Certificate Programs/Continuing Education programs: how valuable?

I know this question will be relative but I would really like to get a consensus from those that have completed similar certs from either B&M or online schools. I've recently completed a business degree with Excelsior but now I am considering doing a industry "specific" cert program at DePaul (costs about $800 for a 5-week course). I want to get back into the hotel industry so I figured that a cert in hospitality marketing and sales would give me an "edge".

I want to leverage my time in this economy as much as possible. Cheers!

 

I think that certs are valuable. In a competitive market, anything that separates you from "the masses" is valuable.

 

I think certificate programs are perfect for specialization. They are a great way to learn new skills and quantify what you know, they also work well for showing that you are continuing in personal and professional development (which is increasingly necassary) and if you play your cards right it can even put some big name schools on your resume which never hurts.

I'm a big advocate of certificate programs. Make sure however that you make a distinction on your resume between "certifications" (such as PMP, A+, etc.) and academic "certificate of achievement" or whatever. It's kind of tough sometimes because there are schools that have non-credit certificates that seem like certifications... the way I break it down is if the certificate requires coursework given by a college or university, it's an academic certificate and should be listed with your degrees, etc. If you have to test for it, it's a certification and should be listed with your licenses, professional certifications, etc.