Strategic Assessment of Value-Added Engineering Graduate Certificate Programs in the Student-to-Industry Life Cycle

摘要

The Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) offers more than 65 degree programs in engineering, science, computing and technology, business, management systems, the humanities and the liberal arts. Students interested in graduate study may pursue their interest either through graduate certificate programs or through full-fledged Masters and PhD degree programs. In the last five years, non-degree graduate certificates have become increasingly popular. This has raised questions about the value of graduate certificate program from the perspective of the student, the university and industry. Do certificate programs provide real world skills and knowledge valuable to industry? Do they serve as effective recruiting tools for the university? Do they provide opportunities for students to meet their professional goals in terms of salary increase, promotions, and the like? This research is specifically aimed at answering these questions. Surveys were developed that assess perceptions of value of graduate certificates to key stakeholders (students, university, and industry). The focus of this paper is from the perspective of current graduate certificate students of the Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Department of Missouri S&T. Results provide guidance to engineering managers, engineering educators, and engineering professionals of the value added to workforce by engineering graduate certificate programs.