Employment of HR managers (median annual pay of $130,000) is projected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to grow 9 percent by 2030 - faster than the average of all occupations. This is not by accident - as advancements are made in best practices and new technologies within Human Resource Departments, companies are willing to pay up to find the most talented individuals available, as they recognize the value of having highly talented people in those positions. HR managers have a tremendously valuable impact not just on the companies they work for, but on individual co-workers within the organization, and play an integral role in the modern economy.
As the role of an HR professional within the workforce changes, students will need to adapt their skill sets in order to land these lucrative and prestigious positions. The increasingly focused skill set desired by major employers is no longer served by general business degrees. In today’s economy, it is essential that aspiring HR professionals receive training and experience in coordinating the administrative functions of an organization, hiring and training employees, handling inter-company disputes, working with HR software, and other skills that will be important to their job on day one.
Our Human Resources Management major is intended to provide students with the relevant skills to address these areas and to succeed as the highest performers in this burgeoning field. While they will also receive a traditional business education, graduates from this program will be able to point to specific skills they have learned and developed in HR that will allow them to stand out amongst all applicants.
When conducting meetings with large scale employers throughout the country, we learned a very simple truth: companies want well-rounded graduates that have received a diverse education but can also perform a specific skill at a high level. Employers are well aware that the best employees are those who can think critically, learn quickly, problem solve, strategize, and operate with degrees of freedom within the business. However, their hiring needs at the entry level are increasingly specialized - they need employees who can perform specific tasks reliably from day one.
Our Human Resource Management major is structured to fulfill both of these desired specifications. This program is designed to first and foremost provide students with a strong and well-rounded knowledge base of business and business concepts. Once this foundation is built, students will then move onto courses strictly focused on delivering tangible and sought after skills in Human Resource Management. This learning path then culminates in a capstone course, where students gain hands-on experience in the type of work they will perform in a professional setting, allowing them to hone their skills and create a portfolio that can be shared with potential employers. By educating students in this manner, our goal is to create graduates who have the pedigree to get hired, the skillset to make an impact in their field on day one, and the knowledge base to continue learning, improving, and keeping up with the inevitable shifts of the labor market for years to come.
This curriculum was developed with the help of Tiffin University and is based largely on its current offering in Human Resource Management. After hearing that Human Resources was an area that employers were interested in hiring recent college graduates for, we worked with Tiffin to put together an illustrative major in Human Resource Management that would be compatible with most business degrees. This initial draft was then adjusted based on conversations with industry professionals, who provided help in determining which courses delivered the skills most desired in today’s labor market. Going forward, we will continue to look to HR professionals to help us tweak this curriculum based on current industry trends.
Faculty Members of Tiffin University - All of the Human Resource Management courses offered through the LCMC were developed within the business department at Tiffin University. Founded in 1888, Tiffin has an incredibly strong track record of delivering quality education to students. Furthermore, Tiffin has vast experience in providing distance education and has invested in classroom technology, 24 hour IT services, and other key areas intended to lead to positive learning outcomes for off-campus students.
Tiffin University’s School of Business is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). The ACBSP is a leading specialized accreditation body for business education supporting, celebrating and rewarding teaching excellence. They accredit business education programs at the associate, baccalaureate, masters and doctorate degree levels worldwide. Institutions with this accreditation are committed to continuous improvement that ensures their business program will give students the skills employers want.
During the creation of this curriculum, we consulted with HR professionals and hiring managers throughout the country to ensure that the learning outcomes of this major aligned with industry demand. Though the majority of these conversations were held with large scale Fortune 500 employers, where Human Resources is the most impactful, we also held discussions with smaller businesses to ensure that the skills learned in this major are universally applicable. Lastly, we consulted a group of recent college graduates in Human Resources to ensure that this curriculum covered important, on-the-job skill sets that were lacking in their own educations.
| Member | Organization | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wes Rangel | Colorado State University | Academic representative |
| Meredith Williams | Saint Mary-of-the-Woods | Academic representative |
| Corri Miller | Tiffin University | Academic representative |
| Scott Good | Deliotte; Meta; QuoteWell | Industry representative |
| Hannah Kim | Forter | Industry representative |
Recommended CIP Code: 52.1001
Note: Courses provided through the LCMC are shown in blue text