Come together – small SPP program has unique “executive cohorts” for students
The Master of Science in Organization Development and Knowledge Management (ODKM) Program is one of the School of Public Policy’s smaller programs, with a unique “executive cohort” format. Students in cohorts begin their studies at the same point and complete courses in sequence in approximately 18 months.
The program focuses on effecting transformation and change in organizations. Program adviser Nancy Dunham said students follow a timeline that starts in the fall and lasts a year and a half. Each year, ODKM welcomes a cohort of about 40 students.
Dunham estimates that an even higher percentage of ODKM students work full-time compared to SPP students overall. Generally, the School of Public Policy strongly emphasizes prior work experience during the application process and rarely admits undergraduate students who have just graduated.
Cohorts take their classes every other week on Friday evenings, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and all day Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Carlos Soles is part of Cohort 14 and expects to graduate at the conclusion of the fall 2010 semester. Like most students at the Arlington Campus, Soles works full-time and attends the school part time. He is a capacity building specialist at the U.S. Office of Minority Health Resource Center in Rockville, Md. and provides training and technical assistance to nonprofit organizations and community-based programs across the country.
Both Dunham and Soles describe ODKM as an intensive experience both inside and outside of the classroom. Part of the intensity is due to the “strong social component of being part of a cohort,” said Dunham.
Day-long classes on Saturdays mean sharing lunch and dinner with other students. For this and other reasons, ODKM students may have the strongest ties to the Arlington Campus and community when compared to other SPP students. Students in other SPP programs “are nice and also shy,” said Soles. “They look like they are here to accomplish their goal without time for much else.”
Soles said many in his ODKM cohort live, work or volunteer in Arlington. In addition, because of the long stretches of time spent at the Arlington Campus, students of the program make ample use of the campus resources and local restaurants.
For example, Soles explained that his cohort has a long-standing relationship with El Pollo Rico, a Peruvian rotisserie chicken restaurant across North Fairfax Drive on North Kenmore Street. Students in his cohort frequent the restaurant and the restaurant in turn has provided catering for ODKM events.
Soles noted that ODKM students make heavy use of the library and classrooms during the week for meetings, and says he would appreciate “more communal spaces and space for students to get together.”
According to Dunham, ODKM students participate enthusiastically in SPP open houses and during orientation events, sharing their experiences with prospective and new students. “They are very willing to talk about the program and how excited they are about it,” she said.
For more information on the Master of Science in Organization Development and Knowledge Management program, visit their website at:
http://policy.gmu.edu/Home/AcademicProfessionalPrograms/MastersPrograms/OrganizationDevelopmentKnowledgeManagement/tabid/106/Default.aspx
Silvia Villacampa, Stylus Correspondent