UHV human resources program receives national seal of approval
The University of Houston-Victoria College of Business’ graduate human resources program took a major leap forward this month when it received approval from the most prestigious human resources association in the world.
The Society for Human Resource Management recently awarded its coveted certificate of alignment to the college for its Global and Strategic Master of Business Administration in human resources management programs. The certificate awarded to UHV recognizes that its human resources curriculum aligns with the society’s competency model for addressing contemporary requirements of the human resources field and also provides the information students need to pass the society’s professional exam.
“This is an exciting achievement for the UHV College of Business faculty,” said Ken Colwell, dean of the college. “The college, our students and the community will benefit from this alignment, and I am proud of the hard work that our faculty members have done to reach this milestone.”
With this certification, the college joins an elite group of 425 institutions worldwide that hold SHRM certification, representing only about 10 percent of 4,000 colleges and universities in the United States alone, said Jeanette Winters, a UHV clinical professor of management who spearheaded the college’s bid for certification. The designation will further advance the college’s reputation as a premier institution for students seeking careers in human resources management.
“That is important for our students and prospective students because this says that if they take our program, they can be assured that they will be getting all the information necessary for preparing to pass the SHRM exam,” Winters said. “More and more companies see the value in the SHRM certification and are requiring it to get a job. That is why it is so important. This is a direct pathway to being more employable.”
Once students have taken and passed the SHRM exam, they must periodically take additional classes to maintain their SHRM certification. Now that the business college has received the SHRM seal of approval, it may offer such programs awarding SHRM continuing education credits to students and professionals in the field.
“This alignment status offers us some important opportunities to work with not only our students but the community at large,” Winters said.
Before joining the faculty last January and launching the business college’s efforts to seek SHRM certification, Winters spent many years as a corporate human resources executive.
“That is why I knew the importance of this SHRM certificate of alignment,” she said. “It is well respected by human resources professionals.”
The business college’s success in winning SHRM approval would not have happened without the collaborative efforts of the faculty members on a small committee that began working on UHV’s application for certification more than six months ago, Winters said. She highlighted the significant contributions of Ron Salazar, who is the associate dean of external relations for the college, and college of business professors Kwan Lee and Stephanie Simmons.
“This was not an easy task. It is very rigorous and that is why so few institutions have actually gone through this process,” she said. “This was a team effort from the get-go and something I am so proud of with the work we did together.”
Faculty members knew before receiving the certificate of alignment that UHV’s human resources program is outstanding, she said.
“Now,” she said, “not only do we say this is true, but SHRM says it, and they are the biggest human resources society in the world.”
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
