College Level Virtual Assistant Certificate Programs

by Lindsey Thompson Google

Putting your makeup on while driving. Checking email while making breakfast. Some people find multitasking as easy as breathing. For these people, a career as a virtual assistant is ideal. Virtual assistants help clients complete a wide variety of professional and personal tasks. According to the International Virtual Assistant Association, businesses and individuals use virtual assistants to help with projects like bookkeeping, database management, event planning, publication production, marketing and web design. Earning a college-level virtual assistant certificate is a good first step in the path to a virtual assistant career.

Schools to Try

While not required to work as a virtual assistant, a college-level certificate gives potential virtual assistants additional knowledge and skills, and helps them stand out to potential clients and employers. A number of different types of schools offer virtual assistant certificate programs, including community colleges such as Portland Community College and Cuyahoga Community College. Virtual assistant certificate programs also come from technical and vocational schools, such as Madison Area Technical College.

How to Get In

Like other college programs, students undergo an application process to get into the school of their choice. Once accepted, the school assigns each student an academic adviser who will help navigate college life, choose the necessary classes to earn a virtual assistant certificate and keep students accountable as they go through the program. Depending on the school and program, you may also have to meet certain eligibility requirements. For example, Portland Community College asks that students entering the virtual assistant program have a strong background in word processing, be familiar with basic office tasks like filing and research and possess excellent written and communication skills.

What Students Learn

Each school sets its own curriculum, but most cover the same topics, including securing clients, creating a virtual office, business basics and general accounting. A number of schools have created their certificate programs for virtual assistants who are already in the workforce. These programs typically require a minimum number of years of experience in the business world, and sometimes even a previous associate degree or certificate to join the program. They also delve deeper into specific virtual assistant concepts. At Cuyahoga Community College, for example, students take classes like business math, business communications, project management and desktop publishing.

How to Earn the Degree

Most certificate programs take a year or less to complete. Because of the accelerated nature of the courses, students must show up for every class, putting in the time, effort and energy to complete assignments, projects and homework. Each school sets its own grade standards, but generally students have to earn a C or better in every class to graduate with the certificate. Most programs also require that certificate candidates pass final exams or complete final projects in each course to earn the certification.

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