Certificate of Completion Requirements: Power and Influence for Positive Impact

Overview

Participants in Power and Influence for Positive Impact are eligible for a Certificate of Completion from Harvard Business School Online. As part of this course, we expect all participants to complete coursework in a thoughtful and timely manner and actively contribute to peer learning.

To earn the certificate, participants must meet all certificate requirements. Participants who fail to complete the certificate requirements will not receive a certificate and will not be eligible to retake the program.

Detailed Certificate Requirements

Thoughtful and timely completion of all coursework. With the guidance of the course calendar, and support from the HBS Online team, you will need to schedule enough time for yourself to thoughtfully consider the course materials and meet all of your deadlines:

Complete all modules by their associated deadlines. As you move through the course, you will soon discover how important it is for participants to be moving through Power and Influence for Positive Impact at a similar pace. While you will have a great deal of flexibility to work on modules on your own time, we are very firm that all work in a given module must be completed by its deadline. This includes writing thoughtful responses in your own words to questions posed throughout the course. Skipping module questions by providing cursory responses, simply putting in filler text, or plagiarizing the work of others is regarded as incomplete participation in the course and will render you ineligible for a Certificate of Completion. For detailed examples of both thorough and incomplete reflection responses, please view our Response Guidelines page.

Active contributions to your peers' learning. Following the HBS Online learning model, we believe learning should be social. Our goal is for this course to be an interactive and social learning experience and a chance for you to meet peers from whom you can learn and seek advice. To get the most out of the course, every participant must commit to teaching and learning from one another. Your cohort’s diversity provides a unique opportunity to consider new perspectives and strengthen your own learning. You should be a problem-solving colleague for and with your peers. There are several ways you can show your participation:

Comment on other participants' postings. Throughout the course you will be able to see the reflections and insights from other participants. We encourage you to read these postings and "star" or comment on them. The Activity Feed – accessible via the homepage – includes "stars" and comments you receive on your postings.

Post to Peer Help. The Peer Help functionality gives you the opportunity to ask questions, share your observations, and respond to others’ ideas while you are working through the course. While we do not have a specific number of comments that we expect from each participant, we value the quality of each contribution. Participants who do not exhibit engagement in the collective conversation will not be eligible for a Certificate of Completion.

Originality of responses and use of outside sources. Though we do not expect that participants will always be able to provide a correct response to every question, you are expected to answer in your own words and to the best of your ability, which is an essential component of the HBS Online learning process. Skipping questions by providing insufficient responses such as Yes, Okay, or other one-word responses is considered incomplete participation. Citations are expected to be applied to your responses whenever you include outside information that is not from your personal knowledge, such as a website or Generative AI. This includes facts, statistics, definitions, and company information such as descriptions, earnings, and accounts. Please review the HBS Citation Guide for assistance with citing your sources. Improper citations or unauthorized use of Generative AI are considered a violation of the HBS Online Honor Code and are strictly prohibited. For more information regarding responses, properly cited sources, and acceptable Generative AI use, please consult the Academic Honesty Guidelines page.

Please Note: Participants who fail to complete all certificate requirements will not receive a certificate and will not be eligible to retake the program.

Awarding the Certificate of Completion

Following the final deadline in Power and Influence for Positive Impact, our team will begin the process of reviewing all coursework to determine each participant's eligibility for the Certificate of Completion. At present, Harvard Business School Online distributes physical certificates by mail, as we believe that distributing a printed document suitably denotes a participant's achievement in the course. On average, certificates are mailed six weeks after the final deadline of the course, and may take several more weeks to arrive at their destination.

All participants who successfully meet each deadline and fulfill all course learning requirements will earn the Certificate of Completion and become distinguished leaders in our growing community of HBS Online past participants. This community offers wonderful opportunities for networking, whether through community events or the official LinkedIn group, and provides access to previews of new content and other exciting initiatives underway at HBS Online.

Still can't find what you're looking for? Please refer to the HBS Online FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) or visit the HBS Online Support Portal for any questions, comments, or concerns about your Harvard Business School Online experience.

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