Welcome to True North Consortium University
The True North Consortium University provides a way for TNC Members to provide accreditation for people who’ve taken their workshops (workshops refer to any form of delivery be it an online course, webinar, seminar or instructor led workshop). It is based on a university model with different curriculums representing different fields of study. Credits are based on time for the workshop and the way it is delivered – 1 credit per online webinar and 2 credit for training (or its equivalent). Credits are tracked by curriculum and level. Levels of accreditation are achieved when a certain number of credits are obtained.
The intention of accreditation instead of certification is to allow people to demonstrate they've studied something without the misleading claim that their abilities have been certified. Having different levels also creates a support system for people to move from one level of capability to another.
All attendees of an accredited event will get a certificate of completion for the event.
The colleges currently are:
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Lean-Agile at scale
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Agile Product Management
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Lean-Agile Team
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Technical Agility
Courses are specified as being at one of 4 levels:
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100 – this is an introductory course
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200 – this is a more advanced level and typically requires a 100 level course as a prerequisite
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300 – this is an advanced course. The materials in these courses are typically more principle based
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400 – train the trainer type level
Why Accreditation Is Given Instead of Certification
Certification in most fields means that a person's qualifications have been validated by a neutral board as being of a certain level. Merely taking a course and passing a test means knowledge has been obtained but not speak to anyone's competency.
As in a college, people do not get certified. Instead, they get credits for successfully taking classes and get their degree in a curriculum. TNCU provides credits for both courses and webinars.
Current Curriculum (note, some non-TNCU courses are referred to for comparison)
Lean-Agile At Scale
100 Level Classes
200 Level Classes
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FLEX Essentials (52 credits)
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Leading SAFe (32 credits) (included for comparison)
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Implementing SAFe (56 credits) (included for comparison)
Management and Leadership
Agile Product Management
100 Level Classes
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Agile Product Management (1 credit, free)
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Advanced Agile Requirements: Behavior-Driven Development with Behavior-Based Analysis (32 credits)
200 Level Classes
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Behavior Driven Development
Team Level (Scrum and Kanban)
100 Level Classes
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Scrum/APM (24 100 level credits, 24 200 level credits)
200 Level Classes
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Scrum Master Coaching Academy (52 credits)
Technical Agility
100 Level Classes
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Foundations of Sustainable Design (52 credits)
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Object Oriented Analysis and Design (48 credits)
200 Level Classes
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Design Patterns Thinking (48 credits)
300 Level Classes
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Advanced Software Development (32 credits)