University Advancement

Public Relations and Strategic Communications

NEWS RELEASE

Cluster of New Master’s Degrees Greenlighted at CSUN’s Tseng College;
Needs of Midcareer Professionals Loom Large in New Offerings

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., March 15, 2007) — The ancient who observed centuries ago that "all is flux, nothing stays still" would find plenty of validation at Cal State Northridge’s Tseng College of Extended Learning, where no fewer than six new master’s degree programs are in various stages of development. Nothing is standing still there.

A distinctive online master’s degree program in knowledge management begins in fall 2007. Set to begin between fall 2007 and fall 2008 are programs in taxation, humanities, library and information management, social work, and an online master’s degree program in public policy.

Tseng College Dean Joyce Feucht-Haviar said the new master’s programs are not the result of one "aha!" moment, but rather the outgrowth of a considered paradigm shift for the college and the university. Midcareer professionals and their employers, essential to the region’s economic future, are important to CSUN’s educational mission today, she said.

"Professionals in all fields are facing a demanding new world of work in a globally interconnected and interdependent marketplace," said the dean. "In such a complex and competitive context, professional preparation beyond the baccalaureate degree is becoming a must in more and more fields."

In order to compete in academia’s new global environments, the university itself must stay on the cutting edge, and the Tseng College helps make that possible, added the dean.

Employers "are looking for conceptually agile, broadly knowledgeable and highly creative people, and we are helping prepare those professionals for that new world of work," noted Marcella Tyler, executive director of public relations and marketing at the college.

It is a world in which many time-strapped professionals need the convenience of online instruction. Addressing that need, the multidisciplinary master’s degree in knowledge management will debut as the only online program of its kind in existence. Offered in collaboration with several other CSUN colleges and departments, it will join four master’s degree programs already available online.

The program—which will examine the ways in which organizations identify, create, store, share and deploy knowledge for competitive advantage—will feature online courses led both by CSUN faculty and nationally known practitioners, according to Tyler Blake, director of distance learning for The Tseng College.

Planned for fall 2008, the online master’s program in public policy will explore comparative urban international public policy, with faculty from several collaborating urban institutions worldwide.

The master’s degree in taxation, coming in fall 2007, will be offered in a cohort format for midcareer professionals seeking more senior and specialized roles in accounting and financial management. Designed and taught by CSUN faculty as well as tax and accounting professionals from major firms in the region, the program is offered in partnership with the College of Business and Economics.

Also designed to respond to the region’s need for professionals equipped with master’s degrees in key fields is the master’s in social work program. Set to start in fall 2007, it will be presented in collaboration with the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and its Department of Social Work. And in partnership with the university’s Oviatt Library, the expertise of several CSUN departments will help prepare professionals through the master’s degree in library and information management program.

Master’s degree programs already offered through the Tseng College—in partnership with various CSUN departments—include fully online programs in communication disorders and sciences, educational leadership and policy studies, engineering management and public administration.

For information on the Tseng College programs and services, call (818)677-2786 or visit http://tsengcollege.csun.edu.