Slippery Rock University and the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters (EASRCC) partnered to develop a construction management degree that builds on apprentice carpenters’ existing skills and prepares them for future career opportunities.
The project began in February 2025. SRU collaborated with the EASRCC to develop a degree tailored to the carpenter’s needs, SRU President Karen Riley said.
“Higher ed had built things and then told their industry partners, ‘This is what you need’ rather than saying ‘Tell us what you need’ and then building it,” Riley said. “So, for this program, we said to the carpenters, ‘What do the carpenters need and how will the Carpenters Union recognize that?’…And we’ll match our stuff up to you rather than the reverse.”
Riley said the program aimed to transfer as many apprenticeship credits as possible to SRU, allowing students to continue making progress toward their degrees.
“There was a school in New Jersey that’s doing something similar. But they didn’t take the basic competencies and the math tests and that kind of stuff,” Riley said. “They said those things will count as electives and then you’ll have to retake a math class. We were like nope, we’re not doing it that way. No one likes to redo things they’ve already done. They want to move forward.”
Dean of Engineering Nicole Dafoe said the EASRCC’s accreditation gives SRU the unique opportunity to award college credit for completed apprenticeship training.
“They’re accredited through the Council on Occupation, which is recognized by the Department of Education, meaning we can accept their apprenticeship programs for college credit. We couldn’t do before,” Dafoe said.
While SRU already offers a construction management degree, Dafoe explained that the existing program would not meet the EASRCC’s needs.
“The program we currently have is designed for someone coming out of high school who needs the hands-on experience along with the management experience,” Dafoe said. “Well, the carpenters have the hands-on experience. So, the idea was to create a fully online program that was flexible with their schedule, their work schedule and provided them with the skills that are needed to move up in the field.”
Dafoe said the degree builds on apprentices’ hands-on experience with coursework in three main areas: project management, safety management and construction technology.
“A lot of times we think of traditional construction: hammers, hard hats, that kind of thing. But the truth is, the technology in construction has changed immensely over the years…So, that’s where our training comes in,” Dafoe said.
Associate Provost for Academic Innovation Tim Slekar said the program aims to connect trades and higher education by challenging the idea that young adults must choose between the two.
“It really acknowledges and tries to remedy a problem of particularly the past 30 years that framed the future for young adults as, ‘You can either go to the trades or you can go to college and get a degree,’” Slekar said.
Riley said the degree could allow carpenters to continue using their construction experience even if physical limitations eventually prevent them from performing manual labor.
“It’s tough on people’s bodies…you can’t be a carpenter anymore. You’ve been doing this for 20 years. You have knowledge,” Riley said. “What we want to do is make sure that somebody has options afterwards to be in management, to be in training, to do all kinds of other things, if they choose for themselves that they want to be done being actual carpenters, or if their bodies change for them.”
The program has already generated significant interest, with hundreds registering for an informational session and applications arriving shortly after the presentation, Riley said.
“They had 400 signed up. Over 200 came the first time, we’ve got a second session set up for those who couldn’t make it the first time,” Riley said. “After they led the session, within a 12-hour period, they had 16 applications already in.”
The program has attracted interest from other organizations, including the Western Pennsylvania Highway Operating Engineers, Gecko Robotics, Rosedale Technical College and Steamfitters Technology Center Local 449.
“As we explained what we were doing with the carpenters, the president of the Highway Operating Engineers Union was like ‘Well, when can we get involved?’ And so, we’re now including them through their apprentice program too,” Slekar said.
Riley said SRU is open to developing similar programs with other industries and trade organizations through the same collaborative approach.
“The sky’s the limit really. There shouldn’t be any reason why we can’t do it with anybody who wants to partner with us,” Riley said.
Slekar said the university is pursuing grant funding to support the degree and provide scholarships for its first students. One pending grant could provide approximately $860,000.
“We submitted two grants, one a JFF BlackRock; we just found out we weren’t funded. The bigger one, though, was in Appalachian Regional Commission Power Grant,” Slekar said. “If we get that, it’s about $860,000. That would be divvied up as scholarships for the first group of students that are able to take this.”
According to Slekar, the program has received support from elected officials, local industries and workforce development boards, including letters of support from U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Dave McCormick.
“Politicians, country commissioners, state legislators, even to the point where we got support letters from Senator Fetterman and Senator McCormick. Industries like Mascaro Builders, Advanced Construction Robotics; all of these local workforce boards are in support,” Slekar said.
Dafoe said the degree has also received support from the Master Builders’ Association.
“It’s also very much supported by the Master Builders Association. We seem to be getting a lot of really great support,” Dafoe said. “It’s being very positively received, I would say.”
Riley said the program reflects a shared desire to grow professionally and pursue new opportunities throughout one’s career.
“There’s a huge workforce need and there’s that next level too, where the people that are in the trades need paths for advancement,” Riley said. “We all want that. What are we looking for? What’s that next step for us? And this program allows us to do that.”
