The Elizabethtown College School of Graduate and Professional Studies (SGPS) has announced the formation of two new graduate certificate programs: one in nonprofit leadership and the other in operations and supply-chain management.
These online programs will officially launch in January 2024 for the spring semester. The programs both require twelve credits for completion; these credits can be applied toward a 36-credit Master of Business Administration (MBA) or Master of Strategic Leadership (MSL) degree. Each course in the sequence was carefully designed to help students to advance their business careers.
According to Associate Dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies Marcy McCarty, these programs were inaugurated in response to demands of the local economy and to fit the needs of the college: “Both programs are Etown mission-centric in expanding life-long learning opportunities in the graduate learning space that will meet industry workforce, community and student demands.”
The non-profit leadership program was developed in order to provide students with the financial, organizational and leadership knowledge they will need to succeed in the field. The four required courses will provide advanced training in financial management of non-profit businesses, but they will also train students to advocate for their institutions at the government level and to be effective leaders in the non-profit space.
Importantly, students will also have the opportunity for hands-on learning experience in collaboration with Etown’s High Center for Nonprofits.
The non-profit leadership program was created from a new partnership between the SGPS and the High Business Center, which recently expanded into the nonprofit industry. “We leveraged that partnership to identify the labor needs in the non-profit industry directly from executives and assist in development of the curriculum to ensure competencies that will assist learners in securing a non-profit organization’s vitality,” McCarty explained.
A graduate certificate in operations and supply-chain management will provide students with the technological and problem-solving skills that will advance their careers with businesses in Elizabethtown and the surrounding areas. Graduates will be qualified to lead in a variety of prominent fields in the local economy, including agriculture, hospitality and manufacturing. Throughout the course of this program, students will become experts in the concepts of data analysis and enterprise resource planning, and they will work with cutting-edge process improvement methodologies, such as Six Sigma.
These programs are already garnering interest from the Etown community. “We had our first student register for one of the graduate programs before we even marketed them,”McCarty said, “and another who registered for a graduate degree program knowing that the other graduate certificate would become available before that student would graduate.”
The SGPS is committed to helping students maintain a work-life balance. Many people take courses while employed in full-time jobs and taking care of a family. The online course options will provide flexibility for adult learners and students will be able to take as few as one course per semester. Etown believes that time should not be a constraint for anyone who wants to earn a degree or certificate. There is even a step in/step out option for students who need a break from their education for any reason.
Etown’s first graduate program was inaugurated in 2012. Now, over a decade later, more than 25 online programs and several hybrid programs have been developed to serve the needs of local students as well as the demands of the local community and workforce.
