Graduate Certificate in Conflict Mediation

This course introduces students to psychological and communication theories of conflict as well as conflict management approaches of negotiation and mediation.  The focus is on using in-class activities to better understand the factors and dynamics of conflict resolution and develop effective conflict-management skills. This course is only offered in the Fall.

This course focuses on mediation theory and practice.  We will explore mediation as a process of resolving different types of conflicts.  The course will explain and initiate development of the skills necessary to effectively participate in mediation.  Primary attention will be given to collaborative, problem-solving mediation techniques.  Simulated mediation (role-plays) will deal with a range of dispute subject matter and address mediation within the role of law and justice, the role of lawyers in mediation, and overcoming barriers to agreement.  This course is only offered in the Spring.

Students will learn the concepts of distributive and integrative bargaining, with an emphasis on building strong working relationships.  This course is highly interactive, utilizing lecture, discussion and extensive role-playing scenarios. This course is only offered in the Summer.

This course teaches knowledge and skills necessary for effective management of multi-party public policy disputes and for collaborative problem solving in the public sector by examining public issues and policy conflicts; exploring effective methods for analyzing and framing public issues; and identifying step-by-step procedures for engaging in dialogue and deliberation, managing public policy disputes, and solving problems collaboratively.  Numerous case studies and real-world examples are discussed and analyzed. In addition to written assignments, the course requires active participation in class discussion, role-plays, and in-class small group exercises. This course is only offered in the Fall.

Conflict exists in all areas of life, and certainly within organizations, both public, private and nonprofit.  ADR system design helps to match the appropriate dispute resolution process with the type of dispute and culture of the organization.  Successful organizations deal with conflict in ways that improve rather than destroy relationships, and that endeavor to leave everyone satisfied with the processes used to arrive at solutions, whether or not they agree with those solutions.  Students will research assigned ADR techniques and prepare a short but informative presentations and work in small groups to analyze a case study. This course is only offered in the Spring.

Over the past 30 years, crises, change and disasters have been studied in a number of disciplines.  Sociologists, psychologists, economists, organizational theorists, and communication scholars to name a few have examined these events from different vantage points.  Communication researchers are interested in the impact of communication on the onset and recovery of these events.  Our ultimate goal in this course is to help the student develop as a professional to better conceptually understand crises in order to produce effective crisis communication. This course is only offered in the Spring.

This course explores various aspects of labor-management relations, including union organization, legal parameters, agreement negotiation and day-to-day administration of union-management agreements.  The emphasis is on the roles of industrial relations managers and line managers through an extensive use of case studies. This course is only offered in the Spring online.

This course focuses on the practice of family mediation by exploring the values, attitudes, beliefs, knowledge base, problem solving processes, and skills necessary to facilitate family mediations. Issues facing today’s society such as divorce, substance abuse, domestic violence, child abuse, family communication issues, care for elderly family members, and neglect will be addressed. The emphasis will be on the role of the mediator as he/she works with families as they make decisions about letting go of the old family, dealing with issues of family members, and creating plans for the future. Mediating family cases can be challenging and this course will include strategies for addressing those most difficult of situations.  This course is only offered in the Summer.

Conflict occurs every day in our school settings.  Excessive conflict impacts the amount of time available for instruction, test scores, adult and student morale, feelings of safety, student attendance, and the general culture of the school. This course is designed to provide a basic understanding of the nature of conflict and how it can be better managed in our schools.  Students will examine conflict that arise between students, teachers, support staff, paraprofessionals, parents, administrators, school board members, and any else who comes into the school setting.  Strategies, processes, and skills for managing conflict will be present and practiced throughout the course.  This course is only offered in the Summer online.