The UW-Platteville Master of Science in Project Management program recently completed a new transfer agreement with the University of California-San Diego.
UW-Platteville attempts to establish as many of these transfer relationships as resources allow.

“Our objective is to look for and establish agreements with every UC school that offers a PM certificate program so their students have the opportunity take advantage of our MSPM program,” says Bill Haskins, MSPM Program Coordinator.

To read more, check out the full press release. For more information and a list of MSPM articulation agreements, visit http://www.uwplatt.edu/disted/project-managementtransfer-agreements.html.

The UW-Platteville Master of Science in Project Management program recently completed a new articulation agreement with the University of California-Riverside.

Bill Haskins, MSPM Program Coordinator, reached out to UC-Riverside about an agreement because of its strong international presence and to complete a series of transfer agreements with UC schools.

“UW-Platteville fulfills a real need for these schools by providing an educational path forward for their students,” says Haskins.

For more information and a list of MSPM articulation agreements, visit http://www.uwplatt.edu/disted/project-management-transfer-agreements.html.


To find out more, check out the full press release.

Dr. Ginger Levin, PMP, PgMP instructor for the project management program at the University of Wisconsin‐Platteville Online recently was the keynote speaker at the professional development days for Project Management Institute chapters in Minnesota and Iowa and presented multiple sessions at the Global Congress in Washington, D.C. Levin also released her first solo book, “Interpersonal Skills for Portfolio, Program, and Project Managers.” In addition to her speaking tour and writing career, Levin also teaches master’s-level course through UW-Platteville Online and enjoys a consulting job at Cargill, and international producer and marketer of food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services.

When asked how she is able to keep up, Levin simply said, “When I was young, I had energy.” Obviously, she still does.

To read more, check out the full press release.

University of Wisconsin-Platteville Online students in the Master of Science in Project Management Program might soon have some new classmates. A recent agreement between UW-Platteville and Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa, will provide Clarke’s Master in Business Administration students interested in project management with the opportunity to earn an academic certificate in project management in conjunction with their MBA. The certificate requires six credits in advanced project management courses and an additional three credits in quality management coursework.

To learn more, read the full press release.

UWP's MS in Project Management degree earned a top 30 spot in GetEducated.com's Best Buys in Online Master’s Degrees in the Management and Administration category.

According to GetEducated.com, the Best Buy designation earned by UWP Distance Education indicates that they offer a high quality online master's program with tuition rates well below national averages.

"We're grateful for the recognition by GetEducated.com and we believe our students will benefit by it, too," says Bill Haskins, UWP MS Project Management program coordinator.

To read the whole article, go to our News Release page.

 By Ian Clark

Shawn Belling, online adjunct instructor for the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Online, will be heading to Melbourne, Australia to present at the Project Management Institute Global Congress — Asia Pacific region. The congress will begin Feb. 22. PMI, a not-for-profit membership association for project management professionals with globally recognized standards in more than 180 countries, holds a global congress yearly in each region. The three regions include Asia Pacific; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and North America.

As an instructor in UWP’s Master of Science in Project Management Program, Shawn will present his paper titled “When Agendas Override Objectives,” which outlines how hidden customer and interoffice agendas can interfere and even hijack projects and their managers.

To present at a PMI Global Congress, those who wish to participate must submit an academic paper detailing a subject relevant to project management. After a thorough screening process, those papers that are found to be exceptional are asked to present.

"Once you get accepted that first time, it is a lot easier to stay tied into that presenting pipeline and be asked back to present," says Shawn, who has been a credentialed Project Management Professional for six years. "Having the opportunity to present original thinking to large groups of colleagues and peers is a really great experience."

This will be Shawn’s third time presenting at a PMI Global Congress. In 2008, he presented in Sydney, Australia and again in Oct. 2009 in Orlando, FL. He has also presented at other PMI seminars, and plans to speak at the Success in Project Management Conference in June of 2010 to be held at UWP.

Shawn, besides teaching for UWP online classes, also teaches for the University of California-Irvine and Lakeland College, and is a project manager at Promega Corporation in Madison, which sells products to the life science industry.

"I just treat it like I have two jobs," says Shawn. "I have to be highly organized, so it's good to be a project manager. When I have speaking opportunities like this, I obviously have to make adjustments, but I really enjoy what I’m doing."

By Ryan Broege, UWP Office of Public Relations

PLATTEVILLE– Laura Sherrick, a graduate of the online Master of Science in Project Management Program at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, has been awarded the James R. Snyder International Student Paper of the Year Award by the Project Management Institute. On its website, PMI described itself as a “not-for-profit professional association whose primary goal is to advance the practice, science and profession of project management throughout the world in a conscientious and proactive manner.”

Ginger Levin, adjunct professor of project management at UWP since 2002, had Sherrick in her classes and was impressed by her former student’s achievement. Levin said that she encouraged Sherrick to apply but pointed out that there is a tremendous amount of competition among students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate project management programs from all around North America. Sherrick’s paper was selected as the winner among all submissions in the North American division; winners were also selected in the Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Europe-Middle East-Africa regions.

Sherrick’s paper was originally the final product of the Capstone Class, a three-credit course that all students in the Master’s of Science in Project Management program take near the end of their studies. “I encouraged her to submit the paper because she took each of the nine knowledge areas in the PMI’s ‘A Guide to the Project Management Methodology, third edition,’ and applied each of its inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs to her work. She described why she used each one and their value,” said Levin, who was Sherrick’s professor in the Capstone Class.

As winner of the international student paper award, Sherrick was awarded $500 and given the opportunity to present her paper at the PMI North American Congress, an annual week-long professional conference held in Orlando, Fla. “The Congress was a celebration of project management. There were more seminars being held than any one person could attend, and also opportunities to share knowledge, explore project thinking and learn more about the field,” she said.

This is the second time in three years that the winner of the PMI International Student Paper award has been a graduate of UWP. “In 2007, I nominated Tonya Petersen, who wrote a paper on motivation. The fact that UWP has had two winners in three years truly is an indicator of the strength of our program,” said Levin.

“I am very proud of our campus and students because this is a very competitive award,” said Bill Haskins, program director of the Master’s of Science in Project Management at UWP.

Anyone with further questions regarding the award may contact Haskins at (608) 342-1961 or haskinsd@uwplatt.edu.

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?!

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.

It was like David versus Goliath: In one corner, the 6 credits offered by UW-Platteville’s MS Project Management program to all admitted students who have the PMP credential; in the other corner, the Project Management Institute’s Global Accreditation Center (GAC). Something had to give in this epic battle and something did give, but not without a fight. All prospective students who would like to earn their masters degree in Project Management are strongly urged to apply before February 1st, in order to take advantage of a time-restricted benefit that UW-Platteville has so generously offered these past several years. After February 1, the MSPM program will offer only 3 credits for the PMP credential, to comply with GAC’s accreditation requirements. Though it loses the popular 6 credit award feature, UW-Platteville gains accreditation approval by GAC, which, in turn, gives you the opportunity to be a part of something even more special. Your Master’s Degree will be earned at one of only 22 schools worldwide which have been accredited by GAC. Though all great battles have heartache and loss, UW-Platteville achieved victory that day. You can be a part of it by earning your master’s degree from UWP’s accredited program. Best of all, you can have your cake and eat it too by taking advantage of the 6 credit PMP benefit before it expires February 1. Don’t let that benefit go to waste—get applied to the MSPM program before February 1st and receive those credits. You’ll earn an outstanding degree, with a highly valued worldwide accreditation.

- Clinton Nemitz, Recruiter

As you all probably have heard by now, PMI recently granted programmatic accreditation to UW-Platteville's Master of Science in Project Management. The awards ceremony was held at PMI Global Congress, N.A. in Denver last month. Here's a 2-3 minute clip from the ceremony including a quote from Bill Haskins, the MS Project Management program director.

PMI GAC Awards Ceremony

I was surfing the answers portion of LinkedIn the other day and came across a post about PMI's Educational Foundation. From their site, they are "the philanthropic arm of PMI, dedicated to improving society through project management knowledge and skills globally". They offer scholarships and a few practical tools to help advance the field of project management. It might be worth checking out...

Also, here's a link to Erika Flora's post that highlights the "Cool Stuff at PMI's Educational Foundation".

By: CJ Walker Waite, PhD (May 2006), PMP

Project Managers are increasingly expected to be more than “Implementation Specialists”. There is an expectation that they will have the aptitude to apply consulting and entrepreneurial skills by identifying opportunities, leading requirements definition, and managing stakeholder expectations to ensure project success. Davidson Frame (author of the New Project Management) defines these new responsibilities as the “New Project Management,” where the consulting aspect of project management revolves into more of an entrepreneurship realm. Project Managers are now expected to have refined people management and communications skills, be keen problem solvers, and be capable of sophisticated risk management. This is particularly true in an international setting, requiring both an awareness and ability to effectively manage the nuances of cultural norms, which is critical for communications and managing project teams. In addition, the Project Manager of an international project is faced with unique challenges and risks, and therefore creativity and an Entrepreneur mindset can be very effective in overcoming barriers.

Although Entrepreneurs are also expected to have excellent communication, problem solving and risk management skills, a key distinction is in the way Project Managers and Entrepreneurs interact with “the team.” Unlike Entrepreneurs, who are not touted for their team management skills (as a rule), Project Managers need to have an ability to foster “team perseverance,” and be able to function effectively within the corporate bounds as both excellent team players and motivators. The Project Manager cultivates and develops the team, whereas an Entrepreneur only sees the team as a means to a specific end and does not perceive any long reaching development of personnel. Within an international project context, the Project Manager is often the cornerstone of ensuring corporate objectives are understood and adhered to across the globe. Using creativity with a blend of project management discipline, the Project Manager can improve communications, build virtual teams, and create high performing teams by recognizing the advantages of cultural differences and seeking creative ways of achieving results.

A few of the attributes of an Entrepreneur are identified above, but let’s consider a more comprehensive collection of attributes, as defined by John Kao in his book The Entrepreneur, to determine how his 11 common characteristics relate to the Project Manager:

Total commitment, determination, and perseverance
Drive to achieve and grow
Opportunity and goal orientation
Taking initiative and personal responsibility
Persistent problem solving
Realism and a sense of humor
Seeking and using feedback
Internal locus of control
Calculated risk taking and risk seeking
Low need for status and power
Integrity and reliability

These characteristics are desirable for any colleague, regardless of whether they are also Project Managers. The question is how these traits might be applied within a project management setting, as compared to an entrepreneurial setting.

The First Distinction is recognizing what is different between the disciplines of Project Management and Entrepreneurship. Project Management is a methodology and process from the initiation of an idea to implementation. In fact, within an international project setting, the basic concepts of project management are universally recognized and therefore project management can serve as the common language for the team. On the other hand, Entrepreneurism is the way in which an individual interacts with their world, their willingness to take risks, initiate something new, go it alone, take full responsibility for the outcome, including design of the work, not being tied to rules, processes, or even methods. Consider then a pardox:

If the nature of an Entrepreneur is not to be tied to rules, processes and methods, then how can project management as a methodology be of value to an Entrepreneur? Conversely, how does a Project Manager whose basis of success is measured by the ability to follow rules and attain the triple constraint adapt an entrepreneurial state of mind?

This leads us to the Second Distinction, understanding the nature of an Entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are often described as dreamers and idealists who possess a high degree of optimism, which carries them through when 85% of the time their ideas fall short of their vision. Their perseverance and hard-driving nature are driven by a self-imposed necessity to succeed, and their commitment to their objective is paramount because they will not spend time on anything to which they are not 100% committed. Entrepreneurs prefer to rely almost exclusively upon their own initiative, and their greatest satisfaction is gained from independence and autonomy over any measure of security that might be offered through a corporate structure (these are eagles - they don't flock together…. rather than geese, who have an instinct for flying in prescribed patterns). However, where entrepreneur’s cross over into the realm of project management is in the execution of their ideas. An entrepreneur needs to be more than a tenacious idea generator, they also need to have a keen sense of how to implement their ideas, and be outstanding negotiators and politicians.

Therefore, it is during Implementation where the Entrepreneur can benefit from the knowledge and skill of the Project Manager. Traditionally, Project Managers have been expected to be control and tool experts, mastering the areas of scheduling, budgeting, allocation of resources – essentially adhering to the triple constraint. However, because the Project Manager generally has an executive advocate known as the Project Sponsor, they are not alone in bringing the project to fruition. They are also not expected to create new opportunities, ideas or generate new projects, but rather are considered the arms and legs of the Project Sponsor, who is responsible for this function. The lack of power and responsibility afforded the Project Manager, in juxtaposition with complete accountability, has been one of the greatest obstacles for Project Managers in their implementation role. However, it is because of this lack of overall control that a Project Manager must rely on the skills of an Entrepreneur in terms of being an outstanding negotiator and politician. This is particularly true in an international setting where there is greater likelihood of having multiple Project Sponsors with varying agendas.

The Third Distinction, understanding the nature of the Project Manager. Project Managers are often described as pragmatic implementers who readily adhere to a process, framework and who have the tenacity to reduce uncertainty and increase the likelihood of a successful project outcome. The Project Manager functions within a prescribed methodology, and strives to control all outcomes by keeping precise records and control of every detail of the process in order to reach the outcomes, which are defined by someone else. The Project Manager is committed to the project outcome, and therefore their focus and reason for existing is to meet the Project Sponsor’s expectations. However, where the Project Manager crosses over into the realm of the Entrepreneur is when they are expected to go beyond an implementation focus to incorporate all aspects of project idea generation, implementation and follow-on opportunities. As such, the Project Manager becomes critical in project definition, managing client expectations, controlling project execution, and then defining additional opportunities when their project concludes.

It is the drive, tenacity, and “can do” spirit, as well as the opportunistic nature of the Entrepreneur that is of value to the Project Manager, but which needs to be adapted to fit into the realm of project management. This is prevalent in the way in which the Entrepreneur considers the “sense of self” as compared to that of the Project Manager. Whereas Entrepreneurs tend to be exceedingly competitive and self-oriented/focused, if a Project Manager becomes overly competitive and self-oriented they will not attain the requisite buy-in and support from the organization (including the project sponsor) that is required for project success. Within an international project setting this can become quite a challenge because by its nature, virtual teams need to have a sense of independence and proactiveness, yet taken to an extreme the project could divide into multiple facets. Virtual project team members and the Project Manager do well developing an Entrepreneurs “sense of self” and belief that they can make anything a reality, given the semi-autonomous nature of being in a virtual team. However, this “sense of self” can also be an important contributing factor to the perception of “failure.” Entrepreneurs see failure as a learning tool, and thus expect to encounter failure (actually more frequently then success, thus they play the odds). On the other hand, Project Managers (and the virtual project team) are not in a “trial and error” environment, but rather have been given an opportunity to implement something to which the corporation has committed time and resources and confident that it should succeed. Therefore, Project Managers are held accountable for absolute triple constraint attainment, and failure to attain this is considered negatively within the organization, and certainly an indication of an individual’s poor project management skills and abilities.

To understand the paradox, it is necessary to recognize the balance and value of the attributes of both the Entrepreneur and the Project Manager for corporate success. Therefore, corporations must define and recognize what they specifically want to promote when they encourage their Project Managers to behave more like Entrepreneurs, because in its purest form, a true Entrepreneur would not be a good Project Manager. However, the nature of most corporations is to follow a pendulum game that is prevalent throughout business – if things are not going according to plan, then it must be time to change, and that change is generally the opposite, rather than a modified version of their current state. It is because change is perceived as progression that logically a more dramatic change equates to more progress. This, however, is very detrimental to the overall goals of a corporation: to increase market share, develop economic viability, and create a sustainable environment. This focus on balance between Entrepreneur and Project Manager attributes is emerging in corporations through Strategic Project Management and Project Portfolio Management, which by definition recognize the strategic and tactical requirements for successful business operations, including the implementation of projects.

A good model for defining this balance between culture and infrastructure can be realized in the Eight Basic Principles defined by T. Peters and R. Waterman in their book, In Search of Excellence.

1. A bias for action: a preference for doing something – rather than sending a question through cycles of analysis.
2. Staying close to the customer.
3. Autonomy and entrepreneurship – breaking the corporation into small units and encouraging people to think independently and competitively.
4. Productivity through people – an awareness of best efforts.
5. Hands-on, value-driven, insisting those executives keep in touch with the firm’s essential business.
6. Stick to the knitting – doing what the company does best.
7. Simple form, lean staff – few people in administration or at the upper levels.
8. Simultaneous loose-tight properties – fostering a climate where there is dedication to the central values of the company combined with tolerance for all employees who accept those values.

So what is the answer to the Paradox? Balance. As such, the more things change, the more they stay the same. That is the heart of the pendulum game; you always come back to center – or you will always eventually find that balance, at least for the interim.

With family, work, and classes on your plate, you’re probably thinking that there’s no way you could join a professional association. As a working professional who is pursuing your degree, there’s no way that you shouldn’t join. Many professional associations offer benefits that go well beyond just providing networking opportunities. Here are two of the lesser known benefits that many associations offer:

1. Newsletters and whitepapers: These pieces are often excellent “brain food” for future homework assignments. Generally they tackle current issues in your field so you could use them to generate a thesis or a project, cite them as a reference (be careful if your instructor requires peer-reviewed sources only), or just stay current with issues in the industry.
2. Scholarships: Many associations offer scholarships for some of their members. Most of them fall in the $500-$1000 range but there are a few that offer sizeable opportunities. If your annual membership fee is $50 or less, that’s a pretty good return on investment for membership.

Even if you’re not looking to get deeply involved and build a strong network, you can benefit from these groups and the resources they provide. Below are a few of the larger professional associations that align with our distance learning programs.

Project Management Institute

Wisconsin Chapters: Northeast WI, Madison, Southeast WI, La Crosse

National Society of Professional Engineers

Wisconsin Chapter: WI Society of Professional Engineers

Society for Human Resource Management

Wisconsin Chapter: WI Society for Human Resource Management

Fraternal Order of Police

Looking for project management articles? I recently found a website that is loaded with information about all sorts of project management topics. It covers everything from quality management to soft skills. Best of all, everything is categorized so you can quickly find what you're looking for.

The Project Management Hut