Building a Distance Learning Hybrid Program in Organizational Leadership

In the fall of 2010, under the Purdue University College of Technology’s academic Center for Professional Studies in Technology and Applied Research (ProSTAR), was the inaugural program offering of a distance learning hybrid Master of Science degree with an area of concentration in Leadership. This program evolved from the collective experience and knowledge of an intense industry-academia partnership. The program was intentionally differentiated from a traditional MBA-type of program. The program was designed to provide successful transitional training and education to those individuals evolving from an individual contributor technical position to a leadership/management opportunity. Through a focused and intentional alignment of key courses in three primary areas; leadership, business/technology management and application, the enrolled students are provided the opportunity for discovery, assimilation and subsequent application of acquired knowledge and skills applicable to industrial settings both nationally and internationally. The program has experienced significant enrollment in excess of previously forecasted pro forma expectations, and, is expected to form the foundation for future similar program offering opportunities.