Golf Management Program at UCCS
October 31, 2008 | 
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The Professional Golf Management at UCCS has entered its fourth year of existence. Ed Kelbel is the Interim Director of this unique program. Mr. Kelbel is a long-term Class Member of PGA of America. Dr. Paul Miller, academic advisor for the PGM program, a Professor of Accounting and a prolific author, having published 15 books and over 200 articles. CSR+ presents an interview with the two individuals who are responsible for the success of this innovative program.
CSR+: The PGM Program is unique and innovative. What is the genesis of the program? How did your dreams come to fruition at UCCS? What hurdles did you have to face?
PM: The genesis was a conversation I had with COB Dean Joe Rallo early in 2000. Joe had been dean at Ferris State Univ. in Michigan, an institution that had the first, largest, and then the best PGM Program in the country. He told me he thought we could do it better. Once he explained why he felt that way, I decided to give it a try.
The process leading up to accreditation by the PGA took three years with lots of work by lots of people. At one point, we had over 25 people working on it. The process also lasted through two chancellors, two academic vice chancellors, and two deans, so there was quite a bit of start-and-stop to the whole process. The hurdles included finding a golf course that we could use, and we got the one I wanted all along, Pine Creek Golf Club, and we have a great relationship with Escalante Golf, the general partner of the ownership group, and the management firm. We also had to deal with funding, and those three years saw the campus go from flush with funds to the collapse of state support. Another hurdle was finding a director who knew about the PGA and the training program. We solved that one with Doug Wert, who did a great job getting us fully accredited in fall, 2008. (He’s moved on, now, and we are building a new management team.) Finally, the big hurdle was finding students who would come after we got the green light to recruit them in April 2003. We ended up with more than 40 by December of that year.
As for my dreams, “you ain’t seen nothing yet!” There is more, a lot more to come. In the meantime, what we have right now is really outstanding.
EK: I will defer to Paul on this as I am entering my third year in the program. But, I must say that I am extremely impressed with just how well thought out and organized our program is.
CSR+: The PGM Program has attracted students from around the country to UCCS. What is the appeal of the program to these students?
PM: To be precise, we have actually enrolled students from 26 different states and three other countries. I was floored back in the winter to get an email from a young man in Bangalore, India, who explained that he had read about our program on the web, and that he wanted to be a part of what we’re doing. Our reputation has spread, and it’s good. (And he’ll be here next month.) I think several factors have made it easy for students to decide to come to UCCS. First, we have a great university with what seems like an optimum size for a lot of students. Big enough to be complete, small enough to provide attention. Second, we set our sights on becoming the best PGM school, and that shows up in a lot of ways, but I think students sense that they are participating in something really special when they come here. Third, the management team has always emphasized having a personal interest in each student and prospect. As a matter of fact, we meet with the parents of just about all our recruits, which really helps us build those relationships. Fourth, we’re in Colorado, one of the great destinations in the world. We actually play golf all year around, when there is no snow on the ground, and when it is on the ground, that means fresh powder on the slopes. No other PGM school can offer anything like that. Fifth, our internship program is fabulous. We have over 800 sites all over the country, and even outside the borders. And we have a stunning list of famous golf courses where students can learn the business from top professionals.
Finally, I think we’re doing so well because we have done so well! We have an exceptionally high rate of passing scores on the PGA’s checkpoint exams, virtually 100%. And our students are having a great time while they get a great education. The directors at other PGM schools are telling us that we’re beating them out when it comes to getting the best students.
EK:
1. To obtain both an AACSB-accredited business degree and Class A membership in the PGA of America in the shortest amount of time possible.
2. The state of Colorado is unique in its beauty and weather. The fact that the students can play golf and ski at a world class resort in the same day is very enticing.
3. We have a very solid track record and success rates for students passing their PGA Checkpoints (100%). So the students know they are here for an education first and everything else second..
CSR+: How competitive is it to get in the PGM program? Are you happy with the number of applicants you are getting? How have you marketed the program around the country?
PM: To start at the back, we have marketed the program all over, primarily through direct mailings to high school golf coaches. We also have some assistance from the PGA because their website that explains how to become a member links to our site. We have tried some advertising in other outlets, but it’s hard to tell how it works. For example, we have an ad in the program for the Senior Open. We just couldn’t resist telling all those fans about the great thing we have going right here in the city they’re visiting.
No one with an academic program is ever content with the number of applicants. We want more, more, more. We think too many think we have a wintery climate that doesn’t allow golf to be played. And we don’t mind losing some of them because our program is about managing in the golf industry, not playing golf all the time.
Right now, admission isn’t exactly competitive because we are not denying people who meet the admission criteria of the university and college, as long as they have above average playing ability. This is pretty much the case at every PGM school in the country. Our desire is to become good enough to be big enough that we can take only the very best. Right now, we’re doing fine, though, and we are pleased with each and every student we’ve admitted. And we hate losing them to other schools. We know they’ve made a poor decision when they decide to go somewhere else.
EK: Our goal is approximately 40 students a year which after exceeding that number the last few years we will fall a little short of it this year probably due to the national economy. Yes, we market the program all over the country but center in on three or four different states every summer. We always market Colorado every year.
CSR+: Describe the PGA curriculum at UCCS. How do you make sure the students are well-prepared to work with PGA when they graduate? What is the graduation rate like?
PM: The curriculum is tough, really tough. It has four parts. First, there is the usual business curriculum, with lots of math and quantitative courses. Second, the students pursue essentially a double major in marketing and Professional Golf Management. That means very few electives. Third, the students also complete 16 or more months of full-time internships away from campus, mostly out of town and often out of the state. It’s hard to keep the momentum going with those away periods. Fourth, the students are also completing the PGA’s training program with three very comprehensive exams in the second, third and fifth years. There is absolutely no time to slack off or drop a course, even.
Quality control comes from grades, the PGA exams, and especially reports from the internship site managers. We are also involved with each student. And we have made some disenrollment decisions from time to time.
EK: It is a full, well-rounded curriculum. The students are very well prepared for the golf business once they graduate. We are still only five years into the program so our graduation rate will need a few more years to get a better handle on it all, but things are looking great right now and even better than the national PGM school average.
CSR+: Semester-long internships are an integral part of the PGA program. You have two summer internships and two additional semester-long internships. Where have your students interned? What do they learn to do during internships. Why do you think such long internships are necessary?
PM: I’m not sure where you got that data, but it doesn’t describe our schedule. For pure freshmen, the first internship occurs in the summer after the first year. The second lasts six to seven months and runs from May to November/December after the second year. The third runs from May to November/December after the fourth year. That last is tantamount to their first full-time regular job.
For transfers with enough hours, we send them on a six-month internship after their first year, and another after their second year. And they then go on the last one after finishing their course work.
Our students have interned in locations from Hawaii to Maine and from Washington to Florida, and many places in between. Probably in close to 25 states. We also had one student spend 10 months in France. Some notable sites that people might recognize from famous golf tournaments are Pebble Beach, Poppy Hills, Southern Hills, Cherry Hills, Medina, Oakmont, and Sawgrass. The Broadmoor is popular. Many freshmen return to their home state for the summer internship, too.
They learn how to be professional, which means doing dirty work without complaining. It means gaining maturity and an appreciation for what it takes to help other people have a good time playing golf. They progress from “outside” services to “inside” as they move through their cycle of internships. We’ve had some learn to be golf instructors, and one of our students will be an assistant coach at Michigan State in the fall.
Long internships are good for a couple of reasons. First, they help the student to really make a commitment to learning and working hard. If you go somewhere for only a couple of weeks, you won’t get committed, and management won’t train you. If you’re going to be there for six months, say, both you and the boss will commit to making it a positive and productive experience. Second, one major goal of the program is to prepare our students to become members of the PGA shortly after they graduate. To do that, the PGA requires them to have completed at least 16 months of internships. If they don’t, they have to start all over again and get 24 months as an apprentice.
Another point about the long internships is that our students graduate with a résumé that includes one, two, or three substantial jobs in the industry. That wouldn’t happen if they did short internships of only a few weeks duration while still taking classes. These people are ready to hit the ground running.
EK: We have one 3-month summer internship and two 6- to 7-month summer/fall internships. The PGA requires the students to have 16 total months spread over these 3. They learn many things that are not possible to simulate in a classroom setting. The longer internships are better because the supervising professionals are much more willing to give more responsibility to someone who can stay for an entire golf season as opposed to just having summer help.
Our students have interned at some of the very best facilities in the United States. Professionals are eager to hire these students because they know that they have a vested, long term interest in truly learning the golf business.
CSR+: If the students go away for two summers and two additional semesters for internships, how do they find time to take classes during those semesters?
PM: We discourage taking courses while on internship but don’t disallow if a good student wants to get ahead or if a struggling student needs to get caught up. Because the internships are full-time jobs, there really isn’t much time, and the employers are not too willing to give time off work for attending class. When classes are taken, they’re usually done on line.
EK: There are homework assignments as part of their internships that they need to finish in order for their PGA kits to be complete when they turn them in during the late fall. We prefer them not to take additional classes because they are already working 40 hours or more along with their PGM assigned work.
CSR+: How unique is the PGM Program? Where do the students find jobs after graduation? Does the college help the students find jobs? What kind of jobs have the students found in the recent past? What kind of starting salaries do the students get? Where are the jobs located?
PM: There are only 20 PGA-accredited PGM Programs in the U. S., and not many (if any) in other countries. As a matter of scale, about 900 universities have NCAA golf teams. So, the UCCS program is not completely unique, but it is rare. They find jobs basically wherever they want them. PGM grads are in demand because of their training and experience, and they progress through the ranks faster than apprentices. Our grads, of which we have only about ten at present, have decided to work at resorts, country clubs, and public courses. One is going to attend graduate school, and we expect another (who also earned degrees in economics and mechanical engineering from UCCS) will go to work at the Nike Equipment Labs after finishing his final internship there.
We will know more in about six months when our first cohort of graduates completes their degrees.
Salaries vary, and we don’t have a good handle on precise numbers. Typically, they’re looking at $40 K to $50 K, with the possibility of additional earnings through teaching. Golf courses are everywhere….
EK: We are only one of 20 in the country of which two of those haven’t really started yet. Students find jobs all over the country in a variety of golf- related jobs. There is a 100% placement for PGM graduates, and they are highly sought after. The PGM now supplies the United States more professionals than the older “apprenticeship” route where the person was only working at a facility and not attending college either at all or certainly not full time.
CSR+: Where do you envision the PGA program to be in five or 10 years from now? How are you planning to get there?
PM: We have a lot of plans that we’re not going to talk about in detail, but we intend to grow by maybe another 10-20% to somewhere around 160 students. We hope to be in a position to select only the best applicants, but we like the eclectic backgrounds we now have.
We want to be THE best program in the country, and in the world. Not the biggest, but the best.
We want to explore combining PGM education with the MBA degree.
We want more scholarships so that we can keep the out-of-state students that we lose every year because of the outrageously high tuition they face.
We expect that employers will travel to meet with our students in order to get the best.
We plan to get to these goals by doing what we’ve done in the past. We put our students first, second, and third in priority. We have also had great support from the administration, the college (including the dean and the faculty and staff), the golf profession, and the local community. We will invest in our students and their families, and we will work without any hidden agendas. What you get from us will be what you see in us.
EK: Through our dedication to service, combined with our experience and hands on approach, we hope to be the very best program in the USA. We don’t want to be the biggest but stay around 160 students who we know will be very well cared for. The academic success and playing ability of our students is getting better each and every year. We will continue to market Colorado and the rest of the country for the best students we can find.
CSR+: The College of Business (COB) at UCCS has been quite innovative in developing new academic programs. It’s a national leader in online MBA. Is the college working on any other new programs?
PM: It’s funny that you would mention the distance MBA. That was another program I took the lead on back in the mid-90s. Apart from me, nobody seemed to understand it at first, but pretty soon more and more were convinced that it would work.
The latest is the fabulous Sport Management Program developed by Eric Olson and Glenn Steimling. They asked and we encouraged them to learn from our experience, and they have outdone us.
The Bachelor’s of Innovation is going to come of age in the next few years. It will be a great strength for the campus.
What comes next? All we can say is, “stay tuned!”
EK: One day, we certainly would like to have an MBA component to our program. Dr. Miller is a better source of information with this and has been thinking about this very possibility for a couple of years now. We hope the day we get the MBA component is not too many years off. It will have to be a coordinated effort between the COB at UCCS and the PGA of America.
CSR+: Dr. Miller, we know you are a prolific author. You have written books such as “FASB: The People, The Process and the Politics”, “Quality Financial Reporting”, “Fundamentals of Financial and Managerial Accounting”, “Financial Accounting,” and others. Which one is your most successful book? You also have written more than 200 articles. You must be very disciplined about your writing. How many hours do you spend writing per day or per week? Is the PGM Program eating into your writing time?
PM: Thanks for those questions. Let’s see: I made the most money off the “Fundamentals” text, so that was success. I learned the most from the “Intermediate Accounting” text, so that was a success. But, my greatest success is the “Quality Financial Reporting “book, which proposes an entirely different paradigm for corporate reporting based on, (surprise!) a concerted effort to tell the truth, willingly, openly, and clearly. The book articulates a whole new world in which risk is reduced while transparency is increased. Some might think arguments for truth-telling are ethical, and indeed, many of them are. However, “QFR” is based on the economic argument that truthful, timely, and consumable information reduces risk, reduces capital costs, and increases stock prices, all while promoting efficiency in the capital markets and the economy as a whole.
My wife, bless her, says the world will come to understand QFR after I have died. I would rather be like Deming, who ended up being honored more in Japan than in his home country for his ideas on quality in production. He also lectured while in his 90s. We’ll see.
I am actually pretty spontaneous about my writing, although a biweekly deadline for my column makes me buckle down. I usually have two or three manuscripts underway at any time, and I’ve been known (by my family) to get up in the middle of the night to work on one of them. At times, I feel that I was created to write. I just wish more people were created to read what I write.
Of course, everything interferes with my writing, whether it’s teaching, the PGM Program, my consulting, and even my writing. One thing I don’t let happen is interference with my golf…. Seriously, all these activities make me a better writer, even the PGM Program.
As to hours per week spent writing, it’s usually somewhere around 12 to 20, but sometimes more. I haven’t written a book in about five or six years. I’m not sure I have another one in me.
If I do, I think it will be co-authored with my wife on how to be good grandparents. We have three grandkids now, and more are surely on the way. (We also have a high-school senior at home, our daughter whom we adopted out of Russia in 1994.) Most people focus so much on their grandchildren that they neglect the huge gift of greatly enhanced relationships with the grandkids’ parents (their own kids). Once your children have children, they start to understand you’re not such dumb people after all.
-J
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