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College of Letters and Science Faculty Document No. 639
December 5, 2002
Recommendation of the Faculty of the School of Business and the L&S Graduate Program Committee to Establish a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management
Recommendation:
That the L&S Faculty recommend to the Dean the establishment of a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management as outlined in the following proposal.
Rationale:
See Section II of the following proposal.
Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management
- Program Identification
| 1.1 |
Title of the Proposed Graduate Certificate
Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management |
| 1.2 |
Department(s) or Functional Equivalent(s) Sponsoring the Certificate:
School of Business Administration and Master of Public Administration Program in the College of Letters and Science |
| 1.3 |
College(s), School(s) or Functional Equivalent(s)
School of Business Administration and Master of Public Administration Program in the College of Letters and Science |
| 1.4 |
Timetable for Initiation
Upon administrative approval, the graduate certificate program will be initiated immediately for students seeking admission for the fall semester, 2002-2003.
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- Rationale
The rationale for establishing this new graduate certificate in nonprofit management is based on three major trends and developments:
- The size and importance of the nonprofit sector in the Greater Milwaukee area, across America, and around the world have increased rapidly over the past 25 years. There are now more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in the United States employing 11 million people and accounting for approximately 10 percent of the gross domestic product. This growth, and the growing complexity of nonprofit organizations and the environments in which they operate, have fueled demands for high quality graduate education designed specifically for nonprofit managers and leaders.
- The number of graduate-level programs for nonprofit managers and leaders has grown rapidly since the early 1980s with more than 100 colleges and universities across the United States now offering such programs. A rapidly growing body of strong scholarly and applied research coming from a wide range of academic disciplines supports these programs.
- These trends have converged in specific recommendations to create this graduate certificate and other education programs in nonprofit management and leadership at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. These recommendations resulted from an extensive set of collaborative planning meetings over the past two years involving university administrators and faculty members and representatives of Milwaukee-area foundations and other nonprofit organizations. The specific content and structure of this proposed graduate certificate are the work of a multidisciplinary group of UWM faculty members. However, much of the impetus for the establishment of this and other nonprofit educational programs at UWM has come from Milwaukee-area nonprofit organizations themselves.
- Institutional Content
| 3.1 |
Relationship to the Mission of Institution
The proposed program is consistent with UWM's Investment Plan in that it brings together an interdisciplinary group to develop new academic programs in concert with the Milwaukee Idea focusing on the curricular areas of nonprofit management and leadership. Both the "Investing in UWM's Future" and "The Milwaukee Idea" documents call for the development of interdisciplinary programs that provide access to a new range of students. The proposed Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management responds to the growing need for trained professionals to assume management and leadership positions in non-governmental and nonprofit sector organizations (broadly defined to include nonprofit health, education, social and human services, arts and culture, religious, and the many other types of organizations and associations that make up the nonprofit sector in the Greater Milwaukee area, across the United States, and around the world). The proposed graduate certificate, and other new interdisciplinary educational and research programs being developed and launched with the support of the Helen Bader Institute for Nonprofit Management, will contribute to scholarly exchange across traditional university boundaries. It will also strengthen the University's ties to and support of nonprofit sector organizations in the Greater Milwaukee area, the state of Wisconsin, and beyond.
The mission of the School of Business Administration is to "deliver high quality technology-enhanced management education to a diverse group of graduate and undergraduate students and practicing executives and professionals." This mission statement is broadly applicable to the development of an array of graduate certificate and degree programs specifically designed "to prepare students to assume general management or functional specialist positions with potential for senior level leadership positions" in each of the three major sectors--for-profit, government, or nonprofit.
Similarly, the Master of Public Administration Program (now jointly sponsored by the College of Letters and Science and the School of Business Administration) has broadened its mission to include students who might wish to pursue careers in nonprofit sector organizations as well as those wishing to pursue careers in government.
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| 3.2 |
Relationship to/Impact on Other UWM Programs
The proposed Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management enables the School of Business Administration and the Master of Public Administration Program in the College of Letters and Science to expand and strengthen the existing nonprofit "concentrations" within the MBA and MPA programs, respectively, and in cooperation with participating faculty members from other UWM Schools, Colleges and Departments to extend their program offerings to reach a new group of nonprofit managers and leaders who may not be able to pursue full degree programs.
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- Need
As indicated above, the size and importance of the nonprofit sector in the Greater Milwaukee area (indeed nationally and internationally) has increased rapidly over the past twenty-five years. There are now more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in the United States employing 11 million people and accounting for approximately 10 percent of the gross domestic product.
This growth, and the growing complexity of nonprofit organizations and the environments in which they operate, have fueled demands for high quality graduate education designed specifically for nonprofit managers and leaders. Demand for the program in Southeastern Wisconsin is strong with an estimated 2,500 nonprofit organizations in the Greater Milwaukee area alone and an estimated workforce of 25,000 paid employees and 20,000 full-time equivalent volunteers.
The program provides students the knowledge and skills they need to successfully pursue or advance careers within nonprofit organizations. A conservative estimate of enrollment in the certificate program is 15 students per year.
There are no comparable graduate-level programs in the State of Wisconsin. Comparable programs offered at other institutions outside Wisconsin include those at Case Western Reserve University, Seton Hall University, and the University of San Francisco. The focus of these programs is to provide essential managerial knowledge and skills for managers of nonprofit organizations in general or to provide specialized knowledge and skills in such functional areas as fund raising or in such non-profit sub-sectors as health care or arts and culture.
- Program Description and Evaluation
| 5.1 |
Description
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| 5.1.1 |
Brief Narrative Description of the Program.
The Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management is a collaborative effort between the School of Business Administration, the Masters of Public Administration Program in the College of Letters and Science, and other campus units who have research and/or teaching interests in nonprofit management and leadership, nonprofit organizations, the nonprofit sector, and philanthropy. The certificate program is designed to provide students with the essential management knowledge and skills needed to successfully pursue or advance careers in nonprofit sector organizations. The curriculum emphasizes a broad understanding of the social, economic, and political roles and functions of nonprofit organizations and their interdependent relationships with business and government; a set of core managerial functions related to generating and managing financial and human resources in nonprofit organizations; and an in-depth understanding of the governance roles and responsibilities of nonprofit boards of trustees.
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| 5.1.2 |
Nature of the Program.
The certificate will be offered jointly by the SBA and the MPA Program in the College of Letters and Science and administered by UWM's Helen Bader Institute for Nonprofit Management (HBI) in collaboration with the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs of the SBA and the Director of the MPA Program. Faculty members from the SBA, the MPA Program and other UWM schools, colleges, and departments will participate in the governance of the program. HBI staff will provide marketing and promotional support for the program in collaboration with academic staff in the schools, colleges, and departments whose faculty members participate in the program. The professional advising staff of the SBA Graduate Program Services office will serve as the formal academic advisors (graduate representatives) for students enrolled in the certificate program and will perform all admission, registration, advising, and graduation functions related to these students.
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| 5.1.3 |
Level of the Program.
The Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management has been designed for students who have completed a bachelor's degree, are enrolled for graduate credit, but are not enrolled simultaneously in a graduate degree program (post-baccalaureate students); for students who are enrolled simultaneously in a graduate degree program (graduate students); and for students who have completed a master's or doctoral degree, are enrolled for graduate credit, but are not enrolled simultaneously in a graduate degree program (post-graduate students).
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| 5.1.4 |
List learning objectives and competencies that will be attained through this certificate.
Students completing this certificate will acquire the following knowledge, skills and competencies:
- A broad understanding of the principal roles, functions, and historical importance of nonprofit organizations and their interdependent relationships with business and government.
- A broad understanding of the principal roles and functions essential to effective nonprofit management and leadership.
- An in-depth understanding of the principal means by which nonprofit organizations generate, account for, and manage financial resources.
- An in-depth understanding of the principal means by which nonprofit organizations obtain, develop, and manage both paid employees and volunteers.
- An in-depth understanding of the governing roles and responsibilities of the boards of trustees of nonprofit organizations.
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| 5.1.5 |
Anticipated Alternative Instructional Models
No alternative instructional models are being proposed at this time.
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| 5.2 |
Curriculum - Courses and Credits
To obtain the Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management, the student must complete a minimum of fifteen credits of course work. These fifteen credits consist of two required courses, two "constrained choice" courses, and one elective course. Each required course will be offered at least once per calendar year, so students can complete the certificate program in one year.
A new course, BusMgmt 725 - Governance of Nonprofit Organizations, will serve as the capstone course for the Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management.
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| 5.3 |
Admission Requirements and Procedures
Students applying for the Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management must possess at minimum a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university. Applicants must have a minimum 2.75 cumulative undergraduate grade point average. Admission as a non-degree graduate student does not constitute admission to the Graduate School as a master's or doctoral student.
Applicants must declare their intent to pursue the Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management before completion of six credits in the certificate sequence. An application or declaration of intent must be filed with the Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management program director/administrative office and a copy of the form must be sent to the Graduate School, confirming a student's admission to the certificate program. Those not already admitted to the Graduate School must file an application with Graduate Student Services.
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| 5.4 |
Continuation and Exit Requirements
Students must maintain a cumulative 3.00 grade point average in certificate courses taken at UWM. No courses may be taken on a credit/no credit basis.
There is a time limit of three years from initial enrollment for completion of the Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management. If the Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management is an "add-on" to a degree program, and is awarded concurrent with the degree, the time limit shall be the same as that of the degree program.
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| 5.5 |
Allowance for Transfer Credit/Limits on Time to Degree
"The granting of transfer credit is subject to the Graduate School policy. Courses being presented for transfer credit must have been taken at the graduate level at accredited institutions. These courses must have been taken within the past 5 years and cannot have been used to meet previous degree requirements. Transfer credits are given only for courses in which the student earned a grade of B or better. Finally, the Nonprofit Management Committee must approve the granting of transfer credit. At the discretion of the program, course equivalency may be granted such that a transfer course may substitute for a course in the Nonprofit Management Certificate Program.
For post-baccalaureate students, a maximum of 3 graduate credits may be transferred to count toward the certificate program's 15-credit requirement. Course will be considered for transfer into the certificate program only if the applicant can provide ample, acceptable evidence that the course taken is substantially the same as one of the five courses that constitute the certificate program. The Nonprofit Management Certificate Committee will make such determinations, and its decision is final. No transfer credit is allowed for post-graduate students.
For those simultaneously enrolled in a degree program, up to 50% of the credits required for the certificate may count toward degree requirements, subject to approval of the degree program.
Non-degree students pursuing a Non-Profit Management Certificate will have three years from initial enrollment in a certificate to complete the certificate requirements. Degree student pursuing a Non-Profit Management Certificate will have the same time limit to complete the Non-Profit Management Certificate requirements as they have for completing the degree program. "
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| 5.6 |
Certificate Conferral
For each student who completes the Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management program, the professional academic advising staff of the SBA Graduate Program Services office will sign and send to the Graduate School a form listing the course number and title, grade, and semester of enrollment for all courses that meet certificate requirements. Certificate completion will be posted on a student's official transcript.
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| 5.7 |
Program Administration
The proposed graduate certificate program in nonprofit management will incorporate faculty input through a multidisciplinary Program Faculty and a multidisciplinary Nonprofit Management Program Faculty Committee. A member of the Graduate faculty will be appointed as Program Coordinator to deal with the day-to-day administration of the certificate program.
The Program Faculty will be composed of members of the School of Business Administration and the MPA Program in the College of Letters and Science as well as faculty members from other UWM schools, colleges, and departments with teaching and research interests in nonprofit organizations, the nonprofit sector, nonprofit management and leadership, and philanthropy. The Program Faculty will (1) serve in an "advise and counsel" role on major changes in program direction; (2) take an active role in supporting the intellectual growth of students, faculty, and the community concerning nonprofit management and leadership; and (3) serve as advisors to students in the graduate certificate program.
The Nonprofit Management Program Faculty Committee will be composed of three faculty members from the School of Business Administration, three faculty members from the MPA program, and three faculty members from at least two other graduate programs with research and/or teaching interests in nonprofit management and leadership. The Executive Director of the Helen Bader Institute for Nonprofit Management will be an ex officio member of the Nonprofit Management Program Faculty Committee.
The Nonprofit Management Program Faculty Committee will maintain jurisdiction over all the interests of the program subject to the rules and regulations of the UWM Graduate School. The Committee will also be responsible for recommending curricular direction and determination of and revisions to lists of elective courses available to students enrolled in the Graduate Certificate program. Any new course development, programmatic changes, or program name changes must be submitted to and approved by the appropriate curricular committees and faculty in the respective units (i.e., the Master of Science Program Committee, the Faculty of the School of Business Administration, the MPA Program Committee, and the Graduate Program Committee of the College of Letters and Science) as well as by the Graduate School.
Appointments to the Program Faculty Committee will be made yearly and jointly by the normal procedures established in each unit. For example, in the School of Business Administration, appointments to interdisciplinary faculty committees are recommended by the MS Program Committee. The three faculty members from other schools or colleges would be appointed jointly by the Deans of the School of Business Administration and the College of Letters and Science in consultation with the Nonprofit Management Program Faculty Committee, the respective faculty committees of the SBA and MPA, and the Deans of the other schools and colleges.
In addition, an Advisory Council made up of community representatives, will be appointed by the Deans of the School of Business Administration and the College of Letters and Science in consultation with the Nonprofit Management Program Faculty Committee. The members of the Advisory Council will serve staggered three-year terms. At least one member of this Advisory Council will also be a member of the Leadership Council of the Helen Bader Institute for Nonprofit Management and will serve as a liaison with that group. The members of the Advisory Council should represent the diverse constituencies relevant to nonprofit sector management and leadership and be appropriately constituted with regard to gender, racial, and ethnic diversity.
The Advisory Council's principal role will be to provide valuable advice and assistance to the Deans of the schools and colleges sponsoring the graduate certificate, the Nonprofit Management Program Faculty Committee and the Executive Director of the Helen Bader Institute for Nonprofit Management with regard to new developments in the field, innovative curricular strategies, community relations, fund development, and student and alumni services.
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| 5.8 |
Participating Faculty:
The following faculty members, many of whom were instrumental in the development of the Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management, are considered participating faculty. Several of these faculty members will teach in the certificate program.
Margo Anderson, Professor, History
Rita Cheng, Associate Dean, School of Business Administration
Robert Eger, Assistant Professor, Political Science
Sarah Freeman, Associate Professor, School of Business Administration
Ian Harris, Professor, School of Education
Ann Greer, Professor, Sociology
Douglas Ihrke, Associate Professor, Political Science
Paul Nystrom, Professor, School of Business Administration
Mary Kay Madsen, Professor, Health Care Administration
Larry Martin, Associate Professor, Administrative Leadership
Deborah Padgett, Associate Professor, Helen Bader School of Social Welfare
Laura Peracchio, Professor, School of Business Administration
Stephen Percy, Professor, Political Science
Belle Ragins, Professor, School of Business Administration
Joel Rast, Assistant Professor, Political Science
Judith Rozie-Battle, Assistant Professor, Social Work
Masoud Yasai, Professor, School of Business Administration
Mariam Zahedi, Wisconsin Distinguished Professor, School of Business Administration
Richard Zauft, Associate Dean, Peck School of the Arts
And others who have expertise in the field.
In addition, the Certificate Program also has benefited from the involvement of the following individuals:
Mordecai Lee, Assistant Professor, Governmental Affairs
C. Kelly Ottman, Lecturer, School of Business Administration
Jill Pelisek, Lawrence G. Regner Executive-in-Residence, School of Business Administration
John Palmer Smith, Executive Director, Helen Bader Institute for Nonprofit Management
Terrie Reeves, Assistant Professor, School of Business Administration
Julia Taylor, Social Entrepreneur-in-Residence, School of Business Administration
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- Resources
The faculty resources necessary to support the proposed Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management already exist in the SBA, the MPA Program, other departments and programs of the College of Letters and Science, and in other UWM graduate programs. Curricular support for courses and necessary administrative resources are also in place in the SBA and the MPA Program of the College of Letters and Science.
- Bulletin Copy
Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management
The Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to successfully pursue or advance careers within nonprofit sector organizations.
Students wishing to earn a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management must complete the required 15 graduate credit hours with an overall GPA of 3.00 or better. No student may complete all 15 credits within a single school or college. The curriculum consists of the following five courses:
Required Courses (9 credits)
One of the following three courses:
BusMgmt 718 - Concepts and Practice of Nonprofit Management (3 credits)
OR
Poli Sci 789 - Theory and Role of Nonprofit Organization (3 credits)
OR
Sociol/Pol Sci/Urb Std 704 - Seminar in Nonprofit Organizations (3 credits)
Both of the following two courses:
BusMgmt 724 - Accounting for Nonprofit Organizations (3 credits)
BusMgmt 725 - Governance of Nonprofit Organizations (3 credits)
One of the following three courses:
BusMgmt 721 - Fundraising and Development for Nonprofit Organizations (3 credits)
OR
Bus Adm 738 - Human Resource Management (3 credits)
OR
Pol Sci 7XX Professionals and Volunteers in Nonprofit Organizations (3 credits)
Elective Course (3 credits)
One graduate-level course selected from within the School of Business Administration, Master of Public Administration, or other UWM schools and colleges with the approval of the Program Director (3 credits)
Students wishing to pursue the Certificate in Nonprofit Management must submit an application to the Program before completion of six credits in the certificate sequence. There is a time limit of three years from initial enrollment for completion of the certificate program.
Those students who wish to earn the Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management can be admitted for the certificate program as non-degree graduate students provided they possess a bachelor's or higher degree with a minimum overall undergraduate grade point average of 2.75. Admission as a non-degree graduate student does not constitute admission to a master's degree program. Students may also pursue the certificate while enrolled in another graduate program or as a post-graduate student.
- Recommendation for Action
- The Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management is approved as proposed in the foregoing sections and in the Graduate School Bulletin copy described above.
- The program is effective immediately for students seeking admission for the Spring Semester, 2002-2003, following administrative approval of recommendation 1) above.
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