Michigan State University rolls out e-learning to HR managers

Michigan State University (MSU) has launched a new digital learning programme designed to improve communication in company workforces.

The Master Certificate in Strategic Human Resources Management is delivered entirely online and is looking to teach individuals on the connection between HR and business success.

MSU - which was ranked a Tier 1 Best National University by US News and World Report - is providing the education over four eight-week virtual courses.

A number of topics are covered in the e-learning, including instruction for managers and HR professionals on how they can work on their organisation's intellectual capital and generate competitive advantages.

Professor Stefanie Lenway of the MSU's Broad College of Business observed people who manage employees are expected to feed business values into the running of human resources.

She added: "We're proud to help them do it by adding this new master certificate to our strategic leadership and management executive development programmes."

The training will be executed via a series of video-based lectures that can be downloaded to mobile devices or tablets, or watched online.

Subjects on the programme include Human Resource Management, Compensation and Reward Management, Workforce Management and Development and an elective which covers professional goals.

Two career-enhancing bonuses are also available, one of which is StrengthsFinders, a digital assessment and resource platform that allows pupils to discover how the adoption of certain characteristics can positively impact work performance, team building and high-quality interviewing.

At the end of the course, participants will receive a certificate from the university's Broad College of Business, which was ranked second for human resource management by the Financial Times in 2012.

Open enrollment for the e-learning began last week (November 1st), while classes will not commence until January 1st.

The news comes after three leading MSU faculty members - David Cross, John Hollenbeck and Raymond Schmidgall - recently received awards for their contributions to their fields and for developing online courses at the institution.