An interview with Dr. William White of Worcester State College
Leadership know-how and project management top the list of skills that business people want most, notes Dr. William White, associate vice president for Continuing Education and Outreach, and dean of Graduate Studies at Worcester State College.
WBJ: Isn’t it getting tougher for over-booked business people to find time for continuing education?White: I’ve found that the busiest people are the very ones who somehow find the time to make career education a priority. Schools like Worcester State College also are trying to accommodate them with more flexible schedules, evening and weekend classes, and more online courses. We offer a large number of courses for business people, including week-long courses in the summer, or courses that require only one night a week. There are also more than 40 online courses.
WBJ: What are the skills that business people seem to need most?
White: Leadership skills and the ability to function well in team settings. Today, business people rarely operate by themselves. They are usually working in teams, so they need to work well with others. Yes, it’s important to have the basic financial skills, such as knowing how to read a balance sheet or build a budget. But there is a real need for managers who can select the right people for the job, lead them, and make the right decisions as projects unfold.
WBJ: How does Worcester State’s Center for Business and Industry address these needs?
White: It aims to be a leader in workforce development. We serve businesses that realize they have a competitive advantage if they can’t be copied by the competition. A big part of that is having a highly skilled and motivated workforce. We offer both set programs, as well as customized programs to meet the specific needs of companies. For example, we’ve done English as second language training for employees at UPS in Shrewsbury. At Gentex Optics in Dudley, we conducted a leadership program for middle managers. We also have special training programs for non-profit organizations, as well as programs that help individual managers hone their skills, such as certificate programs in project management and business analysis.
WBJ: What’s the fast growing of your management programs?
White: Project management is a skill that a lot of people want. Our program offers five workshops leading to the Project Management Professional Certificate. These workshops, which take about two years to complete, include: successful project planning, project leadership and team development, managing project risk, project execution and control, and managing procurement and contracts. Participants also learn Microsoft Project 2000 software, which helps them manage the whole process.
WBJ: How about other new programs that are drawing interest?
White: We are starting a new personal leadership development program, which will cover such topics as motivating skills, developing talent, and leading during times of crisis. Our target audience is middle managers who want to move up in the organization. We’ve also added certificate programs, one granted through the American Society for Training and Development, in human performance improvement and another in entrepreneurship. In the entrepreneurship program, most participants have not yet started a business and want to know the skills they’ll need, such as preparing business and marketing plans. The instructors are successful entrepreneurs, so students are getting the real nitty-gritty.
WBJ: What are the typical costs of these certificate programs?
White: It depends on the program, but costs range from $350 for a single project management course to about $4,500 for someone who might take all phases of the project management certificate program. Tuition for our master’s degree programs in business total about $9,000. About 65 percent of the students in our programs get some sort of financial support from their companies.
WBJ: What master’s programs do you offer in business?
White: We have a very successful master of science program in health care administration, as well as a long-standing master’s in non-profit management that involves real, action-oriented field work. Our newest program — just a year old – is the master’s in management, which offers either an accounting track or a leadership track. The latter differs from a typical MBA in that there is far more emphasis on people skills and organizational behavior, versus the extensive number-crunching found in most MBA programs. There are very few such leadership programs in this area, which is why our outside Business Advisory Board urged us to take this approach.
This interview was conducted and edited for length by WBJ Chief Editor Larry Maloney.
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