Need some inspiration? Read about our alumni in our Plexus newsletter

By Christine Hawkinson

Do you ever wonder if your hard work will be worth it? Have you ever dropped a class mid-semester because you just didn’t think you could keep going?

In some respects, earning a degree is a leap of faith, but everyone who finishes lands on their feet. You may land exactly where you anticipated, or you may arrive in front of a door you never dreamed would open. The important thing is to keep going.

Keep the Summer 09 issue of our Plexus newsletter handy and you’ll have a ready source of inspiration. A story about recent graduates or long-time alumni can remind you that your work will reap rewards.

Corporate Training Career Opportunities for Project Management Graduates

By Sharon Beery

Sharon Beery is a Senior Project Manager at L-3 Communications and earned her master's degree in project management from UW-Platteville in 2006.

Wondering where your online degree in PM can take you? Once you get it, do you think companies will see your MSPM on your resume and forever banish you to a world of developing WBS’s, analyzing government CPR’s, dealing with clients and keeping your staff motivated? (Mind you “banishing” may be a little harsh!) Well, fear not graduates or graduates-to-be. The world is not confined to managing projects at a remote on-site location void of corporate HQ contact. Wait a minute; that may not be a bad idea…but I digress. Your options are vast and here is just one of them.

Corporate PM Training

The economy is bad. We all know that. Individuals and corporations are cutting back on their expenses. Those of us that have earned degrees via distance education appreciate the flexibility—and quality—an online education can provide. Many corporations are also seeing the value in this delivery method as a discriminator from their competitors to lure the finest project managers to their team. Corporate training departments are realizing online education can

• Keep their costs in line
• Provide current industry information to managers and other disciplines working in remote locations
• Provide information about processes and procedures unique to their organization to those working in remote locations

Enter project management corporate course development and delivery as a career path.

HR can handle much of the regular corporate process training, but they need someone strong in PM to effectively write a course or an online “brown-bag” to address the required PM skills. That’s where you can come in. You have the knowledge and the experience to write a session and train online. How can I jump to that conclusion?

Because you

• Know what works and what doesn’t work well in training cyberspace
• Know project management topics
• Recall which training styles you liked, and didn’t like, from your online professors
• Can write and organize materials in a logical manner (at least you better be able to do that by the time you graduate!)
• Have good communication skills and can effectively explain PM techniques to others in your field and mentor upcoming team leads

Why not expand that into course development?

Think about it. You can utilize all your newly acquired project management education and pass along sound project management principles to corporate America. You can direct how corporate project managers operate. Now, does that give you a sense of power or what?!

Evaluating Projects in Your Organization

Now, more than ever, organizations are evaluating their resources and how to allocate time, money and energy to projects. Perhaps you are in a decision-making role, assessing the use of resources in your organization. If so you’ll want to check out the Project Management Institute (PMI®) Community Post article by UW-Platteville Project Management Professor, Ginger Levin.

Her 5-part article, "Think Outside the Project with OPM3®" demonstrates how to keep your competitive edge with carefully managed projects and programs. Read Part 1 of the series at pmi.org.

Virtual Advisor serves thousands of distance learning students!

by Travis Courtney, Student Services Coordinator

The Distance Learning Center’s Virtual Advisor is a unique combination of an interactive FAQ page and a logic-based search tool designed to give you immediate access to the information you’re looking for without searching several web pages.

Since its implementation in 2006, more than 10,000 people have asked questions in their own words and received an answer within seconds. With Virtual Advisor, you can

• Ask your own questions
• Pick from a list of questions related yours
• Browse a list of pre-populated topic areas
• Provide feedback to tell us if the answer is useful

Try it out today and let us know what you think about Virtual Advisor.

2009-2010 Scholarship Recipients

by Sara Davis, Outreach Specialist

The UW-Platteville Distance Learning Center is honored to recognize our 2009-2010 scholarship recipients. This year the scholarship committee chose two very high caliber students. Our staff is honored to share the stories of Colette Bauer and Noelle Delfosse:

Colette Bauer - Walter Longacre Memorial Scholarship

Alan Langeteig created this scholarship to honor of his father-in-law, Walter Longacre, who inspired and encouraged Alan to complete his degree. Colette says, “My family has been very supportive of my continued education and has had to sacrifice both personally and professionally to assist me in my studies.” Colette has demonstrated a commitment to her community and family as she earns her master’s degree in project management.

Noelle Delfosse – Dawn Drake Excellence in Distance Education Scholarship

Dawn Drake, Executive Director of Alternative Learning at UWP, created this scholarship to acknowledge the important role distance education has made in her life. The scholarship recognizes the many sacrifices distance learners make to juggle education, career, and family. Noelle’s brother, Noah, has cerebral palsy and she cares for him while her parents are at work. “If I was not at home, I would not be able to take part in the very important matters that affect Noah and our family,” says Noelle. She has also shown great commitment to her students at a dance studio as she continues her education.

PM Job @ Northrop Grumman - Cambridge, MA

by Les Hollingsworth, Corporate Marketing Director

Attention PM and Engineering Students:

Job Title: Program Manager Job ID# 84049

Job Description:

Manage $100k ~ $5M programs in Systems & Service business area. Includes managing the development of new products for retail and shipping industry applications. Programs include three-dimensional machine vision image processing, multiprocessing, Bayesian classification, self-learning database implementation, and some Automatic Identification & Data Capture (AIDC). Involves directing engineers and technicians, and managing and tracking program schedule, scope and cost.

Basic Qualifications:

-5+ years experience in program management and/or project leadership roles
-Bachelor'sdegree in science or engineering.
-Experience managing product design and development, and managing program cost and
schedule
-Ability to do limited travel
-Experience preparing project reports & presentations.
-Experience interfacing with customers and senior management.
-US Citizenship or Permanent Residency is a bona fide requirement as applicants
selected will be subject to a security investigation.

Assets (Preferred qualifications, NICE, NOT NECESSARY):

-Experience in electro-optical systems integration
-Program Manager Certification
-Excellent interpersonal communication and organizational skills
-Experience managing government proposals and/or programs.
-Previous or current security clearance.

David Steinbach, CPC
Human Resource Staffing Specialist
Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems
Ten Wilson Road
Cambridge, MA 02138
Office: 617-806-1745
Fax: 617 806 1899
david.steinbach@ngc.com
http://www.northropgrumman.com

Getting the Most Out of Online Discussions

by Les Hollingsworth, Corporate Marketing Director

Engaging in a discussion in an online classroom can create some anxiety, especially for students new to online learning. With many posts to do and never enough time, how do you ensure that your responses are worthy of full points? As an online learner myself, I remember spending tons of time trying to find the right balance of personal perspective and theory from the readings. Too much personal perspective and it looks like you didn't do the readings. Too much theory from the text and your response won't generate discussion. Here are a couple of quick tips to find that balance.

Follow a Consistent Format

Start by stating your point. This tells people where you’re going and piques interest. It also helps classmates to quickly determine if they want to respond to your post or not. If they can quickly identify what you’re proposing, the chances are higher that they will continue the thread.

After you’ve stated your point, relate a personal anecdote to clarify and demonstrate its connection to the real world. Wrap it up by incorporating a quote or idea from the text.

Tools and Tactics

One of my best friends during my online studies was MS OneNote. I used it to take notes from my readings for several reasons:

1) I can type much faster than I write.

2) If your course uses an e-book, you can simply copy the note of interest into OneNote. From there you can search your notes quickly and copy the quote/note into your discussion response easily (with citation of course).

3) You get formatting benefits. Re-organizing, highlighting, mark-up, and deleting are easier if you're not scrawling notes on paper.