Rider Offers Accelerated Organizational Masters Degree

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ - Rider University will offer an accelerated Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership program that can be completed entirely online in only five semesters beginning this fall, the university announced.

The 30-credit program is designed to enhance students’ leadership, supervisory and administrative skills. Students will be enrolled in the developing people and organizations concentration, which offers a broad perspective on organizational behavior and leadership.

In its accelerated format, each course will be about seven weeks long, and there will be six admission cycles throughout the year. The university’s current 14-week in-person program will continue, and it will also offer a hybrid program that combines the two, according to the university.

“We recognize that not everyone has the time for a traditional on-campus program model because they’re already very busy with work and family responsibilities, and there are only so many hours in the day,” Program Director and assistant professor Tricia Nolfi said. “At the same time, they might be required to obtain a master’s degree in order to advance in their careers, and this program will enable them to do that.”

One of Rider’s goals in creating the new program was to ensure that students taking the online courses would receive the same level of support as those who are on campus, Nolfi said.

“A big part of Rider’s culture has always been making sure our students succeed,” Nolfi said. “That’s just a part of what we do.”

Staff will be available to offer guidance along every step of the process, assisting students with everything from scheduling to financial aid to academic advising. There will even be periodic check-ins to see how the students’ experience is going after they’ve enrolled.

“A few weeks into the course, someone will follow up to ask, ‘How are you doing? Is there anything you need help with?’” Nolfi said. “Since these students won’t physically come to campus, there’s going to be a lot more outreach to ensure that they’re feeling connected to the university.”

As an interdisciplinary master’s program at Rider, organizational leadership attracts students from a variety of areas, including education, nonprofits, business and public organizations.

“Our program is really relevant for any individual aspiring to be a leader within an organization,” Nolfi said.

Nevertheless, she noted that many of the students in the Developing People and Organizations concentration tend to work in human resources or learning and development positions.

“One of the things that’s unique about our program is that the students have a capstone experience where they conduct organizational research and actually go into an organization, identify a problem, conduct a needs assessment and solve the problem,” Nolfi said. “This is a very hands-on, application-based program. For every single course that they take, students are expected to apply what they are learning in that class to the work setting. I think that’s a big part of why many of our students are able to get a new job or receive a promotion within three months of graduation.”

Additional information about the Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership program is available at www.rider.edu/ma-orglead. Those interested in learning more about the accelerated program format can contact Program Director Tricia Nolfi at tnolfi@rider.edu.