There were a pair of significant firsts in Pennsylvania higher education in the last week, including the first accreditation for a solar panel course and the first graduates from an innovative on-site Masters of Business Administration (MBA) program.
Northampton Community College last week announced it became the first PA college to receive an Institute for Sustainable Power Quality Accredited Training Program designation from the Interstate Renewable Energy Council. The Lehigh Valley institution’s Solar Photovoltaic Systems I course is an intro to solar panel systems, their components and design for residential and light commercial applications.
On the other side of the state, Point Park University in Pittsburgh launched its on-site corporate MBA program in the fall of 2009 at GAI Consultants, an engineering and environmental consulting firm in Homestead, and will graduate its first class on May 6. Employees attend classes in existing space at their offices, while Point Park faculty deliver lectures remotely using the company’s existing technology. The MBA is the same accredited degree earned in a traditional classroom setting.
Also part of the benefit for GAI was the ability to tailor coursework to its current business. For example, GAI students worked on marketing plans targeted to their own clients.
“We’ve had the chance to share ideas and opinions which have helped us better understand one another in our capacity as business professionals,” says GAI Director of Environmental and Energy Services Jennifer Broush in a news release.
Point Park also has implemented an on-site MBA program for U.S. Steel Corporation.
Joe Petrucci is managing editor of Keystone Edge. Send feedback here.