Nine years after Missouri Western’s first graduate classes began with two master’s degree programs, one graduate certificate program and an enrollment of 41, the Graduate School continues to grow in both enrollment and offerings. This past fall, enrollment was 219 with 16 master’s programs and five graduate certificate programs.
When Missouri Western became a university in 2005 with the capability of offering graduate degrees, Dr. Ben Caldwell was one of the first to develop a master’s degree program while he was chair of the Department of Chemistry. That program, a Master of Applied Science with a Chemistry option, was one of two programs in 2007 when the Graduate School opened. Today, Dr. Caldwell is dean of the Graduate School, and has been since 2012.
The first graduate degrees offered were Professional Master’s Degrees with an emphasis on applied learning, providing advanced disciplinary knowledge like traditional master’s programs, but also training in business fundamentals, project management and communications. Most of the programs, Dr. Caldwell said, also have an applied learning focus and include a capstone experience.
In response to recent input from students, the Master of Applied Science with an information technology management option, one of the first programs offered in 2007, will be phased out and replaced with the option of information technology assurance administration. Dr. Caldwell said students wanted more information technology-specific courses rather than the business courses that were included in the original program.
The Master of Science in Nursing Health Care Leadership began in 2013, and a nurse educator option for a master’s degree or graduate certificate was added a year later. This semester, a nurse educator option cohort began at Liberty Hospital, with Missouri Western professors teaching at the hospital.
Other recent additions to the Graduate School include a Master of Applied Science, Industrial Life Science and Masters in Information Management, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) (see article on next page). Both started in 2014.
The industrial life science degree is in response to area businesses’ needs. The degree, which provides advanced training in biology and chemistry while developing workplace skills, reflects St. Joseph’s position as part of the Animal Health Corridor, the single largest concentration of animal health businesses in the world.
Dr. Caldwell noted that Missouri Western’s graduate programs are designed with the students in mind. Since many of the graduate students are working full time while earning their degrees, most classes are offered in the evening, and many of the programs offer online classes.
One effect of the expanding Graduate School enrollment, Dr. Caldwell said, has been the increase in graduate assistants. Along with GAs in several academic departments across campus, nine graduate assistants are involved in seven sports, thanks to the master of applied science with an option in sport and fitness management. GAs are also working in Admissions, Registrar’s and International Student Services offices.
In the nine years since the Graduate School opened, Dr. Caldwell said the goals for the Graduate School have not changed – it is still committed to offering a high quality education to help students advance in their careers and continuing to develop programs that meet workforce needs.
Unique program sees rapid growth
Enrollment in the Masters in Information Management Program with a concentration in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), offered in the Craig School of Business and coordinated by Dr. Peggy Lane, has grown substantially since it began in fall 2014 with seven students. Just one year later, fall 2015 enrollment in the program was 30.
Dr. Lane believes the program has grown so quickly because it is unique, noting that there is no other master’s program in the United States that focuses on Enterprise Resource Planning.
Enterprise Resource Planning, which first came about more than 20 years ago, is a strategic information system that integrates all areas of a business. Dr. Lane said Missouri Western’s program prepares students to work in an ERP environment and gain an understanding of business processes as well as project management and business analytics. Students in the program utilize SAP software, which is the no. 1 ERP software. She said students can apply the knowledge of SAP to any ERP environment, as the skills are easily transferrable.
“Business isn’t about siloes anymore,” she said. “Companies are realizing that information systems are beneficial and strategic.”
In today’s business environment, Dr. Lane said, managers also need to be able to make decisions quickly, and they need to have a lot of information readily available to them. Enterprise Resource Planning manages the data for them so they can make better decisions more quickly. She noted that several local businesses utilize SAP as their ERP system.
“Data is flowing up, down and across in today’s work environment,” Dr. Lane said. “Businesses don’t make decisions the same way they used to. ERP enables managers to access timely information.”
An added benefit of the master’s program at Missouri Western is that students in the program have the opportunity to take the SAP TERP10 certification exam as part of the program. That course and certification exam will be offered on campus for the first time in May.
Dr. Lane noted that students may enroll in the program in both the spring and fall semesters.
“We look forward to continued growth of the program in St. Joseph and are exploring opportunities to move beyond this geographic region,” she said.
For more information, contact Dr. Lane at plane3@missouriwestern.edu.
Graduate class serves community
While graduate degree programs offer many benefits to the student, one graduate-level class is helping nonprofit organizations throughout the community. Dr. Michael Charlton, associate professor of English, created a grant proposal writing class, and students are writing proposals for nonprofit organizations and obtaining grants for them.
The class, Proposal and Grant Writing, is part of the coursework for the Master of Applied Arts’ two concentrations, Written Communications in Writing Studies and Written Communications in Technical Communication.
“The students are finding real-world funders and writing real grant proposals,” Dr. Charlton said. “It gives them an extra job skill, and they get the experience of working with a client with actual demands.”
In addition to writing a grant proposal, the students are required to make a presentation to the class, and the audience has the opportunity to critique it, Dr. Charlton said.
Some students have written proposals for their employers, while others have worked with nonprofits in the community and the region. Several students have applied for federal grants, which involves a rigorous process and stringent proposal guidelines, Dr. Charlton said. Since the class was offered for the fifth time last fall, Dr. Charlton said community nonprofits are now approaching him for student assistance.
The most successful proposal that was funded was a $162,500 federal grant for exterior renovations on the Patee House Museum in St. Joseph, written by student Ahmad Safi and Patee House personnel. Other proposals that have been funded include a grant to erect statues at the Buffalo Soldier Monument at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and a grant to expand the Second Harvest Community Food Bank’s Backpack Buddies into communities outside of St. Joseph.