The First Graduate Studies Reception on May 3, 2012 was a success! Graduate students, faculty and staff increased their network five-fold. The Project Management Masters Program was well represented. The event started with a Welcome from President Leach, Dean of Academic Affairs Sheila Taylor-King, and Program Director- Michelle Capozzolli. The evening was MC’d by Dean of Graduate Studies Scott Stanley. Participants engaged in a speed interviewing exercise which involved interviewing five attendees they did not know prior to the event. This activity was followed by introductions to the group. There were several laughs by all participants throughout the night. The event was deemed a networking success by individuals engaging in conversation at the end of the night with their new colleagues.
Granite State College’s Graduate Studies Network just got a little bit bigger.
In the past year, Granite State College has launched Graduate Studies and celebrated the newly formed School of Education. With these two exciting initiatives, GSC needed two exciting sets of promotional material for prospective students!
Where to begin? Like many other journeys GSC has taken, the process always starts with the students.
In our Graduate Studies brochure, you'll find two students from the Project Management Master's Program and you may even recognize their classroom at the Rochester campus! They are joined by the Dean of Graduate Studies and several other staff members from Granite State College that prospective students will actually see and interact with when they enroll.
Our School of Education photo shoot featured students from the Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Certification program. We had a dynamic venue filled with energetic 3-7 year old children who are the same age as the students these future educators will teach!
It means so much to us to have real live members of the GSC community in these photos and we had a blast spending the day with the students.
Special thanks to Leslie Bowering, '10 ,B.A. Liberal Studies: Self-Design in Language Arts. She opened the doors of her business, The Reading Room for Kids, in Rye, NH, for our School of Education photo shoot.
Since arriving in New Hampshire in June 2011 to serve as the Dean for Graduate Studies at Granite State College, graduate education has emerged from an initiative to a norm. The Master of Science in Project Management was launched in September 2011. We had a great response to this launch evident by the number of students enrolling in the program. Students have commented on the applicability of what they are learning in their courses to their jobs. I have heard from students that they are able to make an instant impact at their employer by applying the principles they learn in class to their work the next day. Kudos to our GSC instructors. The Project Management Program at Granite State is deeply aligned with the Project Management Institute's Body of Knowledge. The Project Management Body of Knowledge can be found in the PMBOK Guide. These knowledge areas are considered the standards for project management.
If you have an interest in trying out Project Management college courses or "testing the waters" before you formally apply, visit our website to find out more information.
Scott Stanley, Ed.D
Dean of Graduate Studies
Granite State College
It's Christmastime, the decorations are out, the carolers are warming up, the shopping season is in full swing, and it's time to reflect on the challenges and accomplishments of the past year. If I were making a list, the first item in both the Challenges column and the Accomplishments column would be the pursuit of a Masters Degree in Project Management.
The challenge lies in the fact that I haven't been a college student in, oh, let's just say, a very long time. Not only am I enrolled in the very first graduate degree program offered at Granite State College, I am in the very first cohort scheduled to graduate in 2013. I am so proud and excited to be part of such an illustrious group of bright, dedicated and funny people...I really like this thing called adult higher education!
In the accomplishment column I proudly include the completion of the first of ten terms in the project management masters program. This term was made up of two six-week classes - PM 804 Project Management Seminar and PM 804 Leading Teams; both were excellent courses. My preferred delivery method for instruction is face to face, on the ground at our Manchester NH campus. Of course, for those of you who would rather operate completely in the digital world, you always have the option of taking any of our adult college courses online.
It is interesting now that I am immersed in the world of project management...all that we do in life is a project in one way or another. I see it all around me. The applications, tools and techniques of project management can be applied to everything from planning a holiday party to putting a man on the moon.
Now there's a thought...how might I apply what I've learned so far in my project management classes to make my holiday season just a little less stressful and a bit more organized?
Project Scope: Just what do I want to accomplish this holiday season? I certainly don't want to bite off more than I can chew so I had better define exactly what I will and can commit to this year.
Project Team: My family...who is responsible for what and can we accomplish everything we have identified in our project scope?
Project Planning: Creating a task list (work breakdown structure in project management speak) that includes all of the typical activities (cards, gifts, parties, decorations, food, etc.) around the holiday would be helpful.
Project Risk: Have you ever had your heart set on a particular gift for someone only to find the gift is not available, or that the cost exceeds your budget? Contingency plans are always a good idea.
Project Close: The holidays are over; now is the time to assess what worked and what didn't...lessons learned are a very valuable tool at the close of any project, but only if you use them.
So as you think about everything you have to do for the holidays, remember these four easy steps to help you along: plan, execute, manage and close. Wishing you a very merry and stress free holiday season!
GSC Factoid: Granite State College offers the most affordable continuing education in the state and is the University System's leading online provider.
Good Morning fans and friends,
I just woke up and saw that Westland is going to be selling Rain Barrels with some of the proceeds going to the cancer foundation. My mum died of cancer so whenever I can give, help promote research, I am in for it. But, it is not just for the cancer research fund, it is for the rain barrel. I have always wanted one to water my flowers, garden and save the water that comes from the sky and recycle it. I think it is a good thing for our earth as well as a good example of conservation. My grandparents had two of them at their cottage in Canada and I can remember at a young age, putting a dipper in and getting out a bucket full of water. The Cottage didn't have running water, so we used it to wash our hair, water the garden and yes, even flush the toilet. I know I won't use mine for all those reasons but I do think it is a good way to reuse our water that comes from the sky.
I have to research it and see where the best down spout to put it under. But, that is no different than researching a subject for school. Learning again is what I am talking about, learning about something new, exciting, is all part of life. I just found out that Granite State College is offering a
Masters of Science Degree in Project Management. I am so excited and want to get signed up as soon as I learn my new job better. I want to be proficient in this new position before I put other information in my brain. Taking these classes is a great education and career advancement opportunity. I am so excited about this new class, I have told other colleagues about the program and who knows, maybe a few of us will go to Granite State College and take these accelerated adult studies classes.
OK, I am off to get my rain barrel. I hope you all have a great weekend!!
The Concord Monitor recently ran a story entitled "Changing the way we Educate" that profiled Granite State College and the unique ways in which we serve undergraduate and graduate students. The focus of the article was largely on how Granite State College balances business and academics, and how we are addressing a 48% cut in state appropriations (the largest cut ever made to the USNH appropriations). While the cut certainly impacts us, Granite State College has been very innovative this past year, launching a new BS in Health Care Management and developing our first masters degree (an MS in Project Management). We also streamlined our admissions processes, eliminated some fees, and adopted a "student-centered" approach that led to schedule improvements and the creation of student success teams.
Granite State College's innovations are leading to record enrollment levels for the college in spite of budgetary cuts. It is our ability to be responsive to student and employer needs that is becoming the college's hallmark. GSC has long been a leader in online education and today every degree the College offers is available entirely online, including our new MS in Project Management. For GSC, having our degrees available online is not enough, we have gone beyond that by building a top instructional design team that includes a media-rich specialist and adding greater support for online students through services such as online tutoring. We also provide our faculty with more tools than just the learning management system, one of the latest tools available to faculty allows them to create animated simulations.
Even with this expansion of online offerings and support, GSC has also continued to invest in technology and innovation at our state-wide campus centers. Our recent campus centers in Rochester, Manchester, and Littleton all offer an array of classroom technology, including wireless connectivity. More importantly, our innovations around curriculum are making higher education more accessible to adults and working professionals. We are launching fast-track programs this year that offer an accelerated and streamlined path to completing a bachelor degree.
State appropriations are certainly key to our ability to offer the best higher education value possible, but equally important is our ability to innovate. While appropriations may be down, innovation at GSC has never been higher.
"Change" is a word that is often overused, but in the world of higher education "substantive change" has very specific meaning. An institution that goes through substantive change is one that embarks on new directions that require review by its regional accreditor. Granite State College has undertaken such a change by moving from an institution offering only undergraduate credit to one that will now offers its first masters degree.
The Master of Science in Project Management is intended to provide students with a highly transferable set of skills and competencies that are in high demand across a number of industries. GSC's first masters degree is designed to provide students with both pragmatic content and high level learning opportunities that can prepare students to advance in management and leadership level positions. A cursory search of job postings lists many positions in which project management skills are specifically identified. In addition, managers in general can gain a competitive advantage in the job market by gaining project management competencies.
Granite State College worked closely with industry experts to develop its first masters program in order to ensure our graduates will be well prepared to compete and advance in their chosen careers. At this point, the Granite State College masters degree is the only MS in Project Management offered by a New Hampshire institution.
We are confident that our new masters degree will meet the advanced education needs of working adults and professionals across the state and beyond. The new program will be offered entirely online as well as at select Granite State College locations.
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