Graduate Certificates in Construction Management

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Graduate Certificates in Construction Management

• STATE OF ALASKA DOT/PF 2008 Annual Statewide
  Construction Managers Meeting
• Dr. Robert A. Perkins, PE

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Worker Shortage Looms for Defense SectorTuesday
March 4, 224 pm ET By Joelle Tessler, AP
Business Writer
Aerospace and Defense Sector Braces for Potential
Brain Drain As Cold War Workers Retire
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The aerospace and defense
sector is bracing for a potential brain drain
over the next decade as a generation of Cold War
scientists and engineers hits retirement age and
not enough qualified young Americans seek to take
their place.
-- almost 60 percent of U.S. aerospace workers in
2007 were 45 or older --
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Problem

• Worldwide loss of middle management engineers and
  technical professionals
• All industrial countries
• All technical industries
• Loss of mentoring class
• More acute in governmental employers
• Less flexibility

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Managers Need

• Desire
• Must want to manager, be responsible for work of
  others
• Skills in management
• People, communications, HR, etc.
• Technical knowledge about their field

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Education and Training

• May accelerate acquisition of management and
  technical skills
• Many modalities
• OJT
• NHI
• Full-time MS
• Part-time MS
• CEU-type training
• Graduate Certificates

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Value of Academic Courses

• OJT and employer-sponsored education can work,
  however
• Lack credential
• Quality varies
• Student participation varies
• Academic instruction and curriculum must meet
  standards of institution
• Students must internalize knowledge

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Extra Courses Required - Construction

• Cost estimating (3),
• CE construction (3),
• Project management (3),
• Contract law (3),
• Human Resources, Labor Law (3) plus
• Geotech or structures (3-6).
• Total 15-18 more credits

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Ten pounds of stuff in a 5 pound bag
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Standard MS not economical

• Full-time lose two years of longevity
• Small increase in starting pay
• Evening program depends on how you value your
  free time
• Economics is different for international students

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Increase graduate educations value to students?

• Make more specific to employers needs
• Make more convenient for students and employers
• ESM Advisory suggested Building Block approach
• Break curriculum down into short modules that
  would count toward the degree
• Give credential sooner

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Graduate Certificates

• Growth industry in engineering education
• Typically 12 to 15 graduate credits
• Generally acceptable towards MS
• Rolla indicates 11 of 29 departments have
  certificate programs

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Certificates Work

• (Many private universities are marketing)
• Focused on narrow area
• Often marketed to industry, i.e.,
• Design of Pharmaceutical Facilities
• Value Chain Enterprise Systems
• Pharmaceutical Process Engineering
• Often distance delivered
• Often dont need MS to complete BS degree

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AK DOT Classes

• Asked UAF to offer some construction management
  classes last spring
• UAF generated preliminary information
• Met with AK DOT to refine
• We took plan to contractors, owners, AGC, etc.

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Findings

• Emphasize management skills
• Target individuals who have
• engineering or technical bachelors degrees, and
• who have several years of subsequent work
  experience.
• Short, concentrated modules
• completed and applied quickly.
• Convenient times and locations
• during seasons that minimize conflict with
  construction activities.

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First, Early, Draft of Certificate Program

• Had Four Discipline Area
• Human interactions and communications (4-6
  credits)
• Construction project management (4-6 credits)
• Construction contract administration (4-6
  credits)
• Other Areas (3-4 credits total)

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Conclusions

• Need to customize our current educational
  offerings to suit students and, especially,
• The needs of their employers
• Decrease cost to students
• Make the product more valuable to the
  customer
• Graduate certificates, such as construction
  management, may do this.
• Need Board of Regent Approval
• Now is a good time for it

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Questions to you

• Start of something new?
• Graduate Certificate in Construction Mgt.
• Skill areas?
• Needs
• Handout