The results from Week 2 of the University of Arizona Global Campus (UAGC) 2022 Major Matchup are in, and we officially have a Final Four. After another week of voting, we bid farewell to four more majors and the faculty who represented them. Who made it through? Read on to find out. Then vote for the faculty members who make the most convincing argument in the two brackets below. Voting closes at midnight MST on Thursday, April 14. Remember, your vote only counts once each week, so choose wisely!
2022 UAGC Major Matchup Contestants: Week 3 - The Final Four
In a surprising upset, past winners and repeat finalists including business administration and organizational management have been knocked out of the race. Now, we've narrowed it down to four majors, and for the first time in Major Matchup history, three new majors have made it to the final four: special education, operations management and analysis, and business leadership.
Now’s your chance to help decide who will advance to the final round.
As a reminder, you are voting for the faculty members who make the best “case” for the major with a personalized faculty perspective on what they think makes their major the best.
What’s more, for the final bracket round, you will have an opportunity to hear from the faculty representing the last two majors in a Facebook Live event on April 18 at 4 PM MST, when they will reply to questions from a moderator and viewers. After the event, you will be invited to cast one final vote to help determine the 2022 UAGC Major Matchup champion!
Check out the remaining four faculty pitches representing programs from the Forbes School of Business and Technology® and the College of Arts and Sciences that have advanced to the Final Four. Then cast your vote in the two brackets to help us take this contest to the finals next week. Who will make it into the finals? You decide! Vote for the faculty member who makes the most convincing argument in the brackets below. Then head to Facebook and RSVP to the Live event!
Game 1: Psychology vs. Special Education
First up is reigning champion psychology vs. Major Matchup Final Four newcomer special education*, both programs in the College of Arts and Sciences at UAGC. Representing psychology is Dr. Dana Dillard, while Dr. Jessi Harkins Upshaw makes the case for special education.
Watch the pitches, then cast your vote.
Psychology
Dr. Dana Dillard: “Do you work with people? Do you parent people or teach people? I know. Do you know people? Like people? Or maybe even dislike people? My name is Dr. Dana Dillard, and I would like to share why a UAGC psychology degree is so special. You see psychology is all about people. Okay, call me out on a technicality, because psychology is about the mind, brain, and behavior. But that's what people are. Squishy, gelatiny clumps of cells that generate electricity, producing mind, personality, behaviors, feeling, thoughts, beliefs, dreams. Psychology is the study of all of these things in one person, as well as what happens when that one squishy mass of personality beliefs, behaviors, dreams, hopes, interacts with another. Psychology is for everyone. If you want to understand why your child throws a temper tantrum at 2 a.m., or why you forgot where your keys are, but you can remember the name of your first-grade teacher, developmental psychology might be for you. Interested in knowing why being introverted or ambiverted is awesome? Personality Psychology might be your new favorite class. Interested in understanding how stress influences health and how we can learn to manage it instead of it running our lives? Health Psychology. Want to come up with ideas to help your employees actually love what they do? Industrial and Organizational Psychology might be where you are interested in studying. Quite simply, psychology is for everyone. And in fact, I would love to issue the challenge for anyone to come up with an interest, career direction, personal or academic goal, or hobby that does not connect with people and behaviors. Psychology as a degree is useful in so many fields, from accountants to writers, political scientists to teacher, salespersons to nurse practitioners, clergy to clerical. Psychology fits everywhere. But psychology at UAGC? Now that is something really special. Our faculty are diverse, specializing in research, education, neuroscience, personality, business, and more. We also have an incredible group of alumni and students, many who are active in the UAGC Psych Club, which currently sits over 9,300 members. These members network, engage, and interact and help make what can feel so distant in online learning feel like something so much more. So, you see, while psychology is all about people, what makes psychology at UAGC so special is the people. So come on, UAGC students, alumni, faculty, staff, friends, and family: click that button to show and share your love for our Psychology programs in the UAGC 2022 Major Matchup.”
Special Education
*An online degree from the University of Arizona Global Campus does not lead to immediate teacher licensure in any state.
Dr. Jessi Harkins Upshaw: It's time for the UAGC 2022 Major Matchup. And we here in the field of special education say, ‘game on.’ My name is Dr. Jessi Upshaw, and I am proud to lead the students and faculty studying special education here in the Master of Arts in Special Education ( MASE) program at UAGC. Our mission is to educate, empower, and integrate innovation, accessibility, and integrity for professionals that impact diverse learners in their communities. Why should you vote for the special education and MASE program in this year's matchup? Let me pass this off. Let's look at the elite eight reasons to lift up students entering the field of special education. No. 1. Our students specialize in supporting diverse learning needs. No. 2. They focus on creating inclusive environments. No. 3. They have an exponential impact on diverse learners who continue to have an impact in their communities. No. 4. Students with special education build on evidence-based practice models to learn, grow, and take action. Time for the final four. No. 5. Professionals and special education focus on goal setting and scaffolded support. No. 6. The helping field of special education blends brain and behavior sciences with educational models to meet students where they are, and support where they want to be. No. 7. Digging into professional, ethical, and conceptual principles of special education helps to advance our students’ personal and career goals to impact learners of all abilities at diverse ages and levels of learning. And No. 8. Our team supports UAGC student groups and organizations to connect and advocate for all individuals identifying with neurodiversity, exceptionalities, and differences in ability. We encourage you to support students studying special education in the 2022 Major Matchup.”
Who said it better? Did Dr. Dillard win you over with her pitch for psychology? Or has Harkins Upshaw convinced you special education is the way to go? Cast your vote now! PollMaker
Game 2: Operations Management & Analysis vs. Business Leadership
Next up are two new Forbes School of Business and Technology® majors to be showcased in the Major Matchup final four: operational management & analysis and business leadership. Bill Davis makes his Major Matchup debut representing operations management & analysis, while Dr. Misty Resendez, representing business leadership, also plays in Major Matchup for the first time. Who has the most convincing program pitch? Watch each video, and then cast your vote below.
Operations Management & Analysis
Bill Davis: “Hello, UAGC students. My name is Bill Davis. I'm a lead faculty assistant professor in the Forbes School of Business and Technology® here at the University of Arizona Global Campus. You know, it's an honor and a pleasure to be here to give you an overview of the operations management and analysis program. Now, before I begin, if you'd like to learn a little bit about myself, just go ahead and Google Bill Davis, UAGC. You should see my bio. And again, I oversee the operations management and analysis program. Now, with that said, what I'd like to tell you is that operations management, it's what businesses do. There's operational processes that produce either goods, or they produce services. And operations management takes place in all kinds of businesses: restaurants, retail, hospitals. It takes place in colleges, universities, supermarkets. Just think about it. They're all operating, right? And I've always embraced through my particular career is people, process, structure, because if you get them right, you put it all together, it works, you get favorable outcomes, you get quality. Everybody wins. Business follows, you know, sales and everything just keeps rolling. And also, the other thing I've embraced is the five functions of management, planning, organizing, leading, staffing, and controlling. I believe in them. I believe they're one coordinated system. And if you manage those kind of things, plan your work, work your plan, things just come out. Now, what I wanted to tell you was that in this program, you're gonna learn about system analysis, you're going to assess methods. You're going to learn about knowledge about project management, program management. You'll examine organizations, their operations. You'll also look at supply chains. You’ll look at the effective decision making, the tools to measure all of that process stuff is in there as well as quality management. We have a great list of courses here. There's 15 of them. The sequence courses, management, microeconomics, accounting, operations management, quantitative techniques. I'm just naming a few. Business systems, decision modeling, quality management, all there for you. Now, with that said, all of this can help you in your existing career and help you elevate or help the organization for whatever your reasons are for being in here. But you'll become better. You'll build more capacity, you’ll gain knowledge off the job, and you'll be able to apply that knowledge where you work. But if you're looking for a career in operations management, realize there's all kinds of careers out there. Think about that, go to the website. You can see our site, and you can see everything that's involved there. But it's a great program. I've seen it just continue to grow and see students succeed, and I'm happy for them. And that's why we exist: for you. So, continue that. We're in this together. Realize that the vision we have is to empower you, support you, enrich you, and graduate. We're in this together, all the faculty are I oversee. So, we've got a great team. We're here to help you to pay it forward. Please support the operations management and analysis program. Thank you for listening. I wish you much continued success. Thank you.”
Business Leadership
Dr. Misty Resendez: “Deciding a career is so stressful. I don't know what degree program will benefit me the most and fit who I am. There's just so many options. Well, have you ever thought of taking business leadership? No. Can you tell me more about the business leadership program? There are many benefits to taking a business leadership program. When you take a business leadership program at the University of Arizona Global Campus, you will be provided the skills necessary to lead an effective team. You will learn how to motivate your employees. You'll learn about mentoring, effective communication, how to address conflict, and many, many more skills that you can put into place today in the workforce. In addition, it will also boost your pay potential. Because you have the skills necessary to be a leader, you have more opportunities, which will then advance your resume in front of others, because you'll have the skill set that is necessary to lead in any industry that you choose. I hope you decide to pursue a business leadership degree at the University of Arizona Global Campus. That sounds great. Thank you so much. Dr. Resendez!”
So, who’s it going to be? Which of these business degree gurus has your vote to progress to Round 3? Cast your vote now!
It’s Time to Vote
It’s time to vote in Week 3 of the 2022 Major Matchup. Which faculty members presented the best pitches? Who will advance to the final bracket next week? It’s all in your hands. Vote wisely!
Don’t forget to come back next week to see which faculty members and majors progress to the final round to face off in our Facebook Live Event at 4 PM MST. Be sure to rally your peers to vote for their favorite faculty pitch by posting on social media using the hashtag #VoteMyUAGC.
Happy voting!
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Certain degree programs may not be available in all states.