[blinkme323]

Hey Guys,

I had already been thinking about going back to school for my Masters lately when this degree caught my eye:

http://www.widener.edu/academics/sch.../graduate/bpi/

I have my undergrad from Widener in MIS, so I can vouch for the school itself. However, I was wondering what some of your thoughts were on this program? It seems to be one of a few of its kind in the country and looks like it would be a pretty logical progression from a B.S. in MIS.

Thanks in advance!

[bbbbmw]

Translated: SAP gives Widener free access to their software to use in their classes. Widener gets tuition dollars, and SAP and their partners/consultants get fresh grads who are trained on their software. Perhaps not a bad gig, but you would be starting off in an SAP environment, and would learn everything through an SAP lens - just remember that, and keep your eyes open.

[blinkme323]

Originally Posted by bbbbmw

Translated: SAP gives Widener free access to their software to use in their classes. Widener gets tuition dollars, and SAP and their partners/consultants get fresh grads who are trained on their software. Perhaps not a bad gig, but you would be starting off in an SAP environment, and would learn everything through an SAP lens - just remember that, and keep your eyes open.

Yeah, that's along the lines of what I was thinking as well. I was just kind of intrigued by the overall curriculum. Also, "Masters in Business Process Innovation" would look nice on a resume, lol.

[m630]

Originally Posted by blinkme323

Hey Guys,

I had already been thinking about going back to school for my Masters lately when this degree caught my eye:

http://www.widener.edu/academics/sch.../graduate/bpi/

I have my undergrad from Widener in MIS, so I can vouch for the school itself. However, I was wondering what some of your thoughts were on this program? It seems to be one of a few of its kind in the country and looks like it would be a pretty logical progression from a B.S. in MIS.

Thanks in advance!

Hi, can't speak on the program itself, but it's interesting to see that a school is starting to offer these competency. I would say though that this is a very relevant topic in large organizations today and part to what I do. Now it's worth noting though that while understanding a specific product may be of some use, the only way one can apply such skills is with an understanding and appreciation of the problem statement, and that doesn't not come from school. There are many skills needed to excel at BPM, and an understanding of how tools can assist in support of process improvement is useful, but you may also want to understand BPMN to be able to apply the knowledge. This can also match up with project management skills so you may want to consider PMP studies.
In practice I'd say this is part of a potential valuable business skill set, but don't expect to see job listings for 'business process innovators'.

[bbbbmw]

Originally Posted by m630

Hi, can't speak on the program itself, but it's interesting to see that a school is starting to offer these competency. I would say though that this is a very relevant topic in large organizations today and part to what I do. Now it's worth noting though that while understanding a specific product may be of some use, the only way one can apply such skills is with an understanding and appreciation of the problem statement, and that doesn't not come from school. There are many skills needed to excel at BPM, and an understanding of how tools can assist in support of process improvement is useful, but you may also want to understand BPMN to be able to apply the knowledge. This can also match up with project management skills so you may want to consider PMP studies.
In practice I'd say this is part of a potential valuable business skill set, but don't expect to see job listings for 'business process innovators'.

Good post. N the past 5 years or so, I have come across businesses that have a role titled "Business Process Architect" (or something like that) - people who's job it is to study existing business processes, make improvement recommendations.

[m630]

Thats one of the roles a perform in BPM projects that i support. As im on the business side, its known as a business BPM analyst or a business architect

[blinkme323]

I'm pretty firmly entrenched (in a good way) in a IT role at my current company, so I would be using this degree as more of a springboard to a more senior role or possibly management.

[m630]

Sounds like a reasonable plan as these are usually senior roles as it often takes a wholistic understanding of the buiness or organizations end to end processes to truly innovate. At least this is the case in my firm which is a major global financial institution. Good luck

[Trijicon]

Just go for your Six Sigma cert. All this is folded into that cert. Business process efficiency, automation, compliance, monitoring, input/thruput/output, etc

[Maestro]

Originally Posted by Trijicon

Just go for your Six Sigma cert. All this is folded into that cert. Business process efficiency, automation, compliance, monitoring, input/thruput/output, etc

Yes, I was just going to say the same thing, get your Black Belt certification, it not all about quality if about business improvement and lots of company pay big buck to people with black belts. I would said a Master in Business Improvement is too specific. Look at Management of Technologies which plays well into many areas and having a black belt on top of that will give you an edge. Also most time company will pay to get you certified since you will most like need to save at Least $1M to get certified.

[Its_lobelt]

Originally Posted by blinkme323

Hey Guys,

I had already been thinking about going back to school for my Masters lately when this degree caught my eye:

http://www.widener.edu/academics/sch.../graduate/bpi/

I have my undergrad from Widener in MIS, so I can vouch for the school itself. However, I was wondering what some of your thoughts were on this program? It seems to be one of a few of its kind in the country and looks like it would be a pretty logical progression from a B.S. in MIS.

Thanks in advance!

How much is tuition for this program?

[blinkme323]

Originally Posted by ROB_S2K

How much is tuition for this program?

It's a 30 credit program with a cost of ~800 per credit.