About Workforce Education and Development
"SIUC has successfully offered the WED program on military installations for over 40 years, and, today, is one of the largest programs of its kind in the United States."
Workforce Education and Development is one of four academic programs in the School of Education at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Since its inception, the program has been devoted to creating a workforce characterized by changing technological, demographic and economic environments. The program offers programs of study from undergraduate through doctoral degrees in an array of curricula to fit students' interests, career goals and schedules.
The SIUC Bachelor's degree in Workforce Education and Development had its beginning in 1973 and is today one of the largest programs of its kind in the United States. The military service component of that program, first offered at Scott AFB in 1973, currently enrolls over 1,000 students and has proudly graduated over 18,000 military personnel and civilians. WED continues to gain popularity because of its flexible format and diverse career opportunities.
The value of the degree to meet a wide variety of personal goals is illustrated by the large number of graduates who have been promoted, have entered military commissioning programs, or have pursued supervisory, management, training and education careers upon completion of the WED degree.
The Organizational Training and Development specialization prepares people for human resource development positions in business, industry, and government as well as for instruction in colleges and technical institutes. Many graduates pursue advanced study and leadership in the military, business/industry or education.
Although the delivery format of the courses was initially developed for active-duty military personnel, all students who work full time find it convenient. Graduates are successfully employed in business, industry, government, health care institutions, and post-secondary educational-technical institutions.
The programs delivered at the various bases is essentially the same as that offered on the SIUC campus. It is altered in format so that classes will not interfere with civilian, civil service, and active duty military personnel schedules.
Any individual who is qualified for admission to a post-secondary institution and has at least four years work experience in an occupational specialty or career field is qualified to begin studies toward a B.S. degree with a specialization in Organizational Training and Development.
Opportunity for full-time or part-time enrollment is available. Degree requirements can be met in as few as 12 months, if a student has previously completed their general education courses, and obtained full credit for their occupational specialty.
A semester starts each January, May, and August. During the 12 month program, students are enrolled in six three-credit-hour classroom courses and six credit hours of independent study. Full-time enrollment per semester is 12 credit hours.
As with any current program of study, WED courses are constantly reviewed and updated. Continuous improvements are made to provide the latest instructional technologies and information.
WED Mission
WED is dedicated to continuous improvement in human performance and learning to prepare students for careers in corporations, volunteer organizations, apprenticeship programs, secondary and post-secondary educational institutions, government agencies and military organizations.
About the Faculty
WED faculty are dedicated to the advancement of knowledge, skills and attitudes in workforce education, and to the continuous improvement in human performance. They continue to explore various alternatives for restructuring majors and specializations, believing that curricula should allow for flexibility to take advantage of accelerating technological and social change. WED is committed to linking education, work and training to improve competitiveness within the workforce.
Program Features
- Accelerated format
- Capstone option is available
- Classes meet every other weekend for one year
- Credit can be earned through CLEP and DANTES examinations
- Credit given for job experience, military or technical training, and courses from other accredited Colleges/Universities
- Financial assistance is available
- Fully accredited University with North-Central Association of Colleges and Schools
- Internships that foster career advancement
- Lifetime placement services
- Provisions for Independent Study
- Qualifies students as instructional specialists in their technical area
- Students develop "work-related" projects in the program