Program Information for Current Students (TRDEV)

Independent Study

• Petition for the Independent Study (MS Word)

Independent Study (TRDEV596) provides students the opportunity to obtain recorded credit for academic achievement beyond that recognized through the formal, approved course offerings. To Penn State Harrisburg students, Independent Study has made possible learning experiences of great value, and to the faculty it has given occasion for scholarly explorations and interaction that could scarcely have been achieved otherwise. Independent Study has proved its merit and will continue to be a valuable component of the total educational effort of Penn State Harrisburg. Please note however, that an Independent Study is a course overload for faculty members, so strict limits are placed on the number offered each semester.

General Information about Independent Study Courses

• An Independent Study course should not be used to give an established catalog course. (If an established course is to be given independently, even if only to one student, it should be given under the official name and number.)

• It is possible, if the instructor so desires, to have two or more students participate in a cooperative independent study project.

• A petition for Independent Study may be obtained from your adviser and must be completed and approved before enrolling in an Independent Study course. Jurisdiction for approval of an Independent Study course lies with the Division Head of the Program in which the course resides. Signature of the Jurisdictional Division Head indicates his or her approval of the Independent Study offering within his or her jurisdiction and of the instructor directing it.

• Signature of the instructor serving as the study director indicates an agreement to be involved in the Independent Study.

• Signature of the student's assigned adviser indicates approval of the student's participation.

• This petition for Independent Study must be completed and returned to the Registrar's Office at the time the student registers for the course. Registration cannot be processed without a completed form.

• Approved petitions for Independent Study will be maintained in the student's file as a record of independent studies. There will be no special form that records the accumulation of Independent Study projects completed by the student.

• Evaluation of the Independent Study will be reported as a letter grade. Only the instructor who signed the petition for the Independent Study may assign the final grade.

Master's Paper

If you have chosen the paper option in your plan of study, you will need to familiarize yourself with the various requirements of the project. You should plan on a year's time to complete the paper. Since the paper's final draft is due very early in the semester, you will need to have the paper in an advanced stage of construction a semester before you expect to submit it. (See the submission calendar for deadlines.)

You first need to decide whether you wish to do a study researching a specific research question(s), design and develop a training production, or do an in-depth literature review on specific Training & Development / Organizational Development topic.

You will need to follow a standard format. The process is outlined below:

WRITING THE PAPER

1. Decide on a topic and get approval from your paper adviser.

2. Become familiar with the paper format requirements by reading this guide carefully

3. Write the proposal, which consists of:

   1. Chapter 1. Background and justification for study

   2. Chapter 2. Review of the literature

   3. Chapter 3. Design for the study / training solution product

4. Get approval for proposal from adviser, then schedule meeting of committee. Make sure to provide each member with a copy of your proposal two weeks in advance of the meeting.

5. Meet with the committee and note any changes requested.

6. Make changes and continue with study / product development.

7. Change tense in Chapters 1,2, & 3 from future to past tense.

8. Write Chapter 4. Results of the study and statistical analysis / training solution product.

9. Get approval of paper from adviser, then schedule meeting of committee. Make sure to provide each member with a copy of your finished paper two weeks in advance of the meeting.

10. Meet with committee to defend paper and make note of any requested changes.

11. Make changes and get adviser's approval to get signatures.

12. Pay binding fee at Bursars' office.

13. Get signatures.

14. Bring receipt for fee and one signed signatory page for your file to your adviser.

15. Submit two complete papers on thesis quality paper or thesis on disk for eThesis to the library. See electronic submission information below.

Course Schedule - Long Range Planning

• Long Range Planning (Excel)

• Long Range Planning (PDF)

Plan of Study

• For students admitted in or after Fall 2005

• For students admitted prior to Fall 2005

Advising

Students develop a plan of study to guide their scheduling of courses and other requirements for the master's degree.

Your adviser will assist you in preparing a plan of study that will guide you in your scheduling of courses. Get to know your adviser and feel free to make contact through email, phone, or office appointments.

Usually, the first two courses you will take are Instructional Methods in Training and Development (TRDEV418) and Foundations in Training and Development (TRDEV460).

There is an experience requirement and you may be required to complete a three-credit (3) Internship. These three credits are in addition to the 36 or 39 credits required to complete the program. Check with your adviser.

Before beginning classes, you should obtain a personal ID card and activate your ACCESS account. They will allow you to use the e-lion website to enroll in courses online, check your grades, and much more. Make sure you keep your personal information updated in e-lion.

Program Options

There are two options in the Training and Development Program

1. Paper Option
   Requires the completion of a master's paper and a total of 36 credits (excluding any required internship). IMPORTANT: The master's paper should be completed at least one semester prior to the semester in which you expect to graduate. For example: if you wish to graduate in May, then your paper should be completed by the preceding December. Submission to the Graduate School must be completed by the first week of March for the Spring semester, October for the Fall semester, and June for the Summer session. Students must adhere to the deadlines listed in the academic calendar for submitting master's papers.

2. Non-Paper Option
   This option does not require a master's paper, but does require Research Designs Applied to Training (TRDEV588) and an extra elective in Training and Development for a total of 39 credits (excluding any required internship).

Transfer Credits and Course Substitutions

A maximum of 10 credits of high-quality graduate work done at an accredited institution may be applied toward the requirements for the master’s degree in Training and Development. Approval to apply any transferred credits toward a degree program must be granted by the student’s academic adviser and the Graduate School. Transferred academic work must have been completed within five years prior to the date of first degree registration at the Graduate School, must be of at least B quality (grades of B– are not transferable), and must appear on an official graduate transcript. Credits earned toward a previously completed postbaccalaureate professional degree program (law, medicine, etc.) are not transferable. However, up to 10 credits can be transferred from a professional degree program if the degree has not been conferred.

A maximum of 15 credits earned as a special nondegree student at Penn State may be applied to the Training and Development program, with departmental approval. The credits must have been earned within fi ve years preceding entry into the program.

Grade-Point Average and Time Limit

A 3.00 (out of 4.00) minimum grade-point average is required to graduate from the program. All course work must be completed within eight years.

Professional Advice

Current and prospective Training and Development students should contact the following T&D Advisory Council Members to learn more about the profession in general and/or their specific areas of expertise in the field. They'd be delighted to hear from you!

Adjunct Faculty

Annette M. Cremo, Ph.D.
Tel: 717-241-6600

Dr. Cremo teaches graduate-level courses in Presentation Skills for Trainers. Her areas of expertise include program development and administration, instructional development, designing and conducting training, and assessing the needs of organizations in the private and public sector. Ms. Cremo heads her own independent consulting firm and conducts research on team learning and group problem solving.

Leigh Hurst, M.Ed.
Tel: 717-948-6735

Leigh Hurst has been an adjunct professor in the Training & Development program since Fall 2004. Leigh's expertise is in the area of eLearning and the design of learning technologies. She graduated from Ithaca College, Roy H. Park School of Communications, with a BS in Corporate Communications in 1992 and holds Masters Degrees from Florida State University and Northwestern University in Instructional Design and Learning Sciences. She worked for Accenture in Chicago and Philadelphia as a training professional and business consultant from 1993-2000 and for various small eLearning companies since then. Currently she does freelance in the eLearning field and runs her own breast cancer awareness organization called Feel Your Boobies, which she founded in 2004 after being diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 33.

Carol McQuiggan, Ed.D.
Tel: 717-948-6542

Carol McQuiggan is an instructional designer and eLearning support specialist for Penn State Harrisburg, and is a student in their Adult Education D.Ed. program. She has been conducting training in the use of various instructional technologies for over 14 years. Her research interests include adult learning, technology integration, and preparing faculty to teach online. She presents her research findings regularly within the Penn State community and at conferences including the Academy of Human Resource Development and Distance Learning.

Gerry Post, Ed.D.
Tel: 215-255-7314 or (cell) 267-303-6107

Gerry Post serves as the Training Manger for the College of Medicine at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Gerry formally directed Education and Professional Development for many healthcare institutions including one of the top 100 Hospitals and Health Alliances in the US and was responsible for the education of over 6,000 employees. Additionally, he served as the Director of Training for several industrial companies including Exelon, Outboard Marine Corporation, and Neumann Homes. Dr. Post also developed extensive leadership programs for many organizations. For over 30 years, Dr. Post has specialized in Adult Learning, Organizational Development, Accelerated Learning, and implementing Service Excellence. He has created corporate universities and served as visiting professor for various colleges and universities, including Southern Illinois University and Roosevelt University. In addition to many other publications, most recently he co-authored a book entitled "Keys to Student Mastery of EMT Training." He has also spoken at many training conferences. Dr. Post holds an Ed. D. from Northern Illinois University.

Richard Dumaresq, Ed.D.
Tel: 717-540-9010

Dr. Dumaresq teaches graduate-level courses in Program Evaluation. He has worked as a teacher, administrator and training manager for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as well as executive director for both a national and state professional association. As a national consultant, he specializes in long-range planning, organizational improvement, and group conflict resolution.

Robert D. Jackson, M.Ed.
Tel: 717-439-3574 (cell)

Bob Jackson teaches a graduate-level foundational course in training & development. He is also the director of the Keystone Academy for Learning (KAL) within the Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania's Office of Administration. The academy is responsible for professional and skills development training of commonwealth employees across the state.
Mr. Jackson's research interests are talent management, career management and workplace learning and performance. He is a graduate of the training and development program at Penn State Harrisburg while his doctorate is in Workforce Education and Development from Penn State, University Park.