Complete MGMT-537
Explore Organization Development & Human Relations with Employment Law (MS)
Champlain College Online’s master’s degree in organization development & human relations (ODHR) specialized in employment law is designed to prepare students to nimbly address organizational challenges and influence change at individual and group levels in today’s global organizations. Combining the expertise and value of a master’s degree in human resources with a foundation in organizational strategy and a concentration in employment law, this program empowers professionals to identify and leverage an organization’s unique strengths to form resilient and adaptable organizational cultures that withstand the constant disruption today’s workforces face.
Interdisciplinary by nature, the enriching curriculum of the ODHR employment law degree will teach you how to successfully lead, inspire, and cultivate diverse talent and will give you the confidence you need to guide strategic and tactical management of an organization’s workforce. With an emphasis on applied learning, this program will help you bring theory to life in authentic and relevant ways that will give you a competitive advantage in today’s increasingly complex business world.
Build Your Career Future
Designed for both mid-career professionals and those seeking to join the field, this human resources and law degree program will help facilitate career growth and opportunities for real-world application of knowledge. You'll gain expertise in managing organizational change, learn appropriate strategies for dispute resolution, develop practical creative problem-solving skills, and appraise the ethical implications of business opportunities.
A concentration in employment law is a great way to highlight these in-demand skills and showcase subject matter expertise, as well as gain knowledge that can be applied to your workplace from day one.
Take the next step
Academic Excellence and Recognition
Regionally accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education
Ranked among the Best Online Bachelor’s Programs by U.S. News & World Report
Designated as a Military Friendly School for our commitment to the military community
Named the Best Private Online College by Intelligent.com
Prepare For What's Next
Take the next step in your work life by creating new perspectives and methodologies for identifying and leveraging opportunities masked as challenges, and the cultural context within which they occur. By gaining expertise in organization development, human relations, and employment law, as well as the critical soft skills needed in advanced roles, graduates of Champlain's online ODHR master’s degree in employment law will be prepared to pursue leadership roles in the vast and varied field of business.
Master's degrees are in high demand and employment in master’s-level occupations is projected to grow by 15% from 2019 to 2029. A master's degree also pays off: the median salary for professionals with a master's degree is $78,210.*
*Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 2020; job titles: Payscale, 2020
Top Jobs for Master's in Organization Development & Human Relations Graduates
- Change Management Specialist
- Compensation and Benefits Manager
- Director of Human Resources
- HR Analytics Specialist
- Training and Development Manager
Program Details
Learn more about Champlain's 100% online Master's in organization development & human relations with a graduate certificate in employment law, designed for working professionals.
Champlain's online organization development and human relations courses encompass the top skills needed by today's human resources professionals.
Required Courses
Be introduced to the foundational ideas of organization development (OD) theory, informed by historical roots and current strategies. Attend?to the nature of organizational complexity in today's world and recognize the need for an evolved approach to organizational change. The emerging dialogic mindset is contrasted to the diagnostic mindset that historically pervaded OD practice. Learning is both theoretical and applied; students will form the basis for a change in their own context to integrate theory into practice.
The most powerful tool an OD practitioner has when influencing change is themselves. In this course, students explore how to be an effective change agent and develop a self-awareness of how our thoughts, beliefs and experiences affect what we see and how we behave.? Students will also have opportunities to enhance this self-knowledge as leaders of change.
Prerequisites
A significant part of organizational life is experienced through groups and teams. This course will explore theories of team processes and group dynamics with an emphasis on how to influence team development and effectiveness in decision making and collaboration. Students will have an opportunity to integrate class learning through applied team projects both within the class and beyond.
Prerequisites
Complete MGMT-537
This course explores the concepts and theories related to strategic and large system change. Special attention is given to the importance of engaging diverse stakeholders in change efforts and creating momentum for change at the system level to prevent typical resistance to change. Students will explore a variety of cases as well as their own organizational system as a context for putting course concepts into practice.
Prerequisites
Complete MGMT-537
In a world of continuous change, organizations strive to create cultures that blend and leverage the unique strengths of the organization and its people to meet challenges presented by such an environment.? This course explores the theory and practices that allow organizations to develop resilient cultures and mindsets to successfully meet dynamic environments.? Students will explore a variety of cases as well as their own organizational system as a context for putting course concepts into practice.
Prerequisites
Complete MGMT-537
In this capstone course, students complete an applied project to support the translation and application of core concepts and program competencies, including those in the embedded certificate. Students will learn about and use action research principles, as appropriate for their individual research topic, and reflect on research practices and results.
Prerequisites
Complete certificate requirements prior to begining capstone.
Employment Law Certificate Courses
This course offers an overview of fundamental areas of employment law. Topics include job discrimination and related laws, labor law and labor relations, plant and job safety, public officers and employees, employee contracts, self-employment, Americans with Disabilities Act, Equal Employment Opportunity Act, non-competition agreements, workers' compensation, unemployment obligations, and personnel issues such as drug testing, lie detectors, whistle-blowing, and wrongful discharge.
Students will examine the various laws prohibiting discrimination in the workplace, with a focus on federal statutes and regulations. Topics include liability under Title VII, ADA, ADEA, and the FMLA. Students will consider workplace discrimination related to race, sex, religion, national origin, physical disability, age, and sexual orientation. The students will also learn about how complaints are filed with and investigated by the EEOC, with a detailed discussion on how the employer is required to respond to these complaints
Prerequisites
Complete ELAW-505.
Students will examine the decisions and statutes relating to the rights of workers to organize, the collective bargaining process, legal issues related to strikes, boycotts, and picketing, and the role of individual rights within unions. Students will also examine the structure, mission, and procedures of the National Labor Relations Board, the distinction between NLRB decisions and court decisions, and the relationship between the two.
Prerequisites
Complete ELAW-505.
Students will examine the laws that regulate how employees should be hired, fired, promoted, disciplined, or evaluated in unionized and nonunionized environments. It explores the steps an employer should take to avoid allegations of discrimination during the hiring, firing, or disciplinary process. The course also examines the legal limits on monitoring an employee's email, computer usage, and outside activities (including social media) and examines the legal limits on drug testing employees and checking an employee's criminal, credit, and medical background.
Prerequisites
Complete ELAW-505.
- Culture Builder. Advocates for the health and vitality of an organization to embody its mission, vision, and values.
- Innovative Change Leader. Using a strengths-based approach, fosters a learning environment which capitalizes on successes and failures.
- Inclusive Process Advisor. Orients groups and group work toward the achievement of shared goals by facilitating inclusive group processes that ensure all voices are heard.
- Self-Aware Change Leader. Makes well grounded, intentional choices about the use of self as an instrument to effect change.
- Strategic Systems Change Leader. Comfortably works within a whole system and advises on inclusive strategies for organizational change, transformation and alignment.
In addition to the above learning outcomes, with the employment law graduate certificate students will also demonstrate the following industry-specific skills, knowledge, and competencies:
- Determine appropriate strategies for dispute resolution, internally as well as between organizations.
- Manage employment and labor responsibilities under state and federal regulations to ensure legal compliance, including the privacy of records.
- Evaluate employment and labor agreements and analyze provisions to protect your organization's legal interests while simultaneously achieving business goals.
- Appraise the ethical implications of business opportunities and decisions in the face of opposing pressures.
Champlain College Online's organizational development and human relations faculty, led by program director Linda Miller, are expert practitioners in the field. Their industry expertise ensures that our curriculum is aligned with the needs of employers, and reflects the skills today’s human resources professionals need for success. Classes led by our seasoned experts will give you real-world insight into the field and create a rich community of career-focused learning.
Alumni of the Champlain College Online human relations and organization development program work in corporations, small businesses, government organizations, and non-profits nationwide. These include:
- Bayada Home Healthcare
- Burlington Police Department
- BPSI
- Comcast Communications
- Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center
- Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
- IBM Corporation
- Keurig Dr. Pepper
- Massachusetts State Police
- PWC
- U.S. Department of State
- U.S. Postal Service
- VELCO
Titles our alumni hold include:
- Analyst
- Assistant Director
- Contracting Officer
- Client Services Manager
- HR Advisor
- HR Specialist
- Legal Assistant
- IT Consultant
- Operations Program Specialist
- Outreach Specialist
- Program Integrity Clinical Manager
- Regional Operations Manager
- Revenue Agent
- Safety Systems Analyst
- Sr. HR Specialist
- Social Insurance Specialist
- Technical Expert
Increasing your career mobility is at the center of everything we do. As an online master's degree student, you get free access to the Fast Start Formula Career Course for getting noticed and getting hired, taught by Jen Morris, a leading executive career coach that partners with us to support our students in their job search journeys. This online course is self-paced and full of tips and tricks to land a job you'll love. Jen also hosts live webinars to answer specific questions, share additional insights, and does live "hot seat" coaching.
Tuition & Costs
Continuing your education is an investment in your future. Learn more about our affordable tuition rates.
Affordability
Cost shouldn't be a barrier to going back to school. We provide a number of options to make your online education affordable.
Meet the Program Director
Linda Miller
PhD CPA
Program Director
- Accounting (A.S., B.S., Certificates)
- Human Relations and Organization Development (M.S.)
- Integrated Studies (B.S.)
- MBA
- Positive Organization Development (Certificate)
About
Linda Miller, PhD, CPA, is Associate Professor and Assistant Dean for Champlain College Online. She is responsible for the online accounting and integrated studies programs, as well as the MBA and master's in human relations and organization development programs. Following 12 years in accounting, business, and consulting positions, Dr. Miller has spent over 20 years in higher education at a variety of schools, including Bucknell University, the University of Vermont, and Pennsylvania State University, where she also taught in the executive education programs.
With an education focus primarily in adult and online education, Dr. Miller has enjoyed developing a wide variety of online certificates and degrees in business-related areas, including supply chain management and leadership. Dr. Miller continues to research best practices in online teaching and learning and to create opportunities for Champlain College Online instructors to develop their online teaching skills. Other specific areas of interest for Dr. Miller include the impact of technology on supply chains and the effective teaching of transformational leadership.
Dr. Miller holds an M.S. in Accounting from Pennsylvania State University and a PhD in Business Management (School of Supply Chain Management) from the same. She is a member of the International Leadership Association and the Society of Supply Chain Management Professionals.
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Learn what you can expect from our online master's in organization development & human relations with the employment law graduate certificate.
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