Q: What is a micro-certification?

A: Succinctly, a micro-certification is a newer shift in educational practices where a student gains a set of specialized skills in a short period of time. The education, typically a few days to a few weeks, focuses on only those particular skills that are immediately and directly related to the learning outcomes desired by the student. This is unlike the alternative multi-year commitment found in degree-programs at traditional schools where the student is able to dedicate more time to a broader set of studies.

Q: What happens between when I purchase my course and when the course begins?

A: As soon as your micro-certification program/course order is successfully processed, you will get a thank-you email from us. In that email, you will receive a login and a temporary password for your personal learning center. In your learning center, you will find resource materials and all the curriculum for your course set. This will give you an opportunity to explore all of the exciting learning objectives, assignments, and exercises.

Q: Will any textbooks or materials need to be purchased for any of the day’s courses?

A: No. Your tuition payment covers ALL costs to attend, experience, and complete the 20-day micro-certification program. Any materials necessary will be supplied for free on the learning center. Keep in mind These courses are designed to be less theory and “book learning” and more live-action focused where you watch how digital marketing tasks are performed.

Q: What pre-work do I need to do?

A: Although there is no pre-work required, it is recommended that you review the course material embedded in your learning center prior to taking the course. Additionally, if you have started a small business or, are thinking of creating one, you should familiarize yourself with its mission, market niche, target customer, and the focus of your product or service. Identifying these features will make your micro-certification program experience all the more relevant and productive since these courses are designed to be activity based for applying the concepts immediately.

Q: Where do I go to attend the course?

A: There are three ways to attend ARI courses.
1. You can attend LIVE, on our campus, or the campus of the university from which you made the purchase of the course.
2. You can attend via LIVE STREAM from anywhere in the world that has adequate internet service.
3. You can review all courses ON DEMAND. Once the day’s course is completed, it is archived into your learning center that night where it will be available for review any time that is convenient to you

Q: What are the hours of the course?

A: All courses are held Monday-Friday, outside of the holiday closures recognized by the university that is hosting the micro-certification program/course. The hours are 9am – 5pm local time which includes 6 hours of instruction, lunch and breaks at the hosting school.

Q: How do I get my credits?

A: Once you have successfully completed the course work and received the certificate of completion, you will be able to apply for your credits with the university from which you purchased the course. Typically, you will present your certificate to the school which will then award the credits. Some universities may elect to require some other pieces of information that they will disclose upon your request.

Q: When/how do I get the certificate?

A: Once you have successfully completed the course work, your certificate of completion will be downloadable in your personal learning center.

Q: Is the certificate of completion issued by ARI or by the university with whom I registered?

A: The certificate of completion will reflect the name of the university through which you attended.

Q: What grade do I need to get to qualify for credits and the certificate?

A: The micro-certification program/course is based on a university’s Pass/Fail model where you must complete all the assessments with an acceptable grade. Each institution we partner with has different criteria. Please contact Accelerated Retention Institute customer service for information regarding the grade based on the academic institution from which you are receiving your education. Customer Service can be reached at 602-362-6363 or [email protected].

Q: What happens if I miss a day?

A: Flexibility is one of the beautiful aspects of the ARI micro-certification program. You can miss a day, several days, even a week or more. With our course archival system, you are able to make up courses based on your time availability. Note that some academic institutions may have rules regarding how long you have to complete a course.

Also, if you experience technical difficulties such as your hard drive fails, you have troubles accessing a wireless connection, or any other random problem during or before a day’s course, you can still watch that same session when the recording is uploaded that evening.

If you have any specific questions, please contact our customer service representatives, and they will be happy to assist you. Customer Service can be reached at 602-362-6363 or [email protected].

Q: Do I have to take the courses in order?

A: No. Our courses are standalone, one-day courses and can be taken in any sequence. Note that we do strongly recommend that when a course has a notable sequence, e.g.,101, 201, they should be taken in order. Our curriculum is also put together, week by week, in the order that our curriculum developers believe those courses should be taken. We recommend that you conform to the process sequence whenever possible.

Q: How do I take assessments?

A: As each course is taught, assessments will appear in your learning center. If you miss a course, you can take the assessments within your learning center. Once the current courses have begun, you can go to the assessments tab within each course and take each assessment. The results of your assessment will record upon completion.

Q: What do I need to provide to a university to enroll in the micro-certification program?

A: It varies university to university; however, most universities consider our program to be continuing education, and you would not need to go through the rigorous application process as if you were attending to obtain a degree. If you have any specific questions regarding enrollment, please contact our friendly customer service agents at 602-362-6363 or [email protected].

Q: I am currently enrolled in a university. Can I continue my studies and participate in this program simultaneously?

A: It varies university to university; however, most universities allow students to participate in the ARI Micro-certification program while they are taking undergraduate or post-graduate courses. If you have any specific questions regarding enrollment, please call our friendly customer service assistant at 602-362-6363 or [email protected].

Q: Can international students attend?

A: International students can attend live stream and on demand but cannot attend in person without a valid M-1 Visa through the school they are currently enrolled.

Q: What the minimum software and computer requirements recommended for this course?

A: There is no equipment supplied for this course. This course is designed to be delivered, viewed, and experienced via an online format from your laptop.

1. Computer
A. 4 GB memory (8 GM recommended)
B. 1280/1024 graphics resolution or higher

2. Audio Output
A. Systems Software

3. Operating Systems
A. Windows 7, 8 or 10

4. Web Browsers
A. Chrome 48 or later
B. Internet Explorer 9 or later (Compatibility View Mode enabled)

5. Software
A. Adobe Flash 11 or later
B. Java 7 or later
C. Adobe Reader

6. Headphones or earbuds to connect to your laptop when sitting next to other students in a classroom setting. This is to prevent the distraction of every laptop playing aloud the speaker’s voice during the presentation.

Q: How long will I have access to the On-Demand courses?

A: All students will have access to all daily courses that make up the program for one (1) year from the start date of the program This includes all new versions and updates to any of the courses and not just the original, older material that was attended or viewed. This will allow the student constant access to updated courses even if that particular course version was not attended.

Q: Is there a way to continue to have access to all the courses after the one-year time period has elapsed from when I started the course?

A: Yes! For those students who purchased the course in full, a subscription option is available. This subscription will give the student access to not only all recordings associated with the digital marketing course but, to all revised and updated materials. So, as the world of digital marketing changes and the course curriculum is revised to stay current, the subscription will give you access to these updated materials, no matter how much or how often they are revised.

Q: How long do I have to complete the 20-day course?

A: There are twenty (20) day-long courses that make up this micro-certification program Although it is recommended to take all the daily courses close together for better knowledge retention, you may take up to one (1) year to complete all 20 starting from when you first start.

Q: How do you update the course materials for the digital marketing topic that changes so quickly?

A: Our curriculum design is tied in closely with the technology that serves the student. The curriculum undergoes constant review and revisions based on the hundreds to thousands of questions that are asked by the students. The most commonly asked topics and points are cycled back into the curriculum on the next revision. Additionally, the instructors, who are active professionals in the field of student they teach, revise the curriculum with the ARI team to add in updated information as well as excise anything that has become obsolete.

Q: If many students can attend the same course online at the same time, will this cause frequent interruptions with questions from the course?

A: Definitely not. Our proprietary and patent-pending technology collects questions live and online from the students during course. Through our Crowd Priority™ © system, the most favored or liked questions rise to the top of the queue to be answered live by the instructor and/or teacher assistants. This also means that less relevant or unpopular questions of lesser value to the course at large will not detract from the valuable learning time.