LEAD Awards 2018: Interview with Eric Cartaya, FIU - Developing Facilitative Leadership Skills

Developing Facilitative Leadership Skills

  Category: Degree Program with Emphasis on HR
  LEAD AWARD RANK: 1
 
  Organization: Florida International University
  Program: Bachelor of Business Administration, Landon Undergraduate School of Business
  Program Director: Eric Cartaya
  Email: cartayae@fiu.edu
  Visit: https://www.fiu.edu
 
Our editorial team interviewed Eric Cartaya from Florida International University at the LEAD2018 Awards this past February. Here are some excerpts from the exclusive interview.
 
What is the overall objective of your program?
The undergraduate curriculum in Human Resources has dual objectives. The first is to ensure that graduates of the program develop strong general analytic and communication skills required of professional employees in the 21^st century. This is realized through the integration of individual and group assignments that not only provide students with knowledge of global affairs and business-specific content, but also foster the development of a broad range of competencies including business communication, leadership, presentation skills, mastery of business software applications, and group collaboration. In addition to general coursework in business and commerce, undergraduate HR students enroll in nine specialized courses in the major that prepare students for entry-level positions in human resources.
 

Who do you impact with your program?
FIU prides itself on serving a diverse student population and a rapidly expanding business community. Students enrolled in the undergraduate HR program include recent high school graduates as well as those who completed high school over 20 years ago; those who speak English as their first language and as those who speak English as their second or third language; those who were born in the United States, and those who have recently immigrated to the United States. The undergraduate students enrolled at FIU reflect the diversity of Miami where nearly one out of three residents were born outside of the United States. The Landon College of Business is also responsive to the needs of the local business community that requires skilled, multi-lingual managers to address current business needs and a pool of talent to develop future leaders.
 
What are the lessons you’ve learned this year from facilitating your program?
We have discovered that to facilitate student success we need to have flexibility in delivery modality and scheduling of courses that integrate theory and application. Financial necessity of our students, most of whom are self-supported, and the local skills shortages have combined to create unusual employment opportunities for our students. As result, by their senior year, 50 percent of HR undergraduate students are employed full time and another 30 percent work at least 20 hours a week. To accommodate these students and to facilitate their success, we offer courses in three formats: fully on-line, face-to-face, and in a hybrid format that combines traditional classes with on-line modules. Moreover, when HR electives are offered in a traditional lecture, these classes are offered during evening hours, once a week for three hours.  To assure, a balance of theory and opportunities to apply knowledge, both traditional research faculty and adjuncts, typically with more than 20 years of HR experience, collaborate on curriculum design and the development of internship opportunities for thosestudents lacking experience. Finally, extracurricular activities remain important, and FIU and the local chapter of the Society of Human Resource Management have supported FIU undergraduate students to attend HR case competitions, and in April 2016 FIU’s undergraduate team placed second at the SHRM Regional case competition in Salt Lake City, Utah.
 
How do you measure the return on investment and success of the program?
We use both traditional academic assessments and student placement to assess the value of the program.  The former consists of an exit examination offered to all HR and Management majors in a capstone course in the senior year. For three consecutive years, students enrolled in the HR major scored above all minimum thresholds on all learning outcomes established by the College. Regarding the latter, since so many of our program’s students are already employed full time, we seek to measure career advancement as well as traditional placement metrics. Additionally, we see strong evidence of increased employer interest in our graduates, and each year a greater number of companies seek to hire our students.
 
What lies ahead for the program and how will it continue to succeed?
The 2020 Strategic Plan for FIU anticipates continued enrollment growth and a commitment to offering 30 percent of classes on-line, 40 percent in a hybrid format, and 30 percent in a traditional face-to-face classroom setting. This will require continuing innovation and investment in learning management systems, faculty development, and creativity in engaging a diverse student body in important extracurricular activities. The increase in on-line delivery offers scales of economy that when combined with our internal expertise in on-line education will allow us to develop a new generation of on-line activities that incorporate adaptive learning that can effectively address individual learning styles and needs.
 

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