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May 2009 >>
Charting the [Construction Management] Course
With all the advancements occurring in the construction market these days—building information modeling (BIM), green building, integrated project delivery—it can be tough for a contractor to keep up. The same can be said for the country’s higher education institutions.
“Getting change to happen in an academic environment is like getting 2,000-year-old lava to move again,” jokes Charles Gains, president of Associated Schools of Construction and director of the construction management program at Mesa State College, Grand Junction, Colo.
Indeed, colleges and universities don’t have a reputation for being able to change quickly. But with the support of industry members, construction management programs across the nation are adapting to the needs of students and employers alike.
Responding to NeedsMost construction management programs are stretched to capacity, signaling strong interest in the profession, says Mike Holland, executive vice president and CEO of the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE), San Antonio, Texas. As schools manage their enrollments to provide a quality educational experience, they consider how to accommodate different types of students.
Philadelphia-based Drexel University started its construction management program in the 1970s by offering evening courses for individuals with full-time jobs, and about four years ago it expanded to offer a traditional daytime bachelor’s degree program as well as weekend classes.
Interest in graduate programs is increasing as well.
“Schools are limited in what they can provide students in a given time frame, and some of the advanced business management and financial management issues are difficult to cover in depth at the bachelor’s degree level,” Holland says. “Employers want it all and want it now, but universities don’t have enough room in the curriculum to provide it all at once.”
This fall, Drexel will debut its master of science program in construction management with concentrations in project management, real estate and sustainability. The program is completely online, and it offers three certificate courses so students can participate without pursuing a full master’s degree.
“There are a lot of people in mid-level management positions looking for advancement,” says Zeljko Torbica, Drexel’s construction management program director. “They need to learn certain things that weren’t covered in a bachelor’s degree program.”
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., caters to 24 distance master’s program students through an interactive online program held two evenings a week.
“We’re trying to make it as easy as possible to connect to people,” says Robert Cox, head of Purdue’s Building Construction Management department. “We want to capitalize on people’s ability to keep working. It’s too much to ask them to give up a year of work.”
Construction management programs also seek to meet the needs of employers, which continually request graduates with strong ethics and quality communication, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
“There’s a saying that a builder is hired for his or her technical skills, fired for poor people skills and promoted for leadership and management skills,” says Torbica, who has 20 years of industry and academic experience. “The most important skill is not technical, like estimating or scheduling; it’s basically communication skills. Business management skills are next, then leadership, and then technical knowledge and field experience.”
To achieve this type of educational environment, the ACCE (the primary organization that accredits construction management programs) looks for a faculty well balanced in knowledge and experience.
“We don’t require people to have advanced degrees, and we keep the door open for practitioners who are interested in educating younger people,” Holland says.
One major challenge associated with the expansion of construction management programs is the ability to find faculty; when one position is filled, another opens up. To that point, the ACCE is asking professionals nearing retirement to consider teaching or lecturing part time. The organization also offers a small scholarship program to encourage practitioners to get advanced degrees so they can teach down the road.
Staying Current
Construction management programs look to industry members for more than just teaching support.
“It’s unfathomable to start a program without a strong presence of industry professionals,” says Gains, who helped start the Mesa State construction management program in September 2008 after spending 20 years at Boise State University in Idaho.
Located in western Colorado, the area surrounding Mesa State has grown considerably during the past decade largely due to the energy industry. Per the school’s industry advisory board, the construction management program emphasizes horizontal, vertical and industrial building—attracting more than 40 students in the first year.
Established programs also rely on advisory boards to stay abreast of industry developments. With 500 undergraduate construction management students, Purdue has long offered electrical, mechanical and residential specializations. But a few years ago, the university’s industry partners suggested three additional areas of concentration: health care, demolition, and disaster restoration and reconstruction.
Cox’s team agreed to develop the three new specializations with the intention of creating a model to replicate at other institutions. With no course-specific textbooks available, Purdue faculty created their own materials and partnered with industry members to accumulate other resources, such as case studies and equipment. In the first year (2008), 10 students signed up for the specialization in disaster restoration and reconstruction.
“Everything you do in construction typically is planned out, but disaster restoration is more reactionary,” Cox says. “You still need knowledge of construction, but you have to think more on your feet. A lot of this program is orchestrated through guest lectures.”
Guest speakers also are a way to incorporate hot industry issues—like green building and BIM—into existing courses, though more and more schools are developing classes dedicated exclusively to these topics. Purdue is in the process of hiring a BIM expert and already offers a course on sustainability. Plus, students meet with faculty on the weekends to prepare for the LEED AP exam.
Interest in sustainability, energy and the environment starts the moment students visit campus, Cox says. “It impresses me how attuned they are to the real issues we’re facing in the industry,” he adds. “If we didn’t meet those needs, they probably wouldn’t come.”
Tackling integrated project delivery is another challenge.
“The industry is moving back toward integration of disciplines, and some of our programs that have the opportunity to integrate classes with architecture and engineering students are doing so,” Holland says. “Let the students work together and develop a respect for the skills and responsibilities of the other disciplines. The earlier we can introduce that concept in the education process, the better off the industry will be.”
Gains says one of his goals is to integrate Mesa State’s construction management and mechanical engineering programs before traditional barriers develop. To start, they are combining extracurricular club activities to demonstrate the attributes and benefits of both disciplines.
“As they’re pushed together out of necessity, we can create some successes and point to those successes to say ‘this is what integrated project delivery looks like,’?” Gains says.
Getting Involved
If construction management program directors were to give industry members a homework assignment, it probably would be: Find a way to support your local college or university. Many contractors host field
trips so students can see how classroom instruction applies to a functioning jobsite, while others serve as personal mentors so students can discuss real-world situations and network with employers in the community.
Once a week, United Companies, Grand Junction, turns over its million-dollar lab to Mesa State students, with two experienced professionals on hand to help them perform tests.
“This is incredibly powerful,” Gains says. “It makes the students realize the kind of engineering and technical information they need to properly formulate the data to make better decisions, which construction managers constantly face.”
Locally based Mays Concrete also is working with Mesa State students on an extracurricular project to develop a design-build community service project. They recently wrapped up a proposal for Associated Builders and Contractors’ Western Colorado Chapter, which is funding the initiative, for an outdoor gazebo and meeting area.
“From an educator’s perspective, the value is going through the problem-solving and communication exercise to submit the proposal,” he says. “It’s extra credit if the project is accepted and they get to do the work.
Thinking Ahead
These opportunities to collaborate with industry employers can be priceless considering the current economy. Purdue has seen declining participation in its construction career fair, but last semester all 60 graduates got jobs.
This year could be different. According to a recent survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, 174 employers said they plan to hire 10,119 college graduates in 2009—a 21.6 percent decrease from 2008. The construction industry anticipates the second steepest decrease in hiring (after the financial sector), according to the survey, while government agencies and the distribution, transportation and utilities sector were the only two industries projecting an uptick in hiring.
The economy is affecting internships, too. Typically students get internships in the summer, but there likely will not be enough opportunities to go around considering the number of construction management programs and other people looking for work.
“Industry partners are asking us to figure out ways to allow students to do internships during the calendar year, so we’re trying to rearrange coursework during the year to accommodate this,” Cox says.
Amid the turmoil, Cox says his students are receptive to exploring the economic issues the industry is facing.
“This generation has never known a recession. As we tried to prepare them for recent career fairs, they took it to heart, and they recognized there’s a need and motivation to be flexible,” he says, pointing out students’ willingness to relocate for a job. “From an industry standpoint, I wish there was a better way to prepare them to understand the danger signs of economic and financial issues.”
Like all those that have come before, this challenge likely will be best solved by collaboration between schools and industry members.
To facilitate interaction among construction firms, faculty and college students, local chapters of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) sponsor more than 50 student chapters across the country. Not only do chapter meetings allow students to bounce ideas and questions off the faculty advisor, but they also provide an opportunity to meet industry experts and visit active jobsites.
The construction management program at Prince George’s Community College, Largo, Md., has about 90 students—a quarter of whom are women—who juggle nighttime classes with a full-time job. Attending meetings is challenging due to busy schedules and family obligations, but the effort is worthwhile.
“They’re trying to pull themselves up into the management ranks, so a lot of the discussion focuses on jobs that are available and what happens when you go through the door as management,” says Ed McLaughlin, director of the school’s construction management program.
Students also have a chance to attend monthly meetings at the ABC Metro Washington Chapter to “rub elbows with the people who hire and hear what they’re looking for,” McLaughlin says.
Many student chapters emphasize community service projects as well. At the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, which teams up with ABC’s Arkansas Chapter, students are required to perform 120 hours of community service. They’ve worked with Children International—a campus organization providing educational, health care and family assistance—to build a playground and picnic areas, and recently installed decorative concrete step pads for a new campus walkway.
Other benefits of participating in an ABC student chapter include scholarships, fellowships to attend ABC’s annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., and a $1,000 essay contest. The Construction Management Competition at ABC’s annual National Convention also allows teams of four college students to compete to formulate the best mock bid—covering project management/scheduling, estimating and safety. Winners take home more than $10,000 in cash and prizes.
For more information on ABC’s student chapter program, visit
www.abc.org/Education_Training/Colleges_and_Universities.aspx or e-mail John Strock at strock@abc.org.
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Saturday, February 4, 2012