Program Requirements

B.A. Degree Concentration in Organizational Leadership – This degree is available only through the PROFESSIONAL STUDIES PROGRAM. You will grow personally and professionally with this program’s practical and thought-provoking approach to leading people in organizations. We concentrate on the skills that all leaders and managers need, including critical thinking skills that maximize your adult experiences, and communication skills that result from continuous writing practice and small-group speaking.

The requirements of this 130-credit hour program will prepare you to make a difference in your career and community life. Highlights of the program include:

Liberal Studies Colloquium (SCED 200L) – This introductory course gives you the opportunity to encounter a major issue and learn how to understand its complexities. You will review and reinforce your skills in research, writing and speaking. Recent topics have been American Democracy: Problems and Prospects and Individualism and Community in American Public Life.

Business Core – Through these courses you will learn to assess and develop your personal leadership skills and apply them to various organizational functions. You will learn the techniques that motivate people to achieve at their highest level, and you will discuss problems that hinder achievement. With a special focus in the human resources area, you will learn requirements of a first-rate human resources operation and the best practices of finding, hiring, training and motivating people. You will also learn to manage financial resources and relate them to organizational goals. Through our Issues Electives you can explore topics of particular interest to you. These have included Team Leadership, Conflict Resolution and Negotiation, Organizational Development, Training and Development Principles, Employment Law, and Writing Effective Proposals.

Communication - This is the hallmark of our program: cultivating the skill to develop solutions and also persuade others to put them into action. Our formal course in Group Dynamics (COMM 224) provides a foundation, but the process extends far beyond a single course. We promote ongoing development in writing, speaking, and listening throughout the entire degree program.

Leadership Focus (SCED 340) – Our Readings in Leadership course addresses the challenge of moving beyond managing processes into the role of leading people toward strategic goals. You will conduct a self-assessment of your existing leadership skills, explore concepts of effective leadership in real situations and implement a plan for improving your skills.

Senior Project (SCED 400) – Your experience in the program will culminate in the capstone course, Senior Leadership Seminar, where you will have the opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of a strategic vs. a task view and a mature sense of what it takes to initiate strategic change. Over the course of the semester, you’ll develop a research report on a workplace or community issue of your choosing. You will refine the report into an executive briefing supported by PowerPoint visuals, and present it to an invited audience. A comprehensive evaluation of content and delivery will serve as a baseline for your continuous improvement after graduation.

Students recently have presented on meaningful and timely topics such as these:

Using Activity-Based Accounting to Increase Efficiency in Manufacturing

Efficient and Legally Compliant Archiving for the Clark County Commissioners

Stemming Turnover in a High-Stress Background Check Operation

Assessing the True Cost of Emergency Medical Services in a Fire Department

Physician Recruitment in an Environment of Shortage in Specialties

Transforming Waste in a Machining Process into Increased Profit

Establishing a Volunteer Component for a County Emergency Management System

Introducing Sexual Harassment Policies into the Church Setting

Positioning the Customer at the Center of Wittenberg Enrollment Management Practice

Organizational Leadership Program Requirements

(Credits are semester credits)

General Education...................................53 credits

Major and Related Requirements..............32 credits

Free Electives.........................................45 credits

                                                            130