Programs, Courses & Services

Today, even the most seasoned government leaders are facing extraordinary challenges in managing resources, information and communication technologies, social networks, and globalization. As strategic leaders they must respond to rapidly evolving national priorities and a dynamic environment. The IRM College's new Government Strategic Leader Certificate provides government managers and leaders with the essential tools and strategies required to lead dynamic, complex, and diverse 21st Century organizations. The curriculum engages participants in understanding their organization's unique role and those of others, and how to collaborate to achieve organizational, interagency, and national mission and goals. Participants form a learning community to share knowledge, analyze and leverage strategic resources (human, technology, and financial), and create and articulate a vision for themselves and their organizations.

Graduates of the Government Strategic Leader Certificate will be able to:

Evaluate the roles, challenges, and opportunities of their organizations within the context of homeland, national, and global security.
Apply critical and innovative thinking to achieve results-oriented organizational goals.
Collaborate across boundaries to leverage talent, resources, and opportunities to achieve mission outcomes.
Create resilient, agile, and productive organizations to meet the needs and priorities of today's and tomorrow's government.
Commit to lifelong development of self and others as reflective leaders.

To earn the Government Strategic Leader Certificate, students must complete eight (8) graduate-level courses that may be taken in any order. Two core courses are required that focus on organizational clients and culture, and the dynamic landscape of government and security. Students select three additional courses in management and three in leadership to meet their professional and/or organizational needs.

Government Strategic Leader Certificate Course Triangle

Courses available now include:
1. Enterprise Planning (Information Management Planning) (IMP)
2. Strategies for Process Improvement (PRI)
3. Measuring Results of Organizational Performance (MOP)
4. Enterprise Architecture for Managers (ARC)
5. Leadership for the Information Age (LDC)
6. Multi-Agency Information-Enabled Collaboration (MAC)
7. Continuity of Operations (COO)

Courses available FY09 include:
1. Organizational Culture
2. Government/Security Landscape
3. Human Capital Strategies
4. Financial Management
5. Cybersecurity and Cyberterrorism
6. Leadership Decision Making
7. Leveraging Media

Courses taken for the certificate may be taken in residence (full time for one week) at Fort McNair in Washington, DC, or over ten to twelve weeks online via the web, and all eight must be completed over a four-year period. Several courses in the certificate are currently offered; new courses will be available beginning in October 2008.

Students enrolled in the certificate program may take courses for Professional Development (PD); however, for courses to count toward the certificate or as a prerequisite, students must take them for credit.