New Davenport programs address workplace trends
TRAVERSE CITY/GAYLORD – Davenport University locations in Traverse City and Gaylord are introducing degree programs for the fall semester designed to prepare students for growth careers in business and technology. The programs are either the first of their kind in Michigan or include unique aspects that address trends in the workplace.
The new programs for the fall semester are among 18 bachelor degree programs in business that Davenport offers to residents of northern Michigan. Classes are offered in classrooms and online.
Service management and marketing
At a time when the U.S. economy is shifting from manufacturing to service, Davenport will be the first university in Michigan to offer a bachelor’s in service management and marketing. Davenport’s Traverse City and Gaylord locations will begin offering the degree this fall.
The bachelor’s is designed to train people seeking careers in service industries such as banking, retailing and health care, or who will manage operations and areas that work directly with an organization’s customers, such as customer service managers, customer call centers, and service logistics and field service managers.
“Davenport University is on the cutting-edge of changing the economy by providing trained professionals who can help market products and services, as well as build customer loyalty through excellent customer service,” said Fred Hoffman, state relations director for DaimlerChrysler and a Davenport University board trustee.
Students will be able to take classes for this new program either online or in Traverse City or Gaylord classrooms.
From ‘specialty’ to ‘major’
Two new HR programs at Davenport University’s School of Business offer students and graduates cutting-edge preparation for the changing field of today’s human resources environments.
Both the bachelor’s of business administration in human resource management and the post-baccalaureate certificate in human resource management will provide students with the knowledge of a broad spectrum of HR topics through theory. More important, they will both teach real-world human resource management applications.
According to the Federal Bureau of Labor, demand may be particularly strong for certain HR specialists. Employers are expected to devote greater resources to job-specific training programs in response to the increasing complexity of many jobs.
In addition, increasing efforts throughout the industry to recruit and retain quality employees should create demand for employment, recruitment and placement specialists.
Michigan Department of Labor statistics identified growth rates of 6.7 percent, 6.6 percent and 7.9 percent in the specialized areas of employment/recruitment, compensation/benefits and training/development with 556 annual average openings (2000-2010).
The new post-baccalaureate certificate was created for individuals already working in the field of HR who had previously received their bachelor’s degree in an unrelated business discipline.
Students can register in Traverse City or Gaylord and will take the majority of their upper level undergraduate and graduate courses online.
The HR management programs can prepare students seeking careers as a human resources generalist, employment recruiter, staffing specialist, employee relations specialist, compensation/benefits specialist, job analyst specialist, employee assistance plan specialist, training and development specialist, labor relations specialist, or EEO/Affirmative Action coordinator.
Internal auditing specialty
To meet the growing demand for greater corporate governance, Davenport University will be the first in Michigan to offer a bachelor’s degree with an internal auditing specialty. Locations in Traverse City and Gaylord will be offering the program beginning this fall through a combination of in-seat classes and online study.
“An internal auditor’s specialized skills are in demand now more than ever,” said Davenport Accounting and Finance Division Chair Irene Bembenista, who created the degree program. “Due to a call for greater corporate governance and the accompanying legal environment changes, internal auditors are at a premium and have a greater starting salary than the median for general accountants.”
The work of internal auditors has developed to involve evaluating a company’s operations for efficiency, effectiveness, and compliance with corporate policies and procedures, laws and government regulations.
The program, housed in the Accounting Information Management BBA program at Davenport, provides students with the skills to perform thorough appraisals within an organization to assure adequate and effective controls over company policies and regulations, assess the economical use of resources, and operational goals and objectives.
The internal auditing specialty degree program is designed to train people seeking careers as an internal auditor, certified internal auditor, management analyst or consultant, financial analyst, cost estimator, quality assurance consultant, risk analyst, budget advisor or ISO auditor.
New technology programs
Davenport will be offering a new specialty degree this fall that is tailored to government predictions for job growth over the next 10 years.
The Computer Information Systems bachelor’s of applied science degree program now offers a specialty in database management.
“Davenport created this specialty degree program because all current statistics, including government forecasts, indicate that these areas will be in the top 20 growth sectors,” said Reid Gough, dean of the School of Technology. “We need to provide the skills and knowledge necessary for our graduates to find professional level IT positions. In order to do so, we need to offer some unique classes and programs.”
The new database management specialty incorporates the study of database management and distributed systems with a concentration on the new study of data mining and knowledge management.
“Anybody looking at the current job market and job listings can’t help but notice a high demand for this ability to extract key information from databases,” Gough said.
Davenport’s locations in Gaylord and Traverse City will be offering the program beginning this fall through a combination of in-seat classes and online study. BN