OPWL testimonial: Class of 2006-2008 testimonials

My experience with Boise State’s IPT online graduate program has been fantastic. I entered the program to refine my instructional design skills. I’ve not only done that, but have also developed a whole new career around performance improvement. The skills I’ve developed and the knowledge I’ve gained from the encouraging faculty and my new network of peers located around the country is invaluable. Because of the IPT program, my confidence in my abilities has soared, and as a direct result, so has the number of clients for my consulting firm.

I did research on three other schools and chose Boise State’s M.S. in Instructional & Performance Technology program because the courses are taught by instructors that are practitioners and authors in the field. It is important to me to be learning from individuals that have their finger on the pulse of our field.

The IPT degree not only helped me get into the training and development field, but it has inspired me to make efforts to change the field. Unfortunately, the field continues to be dominated by the faulty belief that knowledge is a prerequisite to performance. By having IPT graduates at various levels of management we have been able to challenge this paradigm and we are saving our organization millions while doing so. I would recommend the IPT program to anyone who wants to change business by changing their perspective.

I had decided to pursue a master’s degree to develop my instructional design skills; however, now that I have graduated, I’ve found that my skills have developed beyond my expectations and that they have expanded to include many additional areas of performance improvement. I’ve had the opportunity to develop these skills by working on client projects in my classes. And as a graduate assistant, I’ve become further immersed in the academic activities of the program by collaborating with faculty to publish research and present at conferences.

I had been thinking about going back for my master’s degree for some time but I was at a point in my life where we were thinking about starting a family and I was working full-time. I wasn’t sure how to fit it all in. Another graduate of the program told me about Boise State’s IPT degree and how the online option had worked so well for her. I researched the program and liked the technology piece that was part of IPT’s program in comparison to other programs and of course, definitely was sold on the online option. I ended up doing all but one of my classes online and loved it!