About the course
Many people manage projects without the title: an engineer moving a production line, a nurse manager opening a clinic, an office manager changing payroll systems. This course gives them a working toolkit, using a common professional framework and translating its vocabulary into plain language. It covers predictive, plan-driven methods and also the agile practices most teams now mix in.
Each week has about four hours of online work: short videos, readings and one applied assignment on your own project. Three live Saturday workshops, held online from 9 a.m. to noon, are for practice. You will build a schedule as a team, defend a budget and run a risk session. The final deliverable is a complete project management plan for a real project, reviewed by the instructor. Completers receive documentation of contact hours, which some professional certification applications require.
Who should enroll
- Accidental project managers in any field
- Engineers, technicians and supervisors who lead cross-functional projects
- Staff considering the graduate certificate in project management who want to try the subject first
No prerequisites. You will need a project from work or community life to plan. If you do not have one, the instructor will give you a case.
Dates, format and fee
| Section | Dates | Meets | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Nov. 2–Dec. 12, 2026 | Online weekly; live Saturdays Nov. 7, Nov. 21 and Dec. 12, 9 a.m.–noon | Online |
| Spring | Mar. 1–Apr. 24, 2027 (break Mar. 15–21) | Online weekly; live Saturdays Mar. 6, Mar. 27 and Apr. 24, 9 a.m.–noon | Online |
- Format
- Online, with three live workshops
- Contact hours
- 30
- CEUs
- 3.0
- Fee
- $795, including templates and a scheduling-software license for the term
- Seats
- 35 per section
What you will do
| Week | Topic | You produce |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Starting a project: charters, sponsors, success criteria | Project charter |
| 2 | Scope and the work breakdown structure | Scope statement and WBS |
| 3 | Scheduling: dependencies, critical path, Gantt charts | Baseline schedule |
| 4 | Estimating cost and resources; tracking earned value | Budget |
| 5 | Risk, stakeholders, communication and change control | Risk register and communication plan |
| 6 | Agile basics, hybrid approaches, closing a project and capturing lessons | Complete project management plan |
Instructor
Dr. Gustav Okafor is an assistant professor of construction management. Before Porter he ran schedules for commercial building projects, where he learned that the critical path always runs through the one subcontractor who will not answer the phone. He also teaches in the graduate certificate in construction project management.
Employer pricing and registration
The list fee is $795 per person. Professional Education invoices employers directly on net-30 terms and provides the completion letter and attendance record that tuition-assistance programs ask for.
| Enrollment | Price per person |
|---|---|
| 1–2 people from one employer | $795 |
| 3–5 people from one employer, same section | $716 (10% off) |
| 6 or more people from one employer | $676 (15% off) |
| Porter alumni (not combined with group pricing) | $716 |
| Private cohort of up to 16, at your site or ours | Quoted; usually 70–80% of 16 list-price seats |
Employers with fewer than 250 workers in Porter County and the five neighboring counties may qualify for a Valley Workforce Board incumbent-worker grant that covers up to half the fee. We will help with the paperwork. Completers who enroll in the graduate certificate within two years can ask for prior learning assessment toward its introductory course. Register online or by phone. The full policy on cancellations, substitutions and weather is on the Professional Education page.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. This course, its dates, fees, CEUs, instructors and the Valley Workforce Board grant are invented; there is nothing to register for and no certificate to earn. The contact-hour documentation is invented as well, and no certification body will accept it.