Office Productivity
Virtual Offices Go Back to School
Published December 11th, 2008 by Jennifer LeClaire
It seems technology makes the office world go ‘round – or at least some colleges and universities are preparing for that reality.
Sierra College in Rocklin, Calif. – a community college just about 30 minutes from the state capitol and 100 miles east of San Francisco – is on the cutting edge of higher education with an innovative curriculum dubbed the Virtual Office Professional Program (VOP).
“It’s a very timely program,” says Dr. Cyndi Dunn, the Sierra College professor who has helped to bring the program to campus. “It offers a lot of options as a career.”
Anatomy of a VOP
As its name suggests, the VOP program aims to equip students to launch a virtual office business. Sierra College defines a virtual office professional as an independent entrepreneur that provides administrative, creative and or technical services.
In essence, a VOP is a virtual worker that is skilled in time and organizational management, customer service, leadership, business etiquette, integrity and accountability, communication and relationships.
Sierra College is doing something smart – preparing students to succeed in a recession. With hundreds of thousands of layoffs, companies are expected to turn more and more to temporary workers to fill the gap. The 21st Century temporary worker looks more and more like a virtual office professional all the time.
Sierra cited advantages for businesses such as the need for cost-cutting measures in transportation and physical office space, increased productivity, flexibility, no overtime and peace of mind. VOPs an schedule conferences and seminars, design and manage your website, conduct market research, maintain backups of critical files, transcribe, create PowerPoint presentations and much more.
Students flock to VOP
“The VOP program is thriving,” Dunn said. “It has already received national and international recognition. Interest in the program is expanding rapidly.”
Classes have filled up for the spring semester at Sierra College as more and more students are becoming aware of the benefits associated with the VOP program. An additional section has now been added to the schedule to meet the demand.
Topics include time management, workplace customization, technology evaluation and purchasing, communication through the use of advanced technologies, and business ethics. Students must fulfill major requirements and all Associate Degree Requirements for the A.A./A.S. degree. A certificate is designed to provide vocational skills. It is not equivalent to an A.A. or A.S. degree.
Using the business model of client/Virtual Professional relationships, students are required to meet deadlines, maintain high standards, uphold professional ethics, and possess the ability to work independently. This could be a match made in heaven for entrepreneurs with virtual offices.
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Bill Brookshire December 12th, 2008 at 4:34 am
This college really is on the cutting edge. A program to train virtual workers is a valuable one for entrepreneurs and small businesses that rely on virtual workers. Unfortunately, I’ve run into one too many virtual assistants or virtual workers that say they are professionals with a certain skill set but are anything but. This type of training will bring to the labor market much-needed resources that are properly trained with the skills small businesses need most.
Maggie Correta December 12th, 2008 at 11:47 am
It sounds like this virtual office professional program has all the bases covered. This is sort of a sign of the times. You’d expect a college in California to be on the forefront of something like this because of Silicon Valley, but I bet it will spread to other states. This should be a boon for virtual office workers who want to set themselves apart from the pack. I see a lot of these folks on eLance and I’ve had mixed experiences. This credential would turn my head.
Rob Zeus December 15th, 2008 at 8:17 am
Dunn mentions that the Virtual Office Professional program has already received national and international recognition. I can see why. This is an entrepreneur’s dream come true in some ways. Finding virtual workers and building distributed workforces is a challenge at best. Certifications like this one give me confidence that I am hiring someone with at least the basic skills to help me run my virtual office. I noticed a lot of different skill sets the college is teaching, which means we’ll have virtual workers with a broad brush. This is a great development.
Marcus Hester December 17th, 2008 at 8:34 am
This could serve as a model for the educational system. With so many job losses, virtual employees may be an even bigger part of the future workforce as companies are hesitant to commit to long-term or contracted employees. This is a boon for virtual offices. This certification will also help virtual workers prove their skill set. I expect to see more of this in other schools across the nation.
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