YU Relaunches Online Certificate Program YU Global

Yeshiva University recently re-launched the online YU Global program, which provides online courses on a variety of subjects, with a new series of courses last semester.  

YU Global is intended to offer courses in in-demand fields, such as in the technological and business sectors, which can be completed in the span of a few months, as well as career guidance and support. The purpose of the program is to offer certification that can enhance students’ skills and resumes when searching for high-paying jobs, YU Vice President for Global Initiatives and Strategy Danielle Wozniak, who led the development of the new program, told The Commentator. 

“[W]e will constantly be watching the job market to see where demand is, that is, to see what professions are growing and how we can train people for them,” Wozniak told The Commentator. “We also work with business and industry to see what positions they are trying to fill and create trainings to prepare workers for those markets. And we work with recruiters to see what positions they are looking to fill and refer our learners to them for job placement.” 

Courses that YU Global currently offers include cybersecurity, paralegal professional training, a course on real estate investments and even a communications and counseling course for future Chabad shluchim. Courses vary in pricing, with the course for shluchim costing only $499 and the year-long cybersecurity course being $14,000. 16 separate courses are currently being offered.

YU Global was originally introduced in December 2014 under the leadership of then-Vice Provost Scott Goldberg, with the objective being to offer certification in areas such as software engineering, data analytics, law and business. In November 2015, The Commentator reported that YU Global would be restructured to provide revenue-generating online degrees under YU’s new School of General Studies, which eventually became the Katz School of Science and Health. Afterward, it seems that the YU Global brand was phased out.

According to Wozniak, the courses were developed with the objective of having the program equip students with skills needed to excel in thriving businesses. 

The courses, although online and predominantly asynchronous, are facilitated by instructors who are available to engage with students and hold weekly online-live sessions for students to ask questions or touch base. 

YU Global is being marketed outside of the modern orthodox community as well, being advertised in publications such as the Ami and the Flatbush Jewish Journal. Chemdah, an organization which provides remote religious classes for women, advertised a collaboration with YU Global. Nevertheless, Wozniak said that the program is designed for everyone regardless of background, with the aim being to “​offer an inclusive and high-quality product that could be helpful to anyone who is looking to boost their work force skills leading to employment or better employment.”  

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Photo Caption: Yeshiva University recently re-launched the online YU Global program with a new series of courses last semester.

Photo Caption: Yeshiva University