is conducted by Zoom.
  • The 2.5-hour exam will consist of both multiple choice and essay questions. The exam is provided via email to each individual participant.
  • It is a closed book exam.
  • It is confidential and should not be shared with anyone.
  • It tests only the workshops that are part of the Advanced DEI Certificate.
  • The required additional workshops must be completed prior to submitting the final DEI project.
  • The exam can be taken prior to completing the required additional workshops.
  • You must register for the review session and exam with ILR Customer Service at ilrcustomerservice@cornell.edu no later than 30 days prior to the exam and within five months of receiving the Advanced DEI Certificate.


Project Guidelines and Requirements

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) project is designed to demonstrate application and integration of the key learnings from the certification program. The project must be on a current DEI initiative and related to the DEI work in your organization or private practice. Final projects are reviewed by the Cornell ILR faculty/instructors. 

Project Proposal

A project proposal must be submitted and approved within one month of completing the exam. The proposal should describe the project in detail including a summary of the project; how it aligns with the organization's DEI strategy; the reasons that you chose it; an overview of the project design and measurements (quantitative/qualitative) that you are planning to use. 

Final Project

  • The project must be on a current issue in DEI and related to the DEI work at an organization or in private practice. It should demonstrate the application and integration of the key learnings from the workshops in the certification program.  
  • The project must be submitted within 3 months after receiving a passing grade on the exam.  Final projects will be Approved or Not Approved.  

Project proposals and final projects should be submitted to Lisa Csencsits, Director of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program (lc638@cornell.edu) and Jasminy Joe, ILR Outreach Registrar (jd51@cornell.edu) via email. Certification earners will work directly with the DEI program director to schedule the final virtual presentation. 

Project Requirements

The project should be in the form of a presentation integrating key learnings from the program, specific to the organization or client and well thought through. It is anticipated that a typical project presentation will be 30 minutes in length delivered virtually to a panel made up of 2-3 Cornell ILR faculty/instructors with 15 minutes of Q&A following. The ILR panelists will provide feedback, ask questions and share insights to better prepare the certification earner for communication project results with colleagues/clients. The format of the presentation is as follows:

1. Introduction:
Overview of project and summary of organization, including structure an size. Describe the organization's DEI strategy, current achievements and challenges. 

2. Project Description and Rationale:
Describe how the project aligns with the organization and its DEI mission and vision and the reasons that you chose it. How did and/or are you seeking support for the project? What challenges did/do you anticipate? What were/are the desired outcomes?

3. Design:
Explain project design in detail. Is this a new project? is this an ongoing project? What measurements (quantitative/qualitative) were or will be included? Discuss how you applied key learnings from Cornell's DEI program and how these impacted or may impact the outcome of your projects. 

4. Testing: 
What feedback have you received regarding your measurements? If complete, were your measurements
achieved and why? Would you change and/or add to the measurements and why?

5. Challenges:
What challenges and obstacles occurred or do you anticipate and why? How did and/or will you overcome
them? What key learnings from the DEI workshops provided assistance in overcoming these challenges?

6. Summary: 
Discuss the outcome of the project and the lessons you learned. This can include a critical analysis of key
learnings and what additional knowledge and skills might help with the project rollout. Are there changes you
would make for the future and/or what additional initiatives/projects might be developed as a result of the
project outcomes?
 

All project materials (including PowerPoint slides, visual aids, survey data, etc.) must be submitted to Lisa Csencsits, Director of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program (lc638@cornell.edu) and Jasminy Joe, ILR Outreach Registrar(jd51@cornell.edu) via email at least one day prior to the scheduled presentation.

Certification earners will be notified of project completion, or if any additional information is required, via email within 2-3 business days of presenting.

Fees

  • The certification review session, exam and project approval is $1000.
  • A one-time retake of the exam is $500.

 

Apply

If you would like to pursue Cornell Certified Diversity Professional Certification, please complete this form and answer all of the questions. Prior to applying, review the Cornell Certified Diversity Professional Certification Requirements.

Please describe, in detail, your responsibilities and specific initiatives you were involved in during the most recent 2 years as a DEI Professional. If self-employed, please describe the types of clients, projects and initiatives you have worked on in this area. Note: The responsibilities cannot be exclusively related to EEO/AA requirements and compliance.

Thank you for your interest in the CCDP Certification Program. If qualified, you will be contacted about registration procedures.

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