Course Descriptions
Organizational Leadership
OLI 7100
Personal Mastery and Communities of Practice
3 credits
Key to workplace learning, performance excellence, continued improvement and innovation is the personal mastery of thoughtful reflection, self-assessment and professional development among organizational members. In this course students are encouraged to create a plan for their own leadership development using a variety of self-assessment tools, mindfulness and reflection exercises to identify opportunities for their own growth and development. Communities of practice and workplace teams are vital vehicles for knowledge creation and sharing. During this course, students are also encouraged to bond with other cohort members in a community of practice focused on leading organizational learning, improvement and innovation.
Prerequisite(s): EDD 6102
OLI 7101
Disciplined Inquiry and Writing
3 credits
This course aims to create consumers of published research. Students will learn to interpret, analyze and evaluate the quality of published research. Students will focus on reading and evaluating published research related to a problem of practice being considered for their dissertation projects. Students will also be expected to strengthen their writing skills and learn how to adapt their writing style to various academic and professional contexts.
OLI 7102
Organizational Learning Theory, Culture and Practice
3 credits
Continual learning at the individual, team and organizational levels is vital to the continued success and growth any organization. Strategic advantage flows to the organization that can learn faster and manage its knowledge and talent resources more effectively than the competition. Becoming a learning organization depends on an organization’s ability to create a learning culture, including the structures and processes that support learning and foster continual growth and development at the individual, team, and organizational levels.OLI 7103
Teams, Teaming and Knowledge Management
3 credits
Greater collaboration and knowledge sharing are required to meet the demands for organizational change and innovation prompted by an increasingly volatile, unpredictable and complex world environment. While teams figure prominently in the work of many organizations, new more dynamic ways of organizing to collaboratively address problem solving, the needs for change and innovation are finding their footing in more organizations. This course deals with the teaming processes that facilitate knowledge sharing and collaborative work.OLI 7104
Talent Development and Workplace Learning
3 credits
An organization’s employees are its most valuable resources. This course concentrates on strategies and techniques for finding and hiring the “right” talent, then creating opportunities that motive and engage employees in the continual learning and professional growth that serves both their own and organizational development needs.
OLI 7105
Technology and Organizational Learning
3 credits
Technology can be a catalyst for organizational learning and development. This course focuses on the use of appropriate technologies for integrating learning, knowledge management, and organizational development. Case studies are used to explore how technology can be used foster curiosity, collaboration and learning at all levels of the organization. Students examine and experiment with how mobile devices, social media, various information technologies and web-based tools can be used be used to support workplace learning.
OLI 7106
Assessment and Evaluation Methods
3 credits
Assessment and evaluation are integral components of organizational efforts to continually improve performance, develop talent capabilities and generate innovation. The course provides students with the basic research tools necessary to design, execute, analyze, and report assessment and evaluation results needed to guide organizational decision-making and action. Assignments in the course will focus on finalizing the problem of practice identified in OLI 7101 and exploring practical solutions for addressing the problem of practice.
Prerequisite(s): Grade of B or better in OLI 7101
OLI 7201
Problem Centered Research in Organizational Learning- I
3 credits
In this course, students use the problem of practice identified in OLI 7101 and refined in OLI 7106 as a catalyst for learning more about the nuances of various inquiry methods, especially those most useful in action research settings. This course focuses on refining inquiry questions and exploring ways of addressing the problem of practice that will lead to possible interventions for implementation in the applied dissertation research project, known as a dissertation in practice.Prerequisite(s): Grade of B or better in OLI 7101 and OLI 7106
OLI 7202
Problem Centered Research in Organizational Learning-II
3 credits
This course is the second of two courses designed to prepare students to conduct dissertation research that is focused on a problem of practice and possible interventions that can be implemented and evaluated to determine if desired outcomes have been achieved. Students will continue to receive on-going assistance in developing the framework for their applied dissertation research project, known as a dissertation in practice.
Prerequisite(s): Grade of B or better in OLI 7101, OLI 7106 and OLI 7201
OLI 7301
Leading Organizational Improvement and Innovation
3 credits
In order for any change or innovation to take flight it must create value for others, it must be something that is wanted or needed by individuals or organizations. This course requires students to bring both critical and creative thinking to bear in sensing and responding to changes in the environment that create opportunities for improvement and/or innovation. The success of any system/process improvement or innovation is determined by its adoption and sustained use, so the factors that influence and hinder the change/innovation adoption process are also explored. Phenomena such as open innovation and crowd sourcing will be explored, as well as other keys to innovation in a networked world.
OLI 7302
Leadership Communication
3 credits
Leadership is a communicative art. Whether it be exciting others about a vision for the organization’s future, exhorting the troops to action, telling a story to better connect with others, listening with an open heart and mind, persuading a resistant public, or relating with a group of diverse stakeholders, leadership requires excellent communication skills. This course engages students in an array of learning activities designed to enhance and fine-tune the communication skills of those who wish to lead artfully with integrity, empathy and power. Authentic communication is at the heart of an effective leader’s ability to empathize, inspire, engage, motivate, resolve conflicts, persuade, and influence others. Technologies play an ever-changing role in how we communicate with stakeholders both within and outside the organization, so the course will also consider how leaders can use technologies to good advantage in communicating with stakeholders.
OLI 7303
The Strategic Role of Employee Engagement & Workplace Satisfaction
3 credits
Increasingly employee engagement and work satisfaction are seen as keys to employee retention and organizational productivity and innovation. This course explores the latest research on employee engagement and workplace satisfaction, as well as the strategic value of employee engagement programs in optimizing performance, increasing organizational loyalty and citizenship, and generating organizational innovation. Engagement issues are considered from both the organization and individual employee perspectives. The measurement of employee engagement and workplace satisfaction is also covered in the course.
OLI 7304
Business Acumen and Strategic Leadership of Learning, Improvement and Innovation
3 credits
Those responsible for leading learning must understand the business of the organization and how financial concerns shape organization decisions. This course provides an in-depth examination of how organizational learning fits into the strategic planning of the organization and its future. It focuses on the organizational mission as well as the environment in which the organization operates. Students examine the social, political, economic, legal and technology forces (business and environmental surveillance) that may impact an organization’s mission and results and use that information to generate new strategies for learning that support the future growth and development of the organization.OLI 7305
Ethics, Organizational Citizenship and Social Responsibility
3 credits
This course focuses specifically on the ethical issues that can arise as workplace learning and human resource professionals work to foster greater learning, collaboration, knowledge sharing and innovation in an organizational context. Issues like intellectual property rights, employee surveillance, privacy, social networking while at work, talent development and employee loyalty, freedom of expression, competing values will be explored from a learning perspective.
OLI 7402
Facilitating Adult Learning
3 credits
Workplace learners are adults who are very diverse in their growth and development needs, as well as their previous learning experiences. This course focuses on adult development theory and andragogy and how these theories can inform workplace learning design and implementation for a diverse population. The role of work in adults’ lives will be explored along with the importance of being an adult lifelong learner to ensure workforce value. Attention will be focused on the art of facilitating adult learning in both face-to-face and technology-mediated learning options.
OLI 7401
Universal Design for Learning
3 credits
Optimizing learning opportunities and activities for all learners is at the heart of universal design for learning. Students focus on how the universal design principles apply to developing and implementing workplace learning goals, methods, materials and delivery. Students are encouraged to use their creativity in thinking about how to provide multiple means of what is to be learned and assessing the effectiveness of these multiple opportunities for learning.
OLI 7403
Workforce Trends and Leading Talent Development
3 credits
Those responsible for leading or managing the talent development function in organizations must be aware of how the available workforce is changing in terms of demographics and the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and skills sets they bring to the workplace. After learning how to gauge the critical competencies needed by the organization’s workforce and leadership, students learn how to design and implement learning opportunities for talent and leadership development.
OLI 7404
Addressing Diversity in Workplace Learning
3 credits
Workplace diversity is both a valued and challenging fact of today’s organizational life. Diversity enriches the resource base of the organization while creating needs to acknowledge, understand and embrace the differences that occur due to race, ethnicity, culture, socioeconomic background, gender, sexual orientation, disability, life experience, and veteran status. This course focuses on how organizations can create experientially based learning opportunities that will enhance employees’ abilities to work effectively in a multi-cultural environment. The course develops the knowledge and skills necessary for designing, implementing and evaluating diversity initiatives that foster equity, inclusion and effective work relationships among all organizational members.
OLI 7405
Motivating Employee Engagement in Workplace Learning and Professional Development
3 credits
Employees must be motivated and engaged in their own professional development both for themselves and the organization. Engaged employees drive improved organizational performance and can be the source of innovation that will helps create the organization’s future. In this course students will grapple with how to foster engagement in workplace learning as a means of increasing employee satisfaction, as well as team and organizational productivity. Special attention will be paid to strategies for engaging employees in creating the future of the organization through innovation. The research on employee engagement in professional growth and development will be explored as the foundation for students developing their own strategies for motivating interest and engagement in learning and innovation opportunities provided by the organization.
OLI 7500
Special Topics Course
0 credits
Students may take up to five Special Topics courses. Special Topics course are either student or faculty initiated during the summer institute at the close of Year 1. During the summer institute, students and/or faculty interested in creating a class around a special topic of interest not covered in program coursework or other graduate coursework offered by the university present ideas to students with an eye toward persuading at least six students to commit to taking the course. Special Topics courses will be designed collaboratively by faculty and students and offered in available time slots during the second half of second year or first half of third year. Program chair approval is required for these offerings.
OLI 7501
Special Topics Course
0 credits
Students may take up to five Special Topics courses. Special Topics course are either student or faculty initiated during the summer institute at the close of Year 1. During the summer institute, students and/or faculty interested in creating a class around a special topic of interest not covered in program coursework or other graduate coursework offered by the university present ideas to students with an eye toward persuading at least six students to commit to taking the course. Special Topics courses will be designed collaboratively by faculty and students and offered in available time slots during the second half of second year or first half of third year. Program chair approval is required for these offerings.
OLI 7502
Special Topics Course
0 credits
Students may take up to five Special Topics courses. Special Topics course are either student or faculty initiated during the summer institute at the close of Year 1. During the summer institute, students and/or faculty interested in creating a class around a special topic of interest not covered in program coursework or other graduate coursework offered by the university present ideas to students with an eye toward persuading at least six students to commit to taking the course. Special Topics courses will be designed collaboratively by faculty and students and offered in available time slots during the second half of second year or first half of third year. Program chair approval is required for these offerings.
OLI 7503
Special Topics Course
0 credits
Students may take up to five Special Topics courses. Special Topics course are either student or faculty initiated during the summer institute at the close of Year 1. During the summer institute, students and/or faculty interested in creating a class around a special topic of interest not covered in program coursework or other graduate coursework offered by the university present ideas to students with an eye toward persuading at least six students to commit to taking the course. Special Topics courses will be designed collaboratively by faculty and students and offered in available time slots during the second half of second year or first half of third year. Program chair approval is required for these offerings.
OLI 7504
Special Topics Course
0 credits
Students may take up to five Special Topics courses. Special Topics course are either student or faculty initiated during the summer institute at the close of Year 1. During the summer institute, students and/or faculty interested in creating a class around a special topic of interest not covered in program coursework or other graduate coursework offered by the university present ideas to students with an eye toward persuading at least six students to commit to taking the course. Special Topics courses will be designed collaboratively by faculty and students and offered in available time slots during the second half of second year or first half of third year. Program chair approval is required for these offerings.
OLI 7600
Guided Study Course
0 credits
Guided study courses are one on one learning experiences collaboratively designed by individual students and their mentors based on students’ interests and career goals. Learning goals and outcomes must be clearly delineated and coursework designed to be completed within the seven-week block format. Program chair approval is required for these offerings.
OLI 7601
Guided Study Course
0 credits
Guided study courses are one on one learning experiences collaboratively designed by individual students and their mentors based on students’ interests and career goals. Learning goals and outcomes must be clearly delineated and coursework designed to be completed within the seven-week block format. Program chair approval is required for these offerings.
OLI 7602
Guided Study Course
0 credits
Guided study courses are one on one learning experiences collaboratively designed by individual students and their mentors based on students’ interests and career goals. Learning goals and outcomes must be clearly delineated and coursework designed to be completed within the seven-week block format. Program chair approval is required for these offerings.
OLI 7603
Guided Study Course
0 credits
Guided study courses are one on one learning experiences collaboratively designed by individual students and their mentors based on students’ interests and career goals. Learning goals and outcomes must be clearly delineated and coursework designed to be completed within the seven-week block format. Program chair approval is required for these offerings.
OLI 7604
Guided Study Course
0 credits
Guided study courses are one on one learning experiences collaboratively designed by individual students and their mentors based on students’ interests and career goals. Learning goals and outcomes must be clearly delineated and coursework designed to be completed within the seven-week block format. Program chair approval is required for these offerings.
OLI 8001
Internal and External Organizational Consulting
3 credits
Human resource and learning professionals are often viewed as providing consulting services to the “business” units in their organization. Many of these professionals also see themselves developing their own consulting businesses as the next step in their career. This course focuses on the role of the consultant as well as the key steps necessary in developing effective client-consultant relationships. Issues that all consultants face whether working from an internal or external position are also addressed—issues such as speaking truth to power, resistance, time pressures and timing, accountability and authenticity are explored in the context of case studies. During this course students establish relationships with their field mentor and a possible host organization for their consulting project.
OLI 8002
Consulting Project Execution and Reporting
3 credits
This course covers the execution and reporting of students’ individual or collective consulting experience. Although this course is listed in the third year, work on this project flows out (OLI--8001). With program chair approval and field mentor guidance, students are required to contract with a host organization for the execution of specific work and project reporting. Consulting projects will vary with host organization needs and student expertise. Completion is required by Fall Block I of the third year.
Prerequisite(s): Grade of B or better in OLI 8001. Consulting contract must be completed no later than Fall Block I of third year.
OLI 9000
Applied Research Dissertation Project I
3 credits
Building on coursework completed in the research core courses, students work on their applied dissertation in practice project with advisement from a faculty member to complete a proposal that is approved by the student’s advisor and at least one other committee member. If not already obtained, committee approval of proposed research and successful completion of HSRC R&R protocol is a desired outcome for OLI 9000. Once approved the student can execute the project.
Prerequisite(s): Grade of B or better in OLI 7202 and completion of all coursework with a B- or higher. Must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
OLI 9001
Applied Research Dissertation Project II
3 credits
This is the second course in the applied research sequence and a continuation OLI 9000. The expected outcome for this course is the completion of the dissertation in practice project with an oral presentation and a written document suitable for publication as a doctoral dissertation.
Prerequisite(s): Satisfactory completion of OLI 9000
OLI 9004
Applied Research Dissertation Project Sustaining
0 credits
Students who do not complete their applied research project when enrolled in OLI 9001 will be permitted to enroll in 9004 on a continuing basis for a maximum of six blocks in order to receive academic advisement. Failure to complete the Applied Research Project within the six block timeframe will result in dismissal from the program.
Prerequisite(s): Satisfactory completion of OLI 9001