This week, Penn State University’s Smeal College of Business revealed plans to overhaul their open-enrollment supply chain management programs to make the programs more applicable to modern industry.
Smeal began their overhaul of the supply chain management open-enrollment programs with extensive research to determine how the school should proceed with its programs. Penn State Executive Programs researched market trends in supply chain management and obtained feedback from faculty, past program participants, and supply chain management industry leaders. Jeffrey L. Spearly, senior director of learning and development for Penn State Executive Programs, described the conclusion of their study: “our research verified that clients need tightly focused, immediately applicable programs with a learning experience that develops both leadership and technical competence.”
In response to the study, Smeal revised its curriculum, focusing on necessary skills in supply chain management while also trying to help participants understand the connections between their supply chain management work and the overall goals of their companies. Smeal also worked to remove content that is repeated in multiple courses, and managed to reduce the length of the supply chain management certification program and limit the fees associated with it.
In addition to changes in the curriculum, Smeal has developed two new executive programs in supply chain management: Supply Chain Analytics and Transportation Operations and Sourcing. These programs came from client requests for more educational content in analytics and transportation. These two programs are the newest in Smeal’s seven programs in supply chain management. The programs will debut in June at Penn State’s University Park campus.
Open enrollment students may earn a certificate in Supply Chain Management by completing a number of courses. Penn State Smeal’s open enrollment classes for 2014 will include courses in finance, information technology, and leadership and strategy as well as supply chain management.
