After twelve years of the nonprofit certificate doing so well at Kent State, the provost office requested the certificate be elevated to a minor.

 Program director of nonprofit studies, Kathy Bergh said, “There are a few people left that are still working on the certificate, but by and large, that is a thing of the past. We have changed the certificate to a minor,”

Because of multiple new programs and certificates being introduced in Ohio, the state thought they were being too easily obtained, said Bergh. As a result, it introduced a higher level of criteria and put all schools offering certificates under a watch with many reporting requirements. This included more fees, clerical work and documentation, so Kent opted for the minor instead. A lot of certificate programs have been eliminated because of this new reporting requirement, Bergh said.

Senior applied conflict management major, Mary Mastalski, is one of the last students finishing the nonprofit studies certificate at Kent State. She said, the certificate complimented her major well, but feels the nonprofit studies minor will offer greater opportunities in the nonprofit world.

The curriculum coordinator, Susan Augustine said,“The requirements were basically the same for both, so it was a matter of what would best fit the needs of most students, (for example) whether a certificate or minor would make them more marketable,”

“It’s a very academically challenging minor. We’ve received feedback that it prepares students to work in the field very well,” Bergh said.

Nonprofit studies is also undergoing curriculum changes that will take place this summer. Bergh said the whole idea behind a nonprofit studies minor is to make it as user-friendly as possible to suit the many different majors that students pair with it. To support that, the program is introducing psychology and public health classes.

 “Down the road we would hopefully have a major in nonprofit studies, but right now we’re really just focusing on having the best minor in nonprofit studies that we can have,” Bergh said.

To sign up for the minor or just to learn more, visit the Nonprofit Studies home page on the Kent site.

Contact Julia Sprowls at [email protected].