Course Curriculum

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

The Master of Science in Management - Non-Profit Leadership 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 learned within the program in a practical problem-solving capstone Project.

Below is a listing 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 in analyzing 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 - 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 their 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 for Non-profits - 4 credits
The primary goal of this course is to expose students to a variety of approaches to successful strategic planning. Using independent research and their own organizations as current cases, students will explore the complexity involved in successful planning, and enhance their competency in managing this process. The goal will be to move the organization beyond creating a document to utilizing the strategic plan to transform organizations.

Dynamics of Non-profits Governance - 4 credits
This course examines the new trends and standards in the area of non-profit governance. It is designed to explore policy issues associated with governance and to provide practical applications for those in nonprofit management. The structure of non-profits in relation to board composition and arrangement is examined. Topics include interactivity with the executive director and staff, board development, board management, committee operation, and areas of board responsibility.

Strategic Human Resource Management - 4 credits
This course takes a proactive approach to the management of people and resources. Using their workplace as the starting point, students will walk through a strategic, competency-based facilitation model of human resource management. The course deals with practical aspects of managing people in the workplace, emphasizing the strategic rather than the administrative role of Human Resources. Its thrust will be HR's status within the organization as a partner in the effort to gain and sustain competitive advantage. The basics in the functional areas of HR are addressed: job analysis, staffing, job design, training, performance appraisal, compensation, succession planning, work-life balance, termination, and the implications of a global economy for human resource management.

Strategic Fundraising - 4 credits
This course presents the techniques and strategies behind successful non-profit fundraising. The areas of planning, budgeting, control, and other development are addressed. Topics include identification and evaluation of potential donors, development of strategies, differentiating your organization, regulatory compliance, and developing a comprehensive plan.

Master's Capstone Project - 4 credits
In this summative course in the program, 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.