Graduate Certificate in Productivity Improvement

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Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
502 Engineering Center (map)
(248) 370-2989 • Fax (248) 370-2699
www.oakland.edu/ise

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Coordinator
Robert Van Til
502B Engineering Center
(248) 370-2211
vantil@oakland.edu

Program Description:

The Graduate Certificate in Productivity Improvement program is designed for any engineer (mechanical, electrical, civil, computer, etc.) who wants access to the productivity tools needed for their current job, or to upgrade their skills to help get a promotion or a better job.

Admission terms and application deadlines

Before an applicant’s file can be reviewed for full program admission, all application documents must be received in Graduate Study and Lifelong Learning by the semester deadlines listed below. Incomplete applications will not be sent to departments for admission review.

July 15 for fall semester
November 15 for winter semester
March 15 for summer semester
International applicants

Application requirements

To be considered for graduate admission, applicants must submit all Graduate Application Requirements and additional department requirements by the published application deadlines:

Graduate Application Requirements
Additional department application requirements

B.S. in any engineering discipline. Applicants from other disciplines such as computer science, engineering technology, information technology and software engineering, would be considered after successfully completing appropriate prerequisite courses.
Grade point average of 3.0 or better.
Official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) results are required for those international applicants whose undergraduate cumulative grade point average is less than 3.0 on a 0.0 - 4.0 scale or their international institution is not accredited by a regional accrediting agency of the USA. The Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering may choose to waive the GRE requirement if at least one of the following special circumstances is met:
- Applicant’s last degree is from a U.S. institution accredited by a regional accrediting agency.
- Applicant’s overall GPA from last degree is at least 3.0.
- Applicant has worked in the USA for at least two years in the engineering profession.

Admission review and assessment

Admission to graduate study at Oakland University is selective. In making admission recommendations to Graduate Study and Lifelong Learning, each department assesses the potential of applicants for success in the program by examining their undergraduate records, goal statement, letters of recommendation, prerequisite courses and any other admission requirements established by the academic department.

Certificate requirements

To fulfill the certificate requirements, a student must

complete at least 16 credits of graduate-level work as described below under Course requirements,
earn a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 in courses applied toward the certificate,
satisfy all requirements concerning academic progress (see Good academic standing).

Course requirements

a. Required courses (12 credits)

Students are required to select at least three courses from:

ISE 510 - Supply Chain Modeling and Analysis (4 credits)
ISE 517 - Statistical Methods in Engineering (4 credits)
* ISE 530 - Engineering Operations Research - Stochastic Models (4 credits)
* ISE 569 - Computer Simulation of Discrete Event Systems (4 credits)
* ISE 580 - E-Commerce and ERP (4 credits)
ISE 581 - Lean Principles and Application (4 credits)
* ISE 583 - Production Systems and Workflow Analysis (4 credits)
* ISE 585 - Statistical Quality Analysis (4 credits)
* ISE 587 - Foundations of Systems Engineering I (4 credits)
ISE 680 - Engineering Decision Analysis (4 credits)
ISE 684 - Computer-Integrated Manufacturing Systems (4 credits)
* These courses are cross-listed as advanced undergraduate and graduate courses. If completed as a 400-level course or equivalent as part of a baccalaureate degree, the course may be used to offset graduate program requirements. However, credit will not then be awarded and must be earned by completion of an approved substitute course.

b. Elective course (4 credits)

Select any one 500-level or higher ISE course, including any additional course from the list of required courses above (except ISE 501, 502, 503, 594, 690, 691, 794 and 795).

Satisfactory academic progress

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is the term used to denote a student’s successful completion of coursework toward a certificate or degree. Federal regulations require the Office of Financial Aid to monitor Satisfactory Academic Progress for all financial aid recipients each semester.

Students who fall behind in their coursework, or fail to achieve minimum standards for grade point average and completion of classes, may lose their eligibility for all types of federal, state and university aid. Contact the Office of Financial Aid for additional details.

Good academic standing

All graduate students are expected to remain in good academic standing throughout the entire course of their graduate program. To be in good academic standing, a graduate student must make satisfactory progress toward fulfilling degree requirements, including the completion of critical degree milestones as set forth by the academic program. The student must also maintain a minimum semester and overall GPA of 3.0.

Good academic standing is a requirement for:

Holding a Graduate Assistantship
Receiving a fellowship or scholarship
Advancing to candidacy for a graduate degree
Going on a leave of absence
Obtaining a graduate certificate or degree from Oakland University.

Additionally, graduate students must meet all department academic standards which may be more stringent than the minimum set forth by the University.

Department requirements: The minimum satisfactory grade for graduate work is 3.0. Credit for completion of a course in the Graduate Certificate in Productivity Improvement program will be given for grades of 2.5 or above but not more than two grades may be in the range of 2.5 to 2.9. Graduate credit will not be awarded for grades below 2.5.

All grades received as a graduate student are used in computing the GPA except that, if a course has been repeated, the most recent grade is used in the calculation of the GPA. A graduate student is placed on academic probation if the student’s overall GPA drops below 3.0 or if the student receives more than one grade below 3.0, including the original grade(s) of any repeated course(s). A graduate student receiving a grade less than 3.0 while on probation is subject to dismissal. A graduate student receiving more than two grades below 3.0 is subject to dismissal whether or not the student was put on probation previously.

In all programs the minimum GPA requirement is an average of at least 3.0. If a student’s GPA is less than 3.0 after having attempted 16 credits, the student will be recommended for dismissal from the program.

Graduate students who are not in good academic standing for any reason are subject to probation and/or dismissal from further graduate study.

Related program information

Plan of study

All accepted applicants, in consultation with their assigned faculty program adviser, must develop a plan of study that details specific courses the students will use to satisfy their degree requirements. The plan of study must be approved by the faculty program adviser and submitted by the student to Graduate Study and Lifelong Learning.

Master’s and graduate certificate students must submit a department-approved plan of study by the end of their first semester of graduate coursework. Doctoral students must submit an approved plan of study prior to completion of the first year of coursework. (See the Graduate Student Responsibility section of this catalog.)

Note: Credit granted for successful completion of a course toward an undergraduate degree program may not be repeated for a graduate degree. If a substitution is approved, the minimum number of program-approved graduate credits will be required. A Petition of Exception - OU Course Waiver/ Substitution requesting the substitution must be approved.