Department Spotlight: The Department of Management & Organizations (at MacEwan University)

January 2025 
From the Office of the Provost and Vice President Academic Dr. Craig Monk - January 2025 Newsletter, MacEwan University

For nearly two years, a partnership within the Department of Management & Organizations has allowed students to graduate with a Property Management Minor and the credentials needed to get into the industry.

“Initially when I started as an instructor in the program, I was asking myself, well if I was a student, I'd be asking what does this get me?,” Assistant Professor Barry Williams shares. “In
property management, the thing that gets you a job the most is a CPM, which is a Certified
Property Manager.”

Mr. Williams connected with the Real Estate Institute of Canada (REIC), the governing body that issues the certification. “I said, can we reach some kind of agreement where the courses I'm teaching will count towards the CPM so students don't have to take all the courses,” explains the instructor. “And we eventually mapped out that we would offer the same courses that they required.” The agreement has not only improved student outcomes, but it has also grown interest in the program itself. Enrollment has gone from about 20 students in a class to 40 students in
the introductory course, which now also boasts a waitlist.

Work-integrated learning has also become a big part of the program, thanks in part to Weidner Apartment Homes. It provided aninitial $1 million to get the Property Management Minor started. From that fund, students are paid to work in either a commercial or residential real estate setting during their studies.

“I think some of the hardest part of getting a job in general is just getting your foot in the door. And with a lot of these placements, the students, after theyʼve graduated, have ended up working for those companies because they know each other and this company knows the students. So, if thereʼs an opportunity there, then they usually have a first shot at it,” Mr. Williams says.

That success has shown how asking what students will get out of a program can benefit not just them, but the university as a whole.

Barry Williams
Management & Organizations
Assistant Professor