Course Curriculum

NEC's curriculum provides a way for students to achieve their cherished lifelong learning goals.

The Master of Science in Management - Banking & Financial Management online program consists of nine courses for a total of 36 credit hours. You will begin the program with core courses and then progress into the concentration courses that delve further into your area of interest. At the end of the program, you will use the skills presented during the program in a practical problem-solving capstone Project.

Below is a list of the core courses, concentration courses, and the capstone project:

Organization Management and Leadership - 4 credits
This course combines theory and practice by encouraging students to learn traditional and contemporary leadership theories and apply them to analyze the behavior of leaders, colleagues, and subordinates. Through a variety of readings, cases, and exercises, students will examine effective leadership models. Topics include the evolution of leadership; the roles of strategy and vision in transformational change; the development of leaders; the leadership responsibilities of creating effective teams, organizations, and cultures; the exploration of different leadership styles; and current popular approaches to leadership theory.

Managing Projects in Organizations - 4 credits
This course presents an overview of managing a project from start to finish. Students will examine project organizational structure, work breakdown, scheduling, budgeting, costing, resource allocation, and human resource considerations throughout the project process. Topics include the management of human resources and team building; planning and control; scope management; time and cost management; quality and risk management; and technical tools, including GANTT and PERT charting.

Professional and Organizational Ethics:
A Global Perspective - 4 credits
This course explores and analyzes the relationships among stakeholders in business and the global economy. The moral implications of organizations and decisions are explored. Included are social effects and the tension that exists between achieving desirable outcomes and attending to the means by which they are achieved. Topics include theories of morality; analysis of ethical decision-making; interaction and conflicts among personal, professional, and organizational values; the effect of cultural diversity on individual and group values; current issues related to the "flattening" of the business environment; and the impact of ethical considerations on the responsible achievement of business goals. The roles of individual and collective choice in the management of competitive environments and organizational positions on contemporary moral issues are also examined.

Managerial Accounting and Finance for Leadership - 4 credits
This course equips students to more effectively and ethically lead and influence in situations where financial issues play a key role, with particular attention to public fiscal management. This course serves as an introduction to the concepts and principles of financial management and managerial accounting, focusing on the development and use of budgets for planning and control, demonstrating accountability, and establishing priorities within an organization. Students will explore the tools and techniques available to maximize the use of scarce resources, as well as the implications of public funding and cost accounting for programs and initiatives within the organization.

Strategic Planning and Policy - 4 credits
This course will examine the process of strategic planning. Organizations are undergoing a series of revolutionary changes, including vertical integration, horizontal consolidation, strategic alliances, joint ventures, entrepreneurial startups, and development of specialized niche networks. This course will critically examine these changes and discuss the various strategic decisions and managerial skills needed to confront them in a variety of forms. The primary focus of the course is on the strategy of the business unit - the foundational level for competitive analysis - and an analysis of the issues central to the firm's short-term and long-term competitive success. Using a combination of case studies and industry field research, students will assume the roles of key decision-makers and/ or advisors in analyzing these issues and offering recommendations for strategic change.

Principles of Finance and Insurance - 4 credits
This course incorporates managerial finance and concepts of insurance. Topics include the nature of risks; types of insurance carriers and markets, insurance contracts and policies; property and casualty coverages; life and health insurance; and government regulations. The functions of underwriting, setting premiums, risk analysis, loss prevention, and financial administration of carriers are emphasized.

Quality Analysis for Technology - 4 credits
This course focuses on the tools required to create a total quality work environment. Emphasis is on improving leadership abilities, employee involvement/teamwork, and initiating performance management techniques to measure progression. Troubleshooting techniques are discussed to assist when a team is at an impasse. Quantifiable processes are introduced to measure performance viability of different processes through statistical quality controls, including ISO 9000, 9001, 9002, from a managerial perspective.

Managing Global Operations - 4 credits
This course address issues and problems related to managing global operations and current practices. Topics include international operations comparisons, improvement, and competitive leverage; international cross-functional, material flow, and process and product design coordination; issues critical to global operations; and leading global initiatives.

Master's Capstone Project - 4 credits
In this summative course each student will undertake a major investigation of a significant leadership and management challenge. Students propose either a public policy initiative or an organizational change or innovation that is responsive to the problem they have identified. In the process of researching the problem and proposing an evidence-based solution or improvement, students integrate principles, theories, and methods learned in required program courses.

Students may enroll in a non-credit self-study Proposal Development course, whenever and as often as they wish. The Proposal Development course guides them in writing an approvable proposal. Once the proposal is approved and students have completed all other courses in their program, they may enroll in the Capstone course. During this final course in the program, students will gather and analyze their research and create a viable strategic plan for implementing their project.