Hudson Valley Community College now offers a variety of
courses through the Distance Learning Program. These courses
allow students to personally design their schedule for the completion
of coursework while balancing their family and career
responsibilities. Complete information about the
College's Distance Learning Program can be
found here.
We presently offer the following online courses in our Labor Studies and Civil & Public Service programs:
*9300 Public Administration
*9301 Labor Relations
*9305 Public Personnel Administration
*9312 Principles of Supervision
Our goal in the Civil and Public Service program is to make it possible for students to complete the entire degree program online. Over the next several years we will be expanding the course offerings in an effort to achieve this goal. Click here to view the College's entire list of distance learning courses that are offered.
The Distance Learning Student
Students taking distance learning courses are motivated and self-disciplined. They are solely responsible for scheduling their own time for the completion of reading assignments, exercises, tests, and class discussions. Some students complete course work in the evening while others work on course material during lunch hour. Most courses utilize the "chat room" to facilitate class participation. It is not necessary for students to be online at the same time when engaging in these discussions. Students simply post their comments to the discussion list and pick up their comments when their schedules allow.
Course Content
Are you wondering what type of work students complete in a distance learning course? Here are a few samples from the Principles Supervision course:
Assignment 5 - The Staff Meeting
You have just started a new job which will involve the supervision of 10 employees. On Friday morning you will be conducting your first general meeting with the staff.
Questions
1. Since these 10 employees are getting a new supervisor (you) it is understandable that they have some concerns about this new arrangement. The appointment of a new supervisor usually creates an air of uncertainty and anxiety among employees.
Identify and discuss five (5) concerns that you believe these employees have regarding this change in leadership.
2. At the staff meeting on Friday morning what will you say to employees to alleviate the five (5) concerns you sense they have about you and your position as their new supervisor.
Please send your responses to me by email.
Assignment 7 - Job Factors
Background: In 1946 a study was conducted in the United States to ascertain how both supervisors and employees would rank a set of 10 job factors. Both groups were instructed to rank the job factors in terms of importance to employees.
A follow-up study was conducted in 1986. Both supervisors and employees were asked to rank the same set of job factors in order of importance to employees.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. The Employee Perspective: Rank the following 10 job factors in order of importance to employees. Simply do the ranking from your perspective as an employee. Indicate which factors are most important to you and scale down to those which are least important. (#1 being the highest rank)
2. Supervisors' Beliefs About Employees: Now rank the following 10 job factors as you believe supervisors would rank them. If we surveyed supervisors today, what would they believe to be the most important job factors from their employees' perspective? Again, rank from the highest (#1) and scale down to the lowest factor. (#10)
JOB FACTORS
Tactful disciplining.
Job security.
Feeling of being in on things.
Interesting work.
Promotion.
High wages.
Good working conditions.
Full appreciation of work done.
Sympathetic help on personal problems.
Personal loyalty of supervisor.
Assignment 15 - You Be The Delegator
In this article for the Capital District Business Review Anne O'Brien Carelli provides a neat description of the delegation process as seen through the eyes of a sheriff in the 1800s.
INSTRUCTIONS
Students should construct a fictional scenario where they are the person delegating to others. You can be anybody you want to be, during the present or in historical times. You may choose to be a sheriff, a surgeon, an airline pilot, a U.S. president, or perhaps, you'd like to be a military figure. Your character shall be an invention in your own mind.
Use your imagination in developing the characters and story line. Your submission should be modeled on the story of the sheriff, and it should begin with the words, "I am a..."
Your submission should contain the following information:
*Your title.
*A description of your followers.
*The goal(s) you're trying to accomplish.
*Your overall plan.
*The tasks you're delegating.
*The rationale for delegating these tasks to those particular people.
If you have any questions about Carol Burke's distance learning courses then please feel free to drop her a line at burkecar@hvcc.edu