As some of you may recall, last year our Chapter heard from Dave Riker, IFMA-SA member and recently retired VP of Facilities at UTSA, regarding a new 100% Online Graduate Facility Management Program. We are excited to learn that the Master's Degree and the Graduate Certificate Program have been approved internally by the University, and the first two courses are being initiated this Fall 2020 Semester. These courses will count toward both the approved 15 Semester Credit Hour (SCH) Graduate Certificate in Facility Management and the new 30 SCH Master of Science Degree in Facility Management, which is still progressing through external approvals with The University of Texas Board of Regents, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and our accrediting agency (SACSCOC).
For those who are interested in getting a formal facility management education and might want to earn a graduate FM certificate, and ultimately a Master of Science Degree in Facility Management, the journey can begin from anywhere on the planet with internet service, starting in August 2020.
The first two courses offered this Fall will be:
FM 5003, Facilities Management Professional Trends (FM and Real Estate Fundamentals and Principles): Taught by Michael Noll, CCIM, CPM, who has taught on-campus facility management courses for ten years in our College of Business, as well as Real Estate Management courses online during the same period.
FM 5413, Facilities Management Leadership and Strategy: Taught by Dave Riker, MSCE, CFM, 2016 APPA Award for Excellence, and Thomas Mitchell, CFM, CFMJ, IFMA Fellow, former Chairman of the Board of IFMA.
The above courses along with three additional Graduate Certificate courses will also be taught in the Spring Semester 2021, and UTSA hopes to begin offering the remaining five Master of Science Degree courses in Fall 2021.
This link contains information on the new FM certificate program. The program is very affordable at $550/SCH, or $1,650 for each of the ten Master's Degree courses – which were designed to address all eleven core competencies of certified facility managers (CFM), and to become accredited by the IFMA Foundation's accrediting body. The University is offering a 10% discount on all courses to IFMA members, so the cost of a single course is reduced to $1,500 for qualifying students.
If you are interested in discussing the program further, or know anyone who is, Dave has come out of retirement to serve as the Program Coordinator. Dave would be more than happy to talk with you and answer any questions you might have. Below is his contact info.
David J. Riker, CFM, MSCE, MSSM
Coordinator, On-Line Facility Management Program
College of Architecture, Construction, and Planning
The University of Texas at San Antonio
e-mail: dave.riker@utsa.edu
Phone: 210-458-3220
Mobile: 210-557-6748
