A Unique Educational Opportunity in Human Services Management
Many current college students as well as recent graduates are interested in the caring human services professions. The draw might be to help people in one-to-one or group settings. However, as human services professionals gain more experience they want to teach and manage others. I spoke with Mark Doyle last week to learn more. Mark is Program Director for a unique masters program in Human Services Management at National Louis University.
National Louis University, based in the Chicago area, aka ‘Chicagoland’, delivers one of the only two masters programs unique to Human Services Management and Leadership. First delivered in a hybrid format, online and on-campus, National Louis University is expanding its reach to being this program online.
National Louis is private, non-profit and non-denominational with over 9,000 students, nearly 5,000 in graduate programs and post-graduate certificates. It has one of the most diverse student bodies in America. Over half of National Louis’ students are non-traditional, over the age of 30. The majority are also men and women of color.
National Louis’ Masters in Human Services Management and Leadership is industry-specific and intended to be a good value for the money.
Nearly everyone in this program is employed in a human services organization. It could be serving people with developmental disabilities, providing constant care to elderly, or delivering education. Working professionals can complete the online or hybrid programs in less than two years at a cost of less than $30,000, including books and materials. It was important to offer this program at a reasonable price point to attract professionals who, while earning lower salaries, had the potential to lead.
Unlike an MBA and other masters degrees, National Louis’ program uses the human services fields in all of its case studies.
Leaders of human services organizations are among the faculty who teach the skill set and cases. They have been in the student’s shoes. These professionals are also in executive leadership, making business as well as service decisions.
Mark Doyle was quite generous with his time to explain this program. There were too many questions to answer in words. So we made a video interview instead. In this video, Mark and I will cover the program in more detail and discuss the online components and case studies.
More and more masters programs are likely to be taught online. Working people want to continue working.
National Louis also offers masters degrees in business and education, among other fields. But this Masters in Human Services Management and Leadership has a first-mover advantage. Working professionals in human services are more likely to struggle in a traditional MBA program that uses cases outside of their field. Industry specific programs like this will become more popular. Demand for further education will increase. But the time required to pursue it may not.
