WILMINGTON – Goldey-Beacom College is addressing employer challenges by introducing five micro and three macro-graduate business-focused certificates to prepare students for the workforce.
The new micro-graduate certificates are in analytical business skills, business processes, financial & economic analysis, leadership, and management, requiring only nine credits. Each certificate has three courses for $800, costing a total of $2,400 for the entire program.
The micro-graduate certificates can be completed within the span of a semester, approximately 15 to 16 weeks.
The macro-graduate certificates are in business leadership, quantitative and analytical business, and traditional business administration or “pocket MBA” and require 18 credits. Each program costs $4,800 and has six courses.
Each semester, GBC holds meetings with its Career and Employer Advisory Board to discuss employer necessities and integrate curricular innovations into the college. These certificates came from those discussions.
“As we listen carefully to area employers about their needs, it made sense to create shorter-term programs to help meet employer needs. A full college degree is still of great value, but so are certificate programs. It all depends on what an individual needs in order to meet their career goals,” Goldey-Beacom College President Colleen Perry Keith said in a statement.
A pocket MBA is an informal term for the business administration graduate certificate, according to GBC officials. The program covers the core MBA including marketing strategies, management, and corporate finance.
“It’s similar to how books have abridged – or sometimes pocket – versions, which cover the basics,” GBC Director of External Affairs Janine Sorbello told Delaware Business Times.
The micro and macro-graduate certificate programs are structured for students to accumulate credits for a master’s degree, which requires a total of 36 credits. Completing either four micro or two macro-graduate certificates allows students to stack credentials toward the degree.
“Over time, earning a combination of those certificates will stack into a full-fledged master’s degree,” GBC Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Joel Worden said.
