Director and chair — Dr. Shawnrece D. Campbell will direct a new academic program at Stetson University that can help working people get a bachelor’s degree and improve their chances of getting a better job.
More than 7 million jobs are unfilled in the United States, even with 9 million unemployed workers nationwide, and the number of unfilled jobs is projected to increase to 21 million by 2020, according to the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL).
Closer to home, more than 60 percent of positions in Florida will require a postsecondary education, but less than 32 percent of Florida workers have an associate degree or higher, as evidenced by U.S. Census Public Use Microdata Sample information.
From these statistics, it is apparent that workers with a bachelor’s degree are highly competitive in this job market. To help fill the need for qualified workers, Stetson University, beginning in May, will offer a Bachelor of Arts in organizational leadership, a new adult degree-completion program in the Office of Academic Affairs. Designed especially for adults with an associate degree or 60 transferable college credits, this program helps those who — for whatever reason — never finished a four-year degree.
“The organizational leadership major is a high-touch, liberal arts leadership major with some business content,” said Shawnrece D. Campbell, Ph.D., program director and chair, “that emphasizes the use of ethics, creativity, critical thinking, communication literacy and cultural competence to support the data-driven decision-making 21st-century leaders use for solving complex problems.”
To accommodate the busy lives and professional commitments of most adult students, all courses are offered with a blend of online and in-person work. Cohorts of 15-25 students will enter the program and take courses together through the completion of the program, meeting nights and weekends. The cohort format allows students to forge a supportive educational foundation while accomplishing their goals.
In addition to a Bachelor of Arts in organizational leadership, Stetson will offer five industry-specific focus areas:
Healthcare/public health
Financial services
Hospitality and entertainment
Information technology
Nonprofit and government
“The program also allows students to earn up to 16 credits for the years of learning they obtained outside of the college classroom,” said Campbell. “We’re serious about helping adult learners reach their goals, and providing adult students with a way of turning experiential learning into valuable college credits puts them one step closer to finishing what they started.”
For more information, call 386-822-7100, email organizationalleadershipdegree@stetson.edu or visit www.Stetson.edu/adc. That Web link also is where an online information seminar can be accessed 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 30, by clicking Information Sessions in the left column. Registration is required and can be doneat the same page.
- Special to the Beacon