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Human resources program meets new guidelines

May 4, 2009

KALAMAZOO--The human resources program in the Western Michigan University Haworth College of Business has met new guidelines established by the Society of Human Resources Management.

The acknowledgement means WMU's program is aligned with established curriculum guides relative to topics, courses, business context and delivery methods. The acknowledgement of alignment was awarded after society members conducted an analysis of WMU's Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Human Resources Management.

According to Dr. Debra Cohen, the society's chief knowledge officer, the guidelines were recently established to provide a resource for colleges and universities to track HR curricula against a common, minimum skill set, as deemed necessary by employers who seek to fill human resource professional positions. The guidelines offer flexibility in devising HR courses, while providing a minimum level of standardization for content being taught.

"This is further recognition of the quality of our program and our faculty as we try to stay on the leading edge of professional thought and practice," said Dr. Dan Farrell, human resources program coordinator in the WMU Department of Management."

Farrell says there are a minimum of 13 core HR related topics in every HR degree program, as well as 11 elective topics.

"Topics include areas such as staffing, employee relations, compensation, benefits and organizational development," Farrell says.

The Haworth College of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Member schools are encouraged to use the society's templates as a guide to developing and reformulating human resource degree programs.

Media contact: Mark Schwerin, (269) 387-8400, mark.schwerin@wmich.edu

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