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Canadian student starts her own cohort
Sandra Trubyk of Winnipeg, Manitoba wanted to get her master’s degree in
health care administration. She did the research, compared programs on the
Web and liked the program she saw at Central Michigan University. Sandra
knew CMU offered master’s degree programs at nearby Red River College and
decided to attend the open house to find out more.
She was disappointed. At that time, CMU was only offering the Master of Arts
degree in Education in Winnipeg. But something encouraging did happen. She
found out about Diana Vreeland, Coordinator of International Student
Services. Diana told Sandra
that the Master of Science in Administration degree with a concentration in
Health Services Administration had been brought to Winnipeg several times
before in a cohort format.
The cohort format allows CMU to bring programs to areas where there is
sufficient demand. In a cohort, a group of at least 20 students follow a set
sequence of courses together from start to finish. In the past, Manitoba
Health wanted to offer the MSA in Health Services Administration to their
workers. Several times there had been 20 or more employees ready to work
together to get their degrees. Unfortunately, at the time Sandra wanted her
degree, Manitoba Health wasn’t recruiting.
Diana did have some good news for Sandra. “I told her that if she could get
20 people together, they could start their own cohort.”
Sandra went to work. She wrote articles to the local newsletter for health
professionals in the area. She sent over 200 faxes to health care facilities
in Manitoba. She gave talks at local meetings and even put up her own
posters. She talked some local newspapers into donating some ad space. She
kept telling herself, “I can do this.”
After almost a year, she had 15 names. It was July of 2002. Diana applauded
Sandra’s efforts but said she had to have a minimum of 20 people, and she
had to have them by August. Over 200 faxes later, Sandra got seven more
names. She had her cohort.
“She was quietly determined,” says Diana Vreeland. “She just decided if
that’s what you want me to do, I’ll go do it.”
The cohort started together in November of 2002, and Sandra and her family
came to Mount Pleasant for the commencement ceremony in May of 2005.
“It was exactly what I was hoping for,” says Sandra. “We were finished in a
little over two years and the weekend classes worked for me. It was great
being with the same group of people through the whole course. Everyone
supported each other and everyone bands together.”
Sandra’s efforts have paid off. On July 15, 2005, she was offered a new job
by Sheridan College in Ontario. She will begin teaching Health Studies this
September. She is excited about her move across Canada and the new direction
her career has taken. She credits her master’s degree with getting her the
credentials she needed. “With my master’s degree from CMU,” says Sandra, “I
had the versatility they were looking for.”
