Indiana State University Leadership Certificate Program

Coordinated by the Office of Campus Life in conjunction with the Career Center

• Are you interested in improving and applying your leadership skills and abilities?
• Are you or will you be an active student leader at ISU?
• Are you willing to engage in discussions about diversity and inclusion?
• Are you committed to giving back through applying leadership through student roles: student organizations, student employment, residence life, and civic engagement?

The ISU Leadership Certificate Program is a self-paced, comprehensive, leadership development program designed to encourage and recognize student leadership education and experiences at Indiana State University. The program is adaptable so a variety of students can work toward completing this certificate.

The ISU Leadership Certificate Program:

• Demonstrates student's leadership and team/organization development skills Highlights developmental outcomes of each leadership experience
• Assists students as they transition to leadership and group dynamic roles within a work or applied environment, curriculum and theory-based leadership development models
• A university-certified record of leadership skill development and application
• Will provide opportunities for students to: Develop the competencies required for effective leadership (Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education, http://www.cas.edu/): foundations of leadership, personal development, interpersonal development, and development of groups, organization, and systems.

Program Requirements                                                                                                                                 

Students will complete the following experiences at any point during their college career to achieve the certificate:

• Leadership Education Experiences (participation in 4):  Designed to encourage participating students to advance their leadership and team development knowledge, skills, and techniques. Educational opportunities such as:

  • Facilitated trainings and seminars
  • Leadership conferences or seminars
  • Leadership speakers
  • Diversity/Inclusion speakers, workshops, trainings

• Leadership Mentoring:  Students select a faculty, staff member, or upper-class student leader to serve as their mentor.  The mentor will be confirmed by the Office of Campus Life.  The expectation is for the mentor and mentee to meet a minimum of 3 times.
• Curriculum Based Leadership Development: Student may choose one of the following (Please know specific cohorts may use a designated book):
  • Keys to Success in College and Life, as developed by Dr. Will Keim and Curtis Zimmerman, is the selected leadership book that participants will utilize. Six modules will be presented, facilitated, and applied through the course of a one-semester seminar series.
  • The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership, as published in the Student Leadership Challenge, developed by James Kouzes and Barry Posner, is the selected leadership theory that participants will utilize. Five modules will be presented, facilitated, and applied through the course of a one-semester seminar series.
  • Other Leadership Related books and resources may be use upon approval from the Office of Campus Life.
• Capstone Project: ​​This task is a culminating experience to allow the student to research, develop and implement a creative program that will benefit a community.  Examples of a project could be a workshop, a seminar, an activity, a service project, etc. Project consultation will be completed by Office of Campus Life with assistance from the Leadership Mentor, if needed.

Certificate Management

Students participating in the Leadership Certificate Program will find all certificate information on the Treehouse.  This site will be used for tracking and monitoring progress through the program.

The Office of Campus Life will monitor progress of certificate requirement. The Office of Campus Life will meet with the student and verify that the requirements are completed.

The Career Center will process the certification and duly note it on the student’s Co-Curricular Record.

The Career Center and Office of Campus Life will jointly issue the Leadership Certificate.

For more information and to register, please contact Ben Kappes, Associate Director of Campus Life, visit the office in Hulman Memorial Student Union Room 143 or call 812-237-3840.