The Associate Teacher program is designed to prepare students for entry-level work in public or private childcare facilities. The Child Development program includes diverse topics covering family diversity, multicultural education, special education, infants/toddlers, homebased care, and family child care. This option under the Child Development program focuses on introductory skills needed to work in early childhood education settings, including preschool education theory and application, child growth and development, and the child and his/her place in the family and community.

A Certificate of Proficiency will be awarded upon satisfactory completion of the courses specified below. The Certificate of Proficiency is not indicated on the student’s transcript.

PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

- Identify developmentally and culturally appropriate practices in the physical, temporal and interpersonal environments.

2. Communicate effectively orally and in writing.

- Identify the major developmental theories in Early Childhood Education practices.

- Apply the concepts of socialization to early care and education practices.

The Assistant Teacher certificate program is designed to prepare students to complete the minimum academic certification of the Merritt College Child development department. The Assistant Teacher Certification qualifies students to obtain the Assistant Teacher Permit issued by the Commission on Teaching Credentialing.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

The Assistant Teacher Certificate prepares students for the first tier of the California Commission on Credentialing Assistant Teacher permit. This permit allow students who complete the coursework to work as a teacher’s aide or assistant in many Early Childhood settings.

PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

- Differentiate between and apply the concepts of development domains (physical, cognitive, social-emotional, language/literacy) in the classroom.

- Discuss how young children learn through play.

The Retail Management Certificate of Proficiency program is designed to prepare students for an entry-level trainee position as a retail manager in charge of an individual retail shop or department. Retail managers ensure that retail establishments run efficiently and effectively; they also hire, train, and supervise employees. Students may further their education by completing Business transfer degree requirements in Business Administration, Business Management of related fields. A Certificate of Proficiency will be awarded upon satisfactory completion of the courses specified below. The Certificate of Proficiency is not indicated on the student’s transcript.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Career opportunities include assistant department manager, assistant department buyer, sales and sales service.

PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES

- Apply solutions and leadership to retail management issues.

- Employ appropriate management, finance, accounting and marketing techniques required to operate a business

The Human Resource Management Certificate of Proficiency program allows students to explore human resource management as a career choice and gain an entry-level support position in a human resource department. Students may further their education by completing Business transfer degree requirements in Business Administration, Business Management, or related fields.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Career change and/or advancement opportunities. Possibly a specialized emphasis in a BA Business degree program (re-entry for transfer).

PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

- Analyze how primary functions within business interact to achieve organizational goals.

- Apply solutions and leadership to human resource management issues.

- Identify and demonstrate accepted business practices that show cultural sensitivity.

The Entrepreneurship Certificate of Proficiency program is designed to develop, prepare, and produce entrepreneurs to start and grow successful businesses and fuel economic growth by providing instruction in entrepreneurial culture, strategy, operations, financial management, social marketing and leadership. Coursework includes developing a student’s ability to make informed decisions as future business owners, entrepreneurial concepts learned in innovation and creativity, business funding, computers and marketing. Through these skills, students will have a sound education base in entrepreneurship for lifelong learning.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Career opportunities may include home-based businessperson, intern to film producer/entrepreneur, web developer, writer/blogger, social entrepreneur, political entrepreneur and virtual administrative entrepreneur.

PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

- Analyze the variety of entrepreneurial opportunities available in the United States.

- Develop strategies to exploit entrepreneurial opportunities and evaluate and analyze alternative strategies and assess risk.

- Identify and understand accounting concepts that enable student to interpret financial data and use it to make informed decisions about the operating performance and financial position of a company.

- Apply leadership and workplace relationship skills that will enable them to deal with customer, employee, and supplier issues.

- Identify successful marketing efforts that will enable the business to succeed.

- Complete a comprehensive business plan that will enable the business to secure adequate financing by applying knowledge of computer applications, including word processing, spreadsheets, web and social media.

The Digital Marketing Certificate of Achievement prepares students with the knowledge, skills, and attributes necessary for obtaining work in the fields of marketing that is applicable to the public, private, and nonprofit sector. This certificate program will enable students to integrate foundational marketing concepts with practical technical skills, which ensures they gain real-world applied knowledge to be truly job-ready. It aims to develop the student’s understanding of marketing and provide a framework for students to think about concepts such as segmentation, targeting, value propositions, and metrics. Students will be assessed throughout the course through exercises on the topics. This program can be completed within one year, culminating in a Certificate of Achievement in addition to a co-branded Facebook certification.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Completion of this certificate will provide students with the coursework they need to work in entry-level digital marketing positions such as digital marketing coordinator, online community manager, email marketing coordinator, content marketing coordinator, or social media assistant, marketing analyst.

PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

- Demonstrate job readiness by using industry-standard marketing tools such as: Facebook Ads Manager, Google Analytics, Google Ads, Google Sheets, Google Slides, and Mailchimp.

- Demonstrate job readiness by creating a comprehensive digital marketing plan using core frameworks, analyzing A/B test results and Google Analytics report data, executing an original ad for Facebook and Google Search and Display, and developing an email marketing campaign using Mailchimp.

The Business Management program involves the coordinating of efforts and resources within an office, department, organization or company to achieve defined objectives. The certificate includes core course requirements and the choice between two areas of emphasis: Human Resources Management or Entrepreneurship/Small Business Management. The Human Resources Management area of emphasis allows students to explore the human resources management field as a career choice and gain an entry-level support position in a human resources department. Entrepreneurship/Small Business Management is designed to aid students who want to own their own business or who work for small or virtual businesses. A Certificate of Achievement will be awarded upon satisfactory completion of the core certificate requirements and the requirements for one emphasis specified below.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Career opportunities may include general/operations manager and office manager.

PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon successful completion of this program students will be able to:

- Synthesize business communication techniques to create, revise and evaluate verbal and written business messages.

- Research and evaluate business plans that can be used for planning and financing.

- Employ appropriate management, finance, accounting, and marketing techniques required to operate a business.

Accountants play an essential role in keeping businesses within their budgets, and this program offers real-world application of skills related to private accounting, institutional accounting, certified public accounting, and other career opportunities within the private and public sectors. Merritt College Accounting program prepares students for employment in a wide variety of business accounting environments. A Certificate of Achievement will be awarded upon satisfactory completion of the certificate requirements specified below.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Private accounting, institutional accounting, CPA, bank officer, consumer credit officer, financial analyst, financial planner, loan officer, insurance analyst, investment account executive.

PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon successful completion of this program students will be able to:

🗸 Apply knowledge of financial accounting, including content, concepts and structure of the various statements for internal and external use.
🗸 Evaluate the process of identifying, gathering, measuring, summarizing and analyzing financial data in business organizations.

The Optical Microscopy Certificate of Achievement program prepares students for entry-level jobs in bioscience microscopy and imaging, including in the biotech industry. 

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Career opportunities include employment as a biotech lab assistant in biotech, academic research, and government research, imaging core assistant, imaging equipment and software vendor (field applications, inside sales, technical support).

PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

- Confidently acquire digital images on a variety of research-level optical microscopes, including phase, DIC, and widefield epifluorescence.

- Operate diverse microscopy software programs.

- Prepare brightfield specimens for optical microscopy.

- Execute basic cell and molecular biology lab techniques, including aseptic technique, following good lab practices.

- Identify areas of the biotech industry that are relevant to their chosen career pathways.

The Histotechnician program provides on-campus and on-site technical training, focusing on routine tissue sample preparation, special stains and techniques such as immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, fluorescence microscopy and genomics. Training on campus will utilize samples routinely prepared in both clinical and research facilities. As part of their formal training, histotechnician students will work through study guides provided by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP) for its certification examination. Partnerships with local facilities will allow for work experience and clinical rotation sites, required for certification as histotechnician graduates, and will provide further training for those interested in research and/or careers in the private sector.
 

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Career opportunities may include Histotechnician positions in hospital and clinical diagnostic labs, biotech histotechnology labs, academic research labs, agricultural and plant pathology labs, and veterinarian labs.

PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

- Identify tissues as well as prepare tissue samples for analysis following ASCP/NAACLS guidelines.

- Demonstrate good laboratory practices, as well as skilled handling of histotech, microscopy and genomics laboratory equipment, including troubleshooting.