Now is the time to think about going back to school – for professionals. The University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication is responding to the business community’s needs by offering two classes at the John and Mary Pappajohn Education Center starting this fall. After conducting several focus groups with leaders from major businesses in Des Moines, the school designed two graduate courses specifically to meet emerging needs – one in writing and editing and another in leadership. These courses are part of a new graduate program in strategic communication that the school plans to propose.

It has been well-documented that the quality of writing has been decreasing. Though employers value the quantitative skills of M.B.A. students, they are not impressed with their writing and presentation skills. A recent article in The Wall Street Journal indicated that even on the Graduate Management Admission Test, the scores on the essays have slipped. The cause is hard to determine, but many of us in education believe that constant digital communication is eroding writing skills. At the request of employers, several top business schools, such as The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, have increased the emphasis on writing instruction.

Writing is an issue for students and follows them into the workplace. Some companies have publicly complained about employees’ writing.

Don McLeese is the associate director for Des Moines and online programs and will be teaching “Writing and Editing for Public Communication.” This interactive course will stress the communication fundamentals of clarity, concision and cohesion. McLeese was an award-winning critic and columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times and Austin American-Statesman and an associate editor at Meredith Corp.’s Midwest Living.

Regarding the need for the development of leaders, The National Leadership Index taken by the Center for Public Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University reported that for the past five years, a significant majority of people surveyed believe there is a leadership crisis in all sectors of our society.

I will be teaching the “Strategic Communication Leadership Seminar.” This graduate-level course will help sharpen the skills necessary to be effective in an environment of collaboration, teamwork and self-management across a variety of platforms. After 30 years of teaching at Central College and years of conducting workshops, I look forward to the opportunity to teach a graduate course in Des Moines to leaders at all levels.

Both of these courses are offered in the evening and simultaneously online to accommodate people from across Iowa. For more information, contact Donald-mcleese@uiowa.edu.

Jann Freed is a leadership development speaker, author and coach.