TESC: Thomas Edison State College Offers New Programs Focusing on Organizational Management, Leadership and Professional Development

Mercer Business, Mar 01, 2006 by Soltis, Linda

The region's workforce can benefit from several new programs offered by Thomas Edison State College that focus on organizational management, leadership and professional development as well as an initiative enhancing access to higher education programs for adults working in the corporate sector.

"Adults interested in pursuing their education face a wide variety of challenges," said Mary Ellen Caro, dean of the School of Business and Management at Thomas Edison State College. "We've built our entire academic program around the unique needs of adults, removing the barriers that limit many potential students who juggle family and career responsibilities.

Those barriers, according to Caro, are largely time and place.

"Most adults cannot put their lives on hold to sit in a classroom at a specific time and place," she said. "At Thomas Edison State College, they do not have to."

A graduate-level degree designed for busy professionals, the Master of Science in Management program integrates management theory and practice as they apply to a wide range of organizations. The degree can be specialized in the following professional focus areas: human resources management, online learning and teaching, public sector auditing or public service leadership.

Additional graduate programs aimed at workforce development are new online graduate certificates that enable students to gain the expertise needed to advance their careers and earn credits that may be applied toward a graduate degree.

Graduate certificates are currently offered in Human Resources Management, Organization Management and Leadership, Homeland Security, Online Teaching and Learning, Clinical Trials Management and Public Service Leadership.

Also new in 2006 are noncredit programs offered through the School of Professional and Continuing Studies at Thomas Edison State College, which provides a broad array of high-quality professional certificates designed for working adults to develop knowledge and competencies in the workplace. Professional certificate programs at Thomas Edison State College enable students to develop advanced skill sets for positions in fastgrowing industries in as little time as a traditional college semester and to acquire new levels of expertise that advance their careers.

Currently, the college offers more than 30 professional certificate programs focusing on healthcare, business, IT, network and Microsoft certification, construction technology and video game design. Certificates in paralegal and gerontology are scheduled to launch later this year.

In addition to offering programs aimed at working adults, the college remains committed to developing partnerships with companies that enhance access to higher education to their employees.

Through the Corporate ChoiceTM program, the college helps adults working in the corporate sector meet their career objectives and maximizes the use of their employers' tuition assistance programs.

Thomas Edison State College is one of New Jersey's 12 senior public institutions of higher learning and one of the oldest colleges in the country designed exclusively for adults. The school is the only state college of its kind in New Jersey and is regionally accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. For more information about Thomas Edison State College, call (888) 442-8372 or visit www.tesc.edu.