Management: Executive Leadership Concentration, M.A.

Master of Arts Degree in Management

The Master of Arts degree in Management is a 31-34 credit hour program designed to meet the needs of working adults and develop communication, teamwork, leadership, and management skills. The program focuses on the behavioral skills of management and applying those skills to today’s organizations. The degree offers concentrations in:

• Management: Change Management Concentration, M.A.  
• Management: Executive Leadership Concentration, M.A.  
• Management: Health Care Administration Concentration, M.A.   
• Management: Inclusion & Belonging Concentration, M.A.  
• Management: Interdisciplinary Business Concentration, M.A.  
• Management: Marketing Concentration, M.A.   
• Management: Project Management Concentration, M.A.   
• Management: Strategic Human Resources Concentration, M.A.  
• Management: Workplace Instructional Design Concentration, M.A.   

Management Admissions Requirements

The applicant seeking admission to the program can view requirements on the Admissions  page of this catalog.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Arts degree in Management requires 33 credit hours of graduate coursework that students must complete within seven years, maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 in order to graduate.

Student Status within the Management Graduate Program

Student in Good Standing

• Has successfully met all entrance requirements;
• Has maintained an overall GPA of 3.0 or better with no grade below “C” (only two courses with “C” grades are allowed; students may retake a class with a grade below a “C” once);

Probationary Status

• Newly admitted Management students may be classified as “probationary” if any portion of their entrance requirements is less than satisfactory. The probationary student must maintain a 3.0 GPA for the first six credit hours of graduate coursework in order to remain in the program.
• A student may change status from “Student in Good Standing” to “Student on Probation” if any of the following criteria are met: overall GPA falls below 3.0 or student receives a grade of “C” or lower in any course.
• Students on probation have six credit hours to return their GPA to 3.0 or above to regain “Good Standing.” Failure to raise the GPA may lead to dismissal from the program.

Professional Conduct

Students in the Management program are expected to conduct themselves as professionals-in-training both inside and outside the classroom. We encourage and expect students to treat others (including classmates and instructors) with sensitivity and dignity. Impairment, incompetence, ethical misconduct, and/or problematic behavior may be identified and addressed in a variety of ways and by a variety of persons, including but not limited to students, faculty, supervisors, clients, and/or members of the community. If student behaviors or attitudes are egregious, he or she may be dismissed immediately. If student behaviors or attitudes are less dire, they will be addressed in a confidential meeting with the student’s faculty advisor and/or Dean of the School of Professional Studies who will make a plan for remediation in an articulated time frame. At the end of the stated period, during which time the students would be placed on probation, he or she could return to Student in Good Standing status, continue on probation, or be dismissed depending upon the ability to successfully complete the corrective action. Students may appeal this process at any time.

Management Required Courses

Students are required to take the following courses:

• MG 601 - Statistics (3)
• MG 605 - Ethics & Legal Environment (3)
• MG 630 - Financial Decision Making for Managers (3)
• MG 650 - Strategic Communication (3)
• MG 670 - Organizational Psychology & Behavior (3)
• MG 685 - Professional Portfolio (1)
• MG 688 - Leadership and Influence Processes (3)
• MG 695 - Applied Research Project (3)

Executive Leadership Concentration

The following additional courses are required for the Executive Leadership concentration:

• OD 650 - Strategic Communication (3)
• OD 655 - Innovation & Creativity (3)
• OD 675 - Team Development & Facilitation (3)
• OD 678 - Conflict Management Systems (3)

Outcomes

In addition to the general degree requirements stated earlier in this university catalog, Master of Arts degree in Management students will be expected to meet the following educational outcomes, which will be assessed in the courses mentioned in parentheses.

• Integrate management theory and practice to meet organizational goals. (MG 605 , MG 670 )
• Effectively communicate and collaborate with others. (MG 650 , MG 675 )
• Develop skills of leadership. (MG 688 , MG 675 )
• Present and implement solutions to address business problems. (MG 630 , MG 670 )
• Distinguish ethical aspects of managerial decisions. (MG 605 , MG 688 )
• Identify and secure resources necessary to solve business problems. (MG 601 , MG 630 )

Assessment

Summative outcomes for the Master of Arts degree in Management are assessed in the Applied Research capstone course (MG 695 ) in which students apply the concepts, theories, and research from earlier classes in the program to a real-life project with an organization or business in the area. Students present the results of their projects to the clients from that organization in both oral and written format. The clients for the project will assess the project based upon the above criteria. In addition, professionals in the management field and faculty in the program will assess the written portion of the final reports. The Summative assessment occurs yearly. Formative outcomes are assessed in individual courses noted in parentheses above as students move through the program. After three years, faculty review both formative and summative data results for MA degree in Management outcomes at once.