We will work with you to support the development of your staff through our menu of study options and by tailoring what we offer to your specific needs. Our courses offer you the following benefits:
We offer skills development directly related to the current challenges facing the public and non-profit sectors:
We offer a range of options, from short courses to qualifications at Postgraduate Certificate, Diploma and Masters level. Employees can enrol either individually or in groups from the same organisation. Employees who enrol individually gain from sharing insights with a tutorial group drawn from a wide range of public and non-profit organisations. Employees who enrol in groups gain from studying together as a cohort who can take their learning back into their organisation as a group.
The main options offered are listed below:
Single modules which can be studied either for credit (bankable towards one of our qualifications). Individual students can study alongside our wider student body or modules can be arranged for a group of staff from the same employer to study together
Masters programmes which consist of between six and eight modules and an Independent Study Project (which can be geared towards a current organisational issue or problem):
Public Policy and Management (MA)
Public Administration - International Development (MPA)
In addition, we can:
We know that taking time out of employment in order to study full-time is not a practical option for most of us. We also know that part-time study can be disruptive in terms of its fixed class times and time lost to travel. It also limits networking opportunities to those who live near enough to attend.
We offer a professional and personal online mode of study that is designed with the needs of the learner at its heart. Just as professionalising public service delivery is at the forefront of the drive to modernise public services, so we have transformed the way in which employees can study in order to maximise their learning whilst minimising the impact on their time and costs.
Each module of study consists of nine weekly units which are studied in small groups of up to 15 people, each a practising manager, under the personal tuition of an expert in the subject. Each week we discuss key aspects of the topic, with flexibility to study and to contribute at any time within the week, and from a web connection that may be at home, in the office, at an airport, or outdoors on a field trip.
We have a very wide geographical reach with students in almost 70 countries worldwide creating a truly international learning community within the modules. A short summary of some of our most densely populated student countries: Afghanistan, Canada, France, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Uganda, UK, USA.
We developed a tailored version of the MA in Public Policy and Management for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which combined online study with face to face workshops for cohorts of managers drawn from across the department.
The Leadership Foundation for Higher Education commissioned us to develop a five-week online course as a contribution to the Foundation's Governor Development programme - a programme of events designed to support those who sit on university governing bodies.
Our online course, 'Rethinking Governance,' was designed to support recently-appointed governors, and all those who wanted to refresh their understanding of the current 'big picture' within higher education and its implications for governance and leadership.
Participants commented as follows:
"Even as an experienced governor in HE, I found the course interesting and challenging. It was particularly helpful to have the opportunity to stand back and reflect on the key issues in the wider context (something that there often isn't time to do during the regular meeting cycle) and to discuss them with fellow governors from other HEIs."
"All new HEI governors should participate on the 'Rethinking Governance' course, it provides an in depth foundation to the issues facing HEIs and contextualises them from both the executive and governance perspectives."
Below are some short films of our alumni talking about how they found the programme and the impact of their studies on the workplace:
To find out more about what we offer, or to discuss how we can work with you to support your organisation's staff development agenda, please contact us:
Helen Story
Admissions Administrator
Email: spsw-online@york.ac.uk
Phone: +44 1904 321228