CMU partners with Dow for business training; contract worth $1.5 million over five years
Central Michigan University will begin training Dow Chemical Company employees as soon as January of 2011.
The Board of Trustees approved a contract with Dow to develop an online learning program for Six Sigma Green Belt project leaders Thursday.
The contract will allow up to 1,500 Dow employees to be trained in the program yearly in exchange for a $1.5 million payment to CMU over five years.
The program could be the first step in similar efforts between CMU and the international corporation based in Midland.
“I could see that expanding if the right opportunities come around,” University President George Ross said.
Andy Paquet, director of Enterprise Development for CMU, said the course uses Dow’s proprietary materials based on the Six Sigma system of business management strategy.
“It’s a tactical level course, people are taught to use data to make the best possible decisions to resolve those problems,” Paquet said.
He said the program will train Dow employees to be efficient project leaders operating at a somewhat higher level than most other Six Sigma Green Belts, the second level of certification in the Six Sigma system.
“Dow has modified it, they’ve actually made the green belt level a project leader level, although the complexity of those projects may not be as great as the complexity a black belt or a master black belt would do,” Paquet said.
Kevin McCarron, Six Sigma Service Leader for Dow, said the university’s long standing relationship with the company was not the only factor in choosing the partnership.
McCarron said the logistics of training an international base of employees in the program when they need it and not just when there is enough demand for a physical class contributed to choosing an online training service.
“CMU’s got a good solid program around distance learning, with their expertise in distance learning and our ten years of proven Green Belt project leader training, we thought it would be a good combination,” he said.
CMU will also receive access to Dow’s Six Sigma materials, which may be considered for integration into the university’s College of Business Administration programs, Paquet said.
The online learning materials, which will be hosted on Blackboard, will also be branded with both Dow and CMU logos, providing exposure for the university.
“Maybe some of those Dow parents or students will see it and consider CMU as an option,” Provost Gary Shapiro said.
