organizational leadership and learning Archives

New tracks available for UofL’s award-winning online leadership & learning B.S. degree

By Brooke Whitaker | May 13, 2021 | Comments 0 Comment

Ready to complete your bachelor's degree?

The University of Louisville’s online B.S. in Organizational Leadership and Learning (B.S. OLL) now offers three new tracks for students—providing even more options for working professionals to complete their bachelor’s degree. The new tracks are Project Management for the Modern Workforce, Digital Leadership/IT, and Human Resource Development. Offered through the College of Education and Human Development, these tracks support the department’s goal to provide a faster and more affordable option to complete your bachelor’s degree and equip you with the skills to prepare for career advancement or change for your specific career path.

B.S. OLL Program Benefits

The B.S. OLL program not only further develops your skill and knowledge in leadership, project management, and organizational change, but also provides the opportunity for 48 credit hours tuition-free through the Prior Learning Assessment course.

If you started your degree but didn’t finish, the B.S. OLL program also allows for up to 31 credit hours transferred from previous college credit, rather it was UofL or another accredited college. Furthermore, all but one course is offered in 8-week terms. Take as many courses as you would like to finish your degree 100% online, on your schedule to balance education with life and work priorities.

Want to know more about the program and what the experience is really like? Hear from real online B.S. OLL students in the video below.

Now, let’s dive deeper into the new tracks!

Project Management for the Modern Workforce

The Project Management for the Modern Workforce track is designed for business professionals who want well-rounded skills in managing a multitude of projects for any industry as well as those who seek a pathway to a project management role or career. This track goes beyond traditional project management knowledge, providing students the opportunity to expand their expertise and successfully respond to organizational change in areas of technology, logistics and personnel management, effective communication, data analysis and efficiently built structures.

Upon successful completion of the Project Management track of the B.S. OLL program, students will be prepared to pursue the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAMP) or the Project Management Certification (PMP).

Digital Leadership/IT

The Digital Leadership/IT track is for business professionals seeking to develop their leadership skills as well as their knowledge in Information Technologies (IT). The curriculum focuses on organizational and employee effectiveness, work morale and more, while also providing broad-based technology knowledge. This program will give you the opportunity to gain the expertise to effectively lead employees in the rapidly-changing technology field and in industries that technology impacts.

UofL has partnered with several technology industry vendors including IBM, Google, Microsoft, and Adobe to provide the opportunity to earn recognized technology micro-credentials in certain Digital Leadership/IT courses, at no additional cost. Faculty and staff work with individual students to determine which micro-credentials are the best fit for their experience and career path.

Human Relation Development

The Human Relation Development track is specifically designed for business professionals who would like to start or advance their career in the HR field. This track will develop your fundamental knowledge of Human Resources as well as the analytical and strategical skills necessary for the modern HR role. This track focuses on coaching and talent management, mediating conflict and data analytics needed to understand human dynamics in areas of organizational environment, employee satisfaction and more.

Upon successful completion of the HR Development track, graduates will be prepared to take the Certified Professional Human Resources (PHR) test.

Other Tracks Available

There are also other established tracks within the B.S. OLL program—designed with the same goal of degree completion and advancing your career—that may fit your profession and education goals:

Leadership, Training and Organizational Development
Healthcare Leadership (competency-based education)
Counseling and Human Relations
Early Childhood Education
Career and Technical Education

Learn more about the Bachelor’s in Organizational Leadership and Learning program benefits, all eight tracks, admission requirements, courses and more.

Engaging Your Workforce — A Three Stage Model

By admin | September 29, 2014

Corporations should focus on HOW work gets done – instead of the standard HOW MUCH work gets done. It’s all about engagement, according to Dr. Brad Shuck an assistant professor in the Organizational Leadership and Learning Program at the University of Louisville, and a pioneer in employee engagement research.

Reflecting on his own past experience with less effective work environments, Dr. Shuck points out that the places he worked at were not bad companies, but they were filled with bad managers, “People,” he says, “were being promoted into positions with responsibilities they were not ready for. These managers only wanted to know how much I could get done, not how I was getting it done.”

Dr. Shuck’s research focuses on employee engagement to help design organizations where corporate leaders learn to increase engagement to reduce turnover and meet business objectives. Results suggests that people who rate themselves as being more engaged at work experience less exhaustion, have a higher sense of personal accomplishment and practice better collaboration in their workplace.

Dr. Shuck’s employee engagement model is called “Think it, Feel it, Do it.” and determines the employee’s level of engagement in three steps:

“Think it” stage — employees encounter situations everyday and ask themselves whether the work is a) meaningful, b) safe and c) offers the right resources. A ‘no’ answer to any of these questions makes engagement levels plummet.
“Feel it” stage – If employees make a positive appraisal from the first question, then they emotionally commit.
“Do it” stage — employees change their behavior.

“Worldwide research shows that only 30 percent of workers go to work every day fully engaged. I am looking to reach out and partner with the Louisville community so we trump that figure,” he says.

Dr. Brad Shuck is an Assistant Professor in the Organizational Leadership and Learning (OLL) Program at UofL. The OLL Program offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees to foster leadership, learning, and performance. Programs are available 100% online and on campus.

This article was adapted from an original piece about Dr. Shuck’s research, written by Dr. Denise M. Cumberland, Assistant Professor in the OLL Program at UofL.

B.S. in Organizational Leadership and Learning: Outstanding Adult Education Program Of The Year

By Laura Dorman | September 12, 2014

UofL’s Organizational Leadership and Learning (OLL) bachelor’s program receives the 2013 Malcolm Knowles Award for Outstanding Adult Education Program of the Year

The Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership and Learning program at the University of Louisville is the recipient of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education’s (AAACE) 2013 Malcolm Knowles Award. This is the first time the award has ever been awarded to a bachelor’s degree program.

The award was established in the name of Malcolm S. Knowles for his distinguished contribution to the field of adult education and his development of the theory of andragogy. Knowles’ theoretical and practical approach is based on a humanistic conception of self-directed and autonomous learners and teachers as facilitators of learning.

The award recognizes teams or individuals for outstanding leadership of programs that demonstrate effectiveness, relevancy, creativity, immediacy, institutional cooperation or collaboration and legislative impact. Matt Bergman, assistant professor, and Kevin Rose, assistant professor, both with the Department of Leadership, Foundations and Human Resource Education at UofL, accepted the award on behalf of the Organizational Leadership and Learning (OLL) program at the AAACE’s annual conference.

To be eligible for this award, a degree program must serve the adult learner population for a minimum of two years and demonstrate efficient adoption of the andragogical process. The Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership and Learning is delivered on campus or online to meet the needs to nontraditional students who are employed, taking care of their family or are engaged in community projects or services.

Referring to how this award reflects the positive learning outcomes of the bachelor’s program, Matt Bergman said ”With more than 96,000 adults in the greater Louisville area who have some college and no degree, we believe that our Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership and Learning program is a very effective option for completing a bachelor’s education. This program is built on a solid foundation of high standards that focus on a relevant, rigorous, and research based curriculum that balance the need for greater educational attainment with high quality learning outcomes for our students. Our program’s adult learning advocates continually embrace the support and resources from our campus community, the Louisville region, and the National Degree Completion initiatives to advance educational attainment for so many working adults with some college and no degree.

Kevin Rose also shared his thoughts about the quality of the program and how it impacts continuous professional development: “Our program is receiving national recognition for our efforts to meet the education needs of adult learners. This recognition reflects our faculty’s commitment to making this program particularly relevant for students with prior knowledge and work experience.” We continually strive for new and better ways to deliver a rigorous, relevant, and research-based curriculum that empowers our students to make an impact in their lives and workplaces. This recognition would also not be possible without the great students that we serve and the level of enthusiasm and professionalism they bring to the classroom. Our program is better because of our outstanding students.

In the OLL program, students benefit from a learning climate that is relaxed, trusting, mutually respectful, informal, warm, collaborative, and supportive. Learners and facilitators participate equally in planning the learning process and assessing the learning needs. Most of all, students learn through experiential techniques, inquiry projects or independent study. Learning process assessments are completed by evaluating learner-collected evidence validated by peers, experts and facilitators.

The College of Education and Human Development at University of Louisville strives to provide all students with quality learning opportunities, modern teaching and learning methods and flexible delivery of programs that help professionals achieve their long-term goals and stand out in their profession and organization. Our bachelor’s graduates are fully equipped to advance their career and pursue further studies in organization development. Many of our students go on to become effective leaders, experts in their industry and champions of change in the society.

To learn more about the online programs offered by the College of Education and Human Development, visit:
• BS OLL page (http://louisville.edu/online/programs/bachelors/bachelor-of-science-in-organizational-leadership-and-learning?utm_source=blog-malcolm)
• MS HROD page (http://louisville.edu/online/programs/masters/master-of-science-in-human-resources-and-organization-development&utm_source=blog-malcolm)

Tag: organizational leadership and learning