There is a light at the end of the recession tunnel.The FORWARD Management Program at MATC Mequon is led by Management Development guru, Michael O. Halloran. Halloran is a FORWARD Management instructor/program coordinator.
The program has been in existence for 20 years, and 2009 marks the 50th group. It can be completed 100% at the Mequon Campus.
This program is tailored for working adults with or without a degree. It allows the individual to obtain an associate degree in Management Development in 2.5 years. “Our goal is that we want to make you an effective leader,” said Halloran.
“It goes beyond making an individual a better supervisor or manager. Without a shadow of a doubt it is a program that the individual enjoys and one they excel at in their work situation.”
The meat of any business is profit, but it would not be successful without its employees. “The team concept is one of our core abilities in our program,” says Halloran. “The students will be expected to solve problems together, and five to six of the courses in the program are centered on teamwork.”
“Do not let the term accelerated bother you. The age of our average student is 37,” adds Halloran. “Camaraderie builds in your group.”
The key is that we all have experience working in some sector and we may want to move into a different department or switch careers when the recession improves.
Each student will be coming from a variety of organizations and bringing his or her real life situations into the mix, pro and con. “That’s the beauty of networking,” says Halloran.
One of the newer courses focuses on diversity and its challenges and rewards. “It is the classic networking course, and it is truly eye-opening.” adds Halloran.
One of Halloran’s graduates was looking for a job and was hired through one of the program’s numerous business connections.
“He started as third-shift supervisor, then was first shift and as of eight months ago, was promoted to plant manager of an organization with over 150 employees.”
In a degree-hungry world, the employer is looking and demanding skilled individuals and graduates. “With this associate degree the individual will be a lot further than not having anything at all.
It gets you in the door,” adds Halloran.
Halloran stressed that the courses encompass “the entire business umbrella,” Management, Internet Technology, Human Resources, and so on.
After graduating, a student can also pursue a bachelor’s degree at five different schools: Concordia University, Cardinal Stritch University, Lakeland College, Ottawa University and Marquette University.
“You are accepted as a junior,” says Halloran. “There is roughly a $20,000 salary difference between an associate degree and a bachelor’s degree. Each degree you receive, your salary goes up.”
The accelerated program definition is six weeks vs. 15 weeks, ignoring the traditional semester that other students follow. You pay for a course and its books every six weeks vs. all at once. Classes are never canceled.
“It is sequential learning,” reminds Halloran. “If the individual has already had a course, they can take an elective course instead or step out of the program and return in six weeks.” That’s good news for lean times.
The program’s final project is eventually viewed by 10 managers from area businesses. What is unique is that they are evaluating Halloran and the program and accessing MATC.
“They want to know if the students have worked together as a team.” says Halloran.
“FORWARD is not a short-cut,” reminds Halloran. “The curriculum offers case studies, solving management problems and a small amount of tests. Students will be expected to devote around 15 hours a week reading field assignments.”
Halloran assured me that, “It’s not tough, but busy.” After all, when times are tough, the tough get going FORWARD.
