Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Online and on target

Beginning this fall, MTSU will offer several new online degree programs. The Master of Professional Studies (MPS) program has a new concentration in Training and Development with sub-specializations in corporate training and online training. The MPS is a 33-hour interdisciplinary graduate program designed for the working adult and may be done completely online. Additionally, MTSU is piloting a new online cohort program for psychology (B.S. Psychology) beginning this fall. A cohort is a model in which an entering group of learners stays together for the entire program. Students entering the program should have earned an associate’s degree or 60 hours of general education credit. The program is designed for full-time students who meet the requirements to finish their bachelor degree program in approximately two years.

For more information, contact the College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning at 615-898-2177.

Double digit downturn
Three sectors of nonfarm employment suffered double-digit losses in the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area in June by comparison to a year ago, according to preliminary figures. The labor force in manufacturing declined 13.26 percent, construction and mining dropped 12.59 percent, and professional and business services fell 10.33 percent. Five other economic sectors were in the red in June 2009 compared to the numbers of June 2008 for a total nonfarm employment decline of 4.33 percent. The overall unemployment rate for Nashville in June was in double digits, too—10 percent, compared with 5.8 percent in June 2008.

Contact the MTSU Business and Economic Research Center at 615-898-2616.

Cash for Clunkers

While the White House asserts that the Cash for Clunkers program has been an enormous success, Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing, finds the fact that it ran out of money so soon to be a cautionary tale for businesses. “The strategy behind sales promotions is relatively easy to understand,” says Roy. “If a marketer can determine what incentives will move the target market to take action, it becomes a matter of creating awareness of the promotion. The more challenging part it seems is in the execution of promotions. Has enough money been budgeted to allow all customers that want to participate to do so (The answer is a definite ‘no’ in the Cash for Clunkers program.)? If the promotion is executed at retail, do employees understand the program and how to process the promotion for customers? Is additional inventory needed? Additional customer service help?”

Contact Roy at 615-904-8564.
droy@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

SOLID AS A ROCK BLOK—Registration is open now for this fall’s Rock Blok workshop at MTSU. Young musicians ages 10-17 can learn music, make friends and form a band at the workshop, which is slated to begin September 5th. “When a student signs up, he or she is assigned to a band with other students,” says Ryan York, executive leader of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH!) and workshop leader. “Each band has two professional musicians as volunteer teachers. The students then spend two hours each Saturday learning music, working up a set list, making merchandise for their band, recording an album and writing music.” At the conclusion of the workshop, the bands will perform in concert. The fee is $40 a month ($120 total). For more information, go to www.YEAHintheBoro.org, send an e-mail to info@YEAHintheBoro.org, or call 615-849-8140.

PRESSING ON--The legacy of MTSU’s working replica of an 18th century printing press will be explained through photos and prints as part of an exhibit at the main branch of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., through Sept. 27. The exhibit is titled “Telling the Story: Letterpress Printing and Community.” The university’s segment will include the story of letterpress printing at MTSU. The works of current MTSU art students; alumni; visiting artists; faculty; elementary, middle- and high-school teachers and students who printed on the James E. Walker Library’s unique device will be highlighted. A reproduction of the English common press used by Benjamin Franklin in the early 1700s, the printing press was handcrafted in 2004 and 2005 out of chestnut and white oak wood from a 100-year-old house in Virginia. Contact Kristen Keene at 615-898-5376 or kkeene@mtsu.edu.