Point Park University, IUP partner on human resources programs

Two of the region’s universities have partnered to form a path for students to receive a master’s degree in human resources — a business specialization that focuses on the administrative duties and policies in an organization.

Point Park University students who receive a bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management can now apply for early admission to the M.A. in Human Resources and Employee Relations program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

“We’re excited to team up with IUP, as this provides an amazing opportunity for students looking to get into and advance quickly in the field of human resources,” Steve Tanzilli, dean of the Point Park’s Rowland School of Business, said in a statement.

Educators in both programs said the field is especially important during the era of covid-19, amid shifting federal regulations for businesses and organizations.

“While most people understand the critical role a human resources department plays in a successful business, that understanding has been greatly magnified by the ongoing pandemic,” said Sandra Mervosh, director of the Human Resources Management Program at Point Park, in a statement. “HR has been on the front lines for months as companies have had to furlough employees and the ones still working deal with a myriad of safety and health issues.”

David M. Piper, chair of IUP’s Department of Employment and Labor Relations, said the human resources field is growing. In the last six months, changing policies regarding extended family medical leave, child care, quarantine requirments and more warrant a professional “trained with an ear on what’s going on at the federal level,” he said.

“All the regulations for every organization to operate changed on a dime this year,” Piper said.

IUP’s graduate program can be completed in one year, through both face-to-face and online instruction. Through the early admissions program, students can begin taking graduate courses before they’ve completed their bachelor’s degree, and the course credit can count toward both their B.S. and M.A.

When accepted into the program, students will take up to 12 credits of graduate classes during their senior year at Point Park, then take the remaining 24 credits at IUP. The accelerated program will allow students to get both a B.S. and M.A. degree in a total of five years, instead of the traditional six.

“It saves the students money,” said Piper. “It’s a reward system to give the students the opportunity to start earlier in their graduate career.”

Piper said the two universities have collaborated before — they share a faculty member and work together on an annual leadership retreat to Disney World. IUP’s graduate program in HR has always offered early admission to students completing IUP undergraduate degrees; this partnership will expand that opportunity to Point Park students.

Piper said the partnership will not only bring in more students to the program, it will also allow him to connect with them during their senior year of undergraduate study.

“For us, for IUP in general, it just gives us another thread of students that we get to recruit to as early as possible,” Piper said.