Full course description
This course will run from April 26-May 24, 2027 with weekly meetings from 5:00-6:00pm (meeting day TBD).
Registration Deadline: Registrations will be accepted through April 19, 2027. Detailed instructions for enrolling with Canvas Catalog can be found at this link. If you have any questions regarding enrollment for this course, please contact ocpe@vcu.edu for assistance.
Description: This online blended introductory course provides participants with a foundational understanding of Organizational Development and its role in supporting organizational effectiveness. Over four weeks, learners will explore core OD principles and values, systems thinking, the OD lifecycle, and the ways OD differs from traditional HR, project management, and management consulting. Participants will also examine strategic planning as a common OD use case and consider how strategy, structure, and culture interact to support or hinder organizational performance.
Through learning activities, discussion, knowledge checks, and applied reflection, participants will practice using OD concepts and language to interpret organizational challenges, ask diagnostic questions, and recognize when an OD approach may be appropriate.
Who Should Enroll
This course is designed for employees who want to better understand how organizations function, change, and improve. It is a good fit for professionals who support teams, programs, departments, or organizational initiatives and want to strengthen their ability to recognize performance challenges, ask better diagnostic questions, and think more systemically about workplace issues.
The course may be especially helpful for HR professionals, managers, supervisors, project leads, internal consultants, change agents, and employees involved in planning, process improvement, organizational change, or team effectiveness work. No prior Organizational Development experience is required.
What You Will Learn
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Define Organizational Development and explain its purpose in supporting organizational effectiveness.
- Distinguish Organizational Development from traditional HR, project management, and management consulting.
- Identify key stages of the OD cycle, including entry, contracting, data gathering, diagnosis, intervention, and evaluation.
- Explain strategic planning as a common use case for Organizational Development.
- Evaluate how strategy, structure, and culture interact within a system to support or hinder organizational performance.
Skills You Will Build
Participants will develop a foundational understanding of Organizational Development and how OD approaches can be used to understand and improve organizational performance. Through course activities and applied practice, participants will strengthen their ability to:
- Use Organizational Development concepts and language to interpret organizational work.
- Apply systems thinking to better understand how people, processes, structures, and culture interact.
- Ask diagnostic questions to explore organizational challenges before moving to solutions.
- Conduct basic conceptual and gap analysis to identify needs, misalignments, or opportunities for improvement.
- Recognize when an OD approach may be appropriate for addressing organizational challenges.
- Analyze how strategy, structure, and culture influence performance within an organizational system.
- Connect strategic planning efforts to broader Organizational Development principles and practices.
Instructors:
Jadyn Morris, Associate Organizational Effectiveness Consultant, VCU Organizational Effectiveness
Jeremy Bost, M.Ed, Manager, VCU Organizational Effectiveness
Discounts: Discounts are also available for VCU students, faculty and staff. Please email ocpe@vcu.edu to obtain your coupon code prior to registration. Any available coupon codes must be used/applied at the time of enrollment, cannot be combined with other discounts/coupons or waivers, and will not be retroactively applied.
Cancellation and Refund Policies: Refunds will be accepted up to 2 weeks before course start date.
In the unlikely event that this workshop is cancelled or postponed due to insufficient enrollments or unforeseen circumstances, the university will fully refund registration fees, but cannot be held responsible for any other expenses.
Student/Participant Conduct: Participants are subject to all university policies applicable to students, unless a specific university or VCU Continuing and Professional Education policy explicitly states otherwise. University policies governing students are available at https://vcu.public.doctract.com including:
Student Code of Conduct
Honor System and Standards of Academic Conduct
Preventing and Responding to Discrimination
Title IX Sexual Harassment Policy-Interim
Sex-Based Misconduct Policy-Interim
For Academic Accommodations, please visit https://ocpe.vcu.edu/resources/policies/