The value and pleasures of education don’t have to stop with high school, college, or even graduate school thanks to Executive and Professional Education (EPE) in the College of Business Administration. EPE’s ever-expanding menu of programs enables professionals to hone their skills or gain certification for career success.

Surprisingly, the economic downturn has increased, rather than decreased, interest in what EPE offers, according to the office’s director, Robert Garcia (EMBA ’97).

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“People feel they need to develop their skills to make them more successful in their current job or to prepare them for opportunities either within or beyond their company,” said Garcia, who meets with decision makers throughout South Florida and Latin America to identify their needs, match those to existing programs, or begin to develop new courses to fulfill their requirements.

Traditional back-to-school time means array of new courses, plus long-standing favorites.

Garcia said that several courses are debuting, including an online Sarbanes-Oxley certification program, and a Six Sigma certification, offered in collaboration with Florida International University’s College of Engineering.

Also, previously taught courses in customer relationship management (CRM), managing interpersonal communications, and training and instructional design, are available, with a number of new courses in the works.

“We always have courses in development and are open to ideas, including customizing an existing course for a particular company or delivering an existing course at the company’s site,” he said. “For example, we currently are working with a pharmaceutical company on an executive education program for their high-potential leaders, with our faculty members working with their subject matter experts so the result will be very specific to their needs.”

EPE also is working on a six-month advanced management program spanning all business functions and designed for those who need to acquire or sharpen business skills.

In world of acronyms, EPE opens clear path to advancement.

ASTD, SHRM, PMI. These professional organizations—American Society for Training and Development, Society for Human Resource Management, and Project Management Institute, among others—require certification, and EPE courses provide the background that helps individuals prepare to take the examinations.

“We list all our programs at epe.fiu.edu, where we accept enrollments as well as via fax, phone, or in person; and are eager to answer questions about which program would be right for potential participants,” said Garcia, who welcomes queries about company-specific needs at 305.348.1144 or garciar@fiu.edu.