CoB HR program aligns with SHRM

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has acknowledged that JMU’s B.B.A. with a concentration in human resource management is now aligned with SHRM’s HR Curriculum Guidebook and Templates. The process began after a group of HR faculty put together an application package, with Marshall Pattie coordinating and leading the effort.

According to Interim Management Department Head Laura Leduc, this is good news for the program—and for the students. It’s a subject she knows well, as she recently published a paper whose co-authors included JMU professors Matt Rutherford and Ali Shahzad, as well as Karen Becker from Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. In it they examined the commonalities and differences in college HRM undergraduate curricula.

As Leduc notes, “SHRM has a certification program for working professionals in HR, and normally you have to have two years of work experience in HR before you can sit for the certification exam. The nice benefit of SHRM-alignment for our students is that SHRM will now waive the 2-year work experience requirement for our students completing the HR concentration, because SHRM has verified that our HR curriculum is covering the right topics in adequate detail.”  In addition, she says, “It will serve as a signal to employers that our HR students are well-prepared for a career in HR.”