Mission and Educational Objectives - SHS - Occupational Safety and Health

Mission and Educational Objectives

Oakland University has a three-fold mission. It offers instructional programs of high quality that lead to degrees at the baccalaureate, master's and doctoral levels as well as programs in continuing education; it advances knowledge and promotes the arts through research, scholarship and creative activity; and it renders significant public service. In all its activities, the university strives to exemplify educational leadership.

The Occupational Safety and Health program contributes to the institution’s mission by offering a high-quality baccalaureate degree that meets the educational outcomes-based criteria established by an ABET accredited safety-related Bachelor of Science degree program. The educational objectives of the Occupational Safety and Health program are to prepare graduates to become effective safety and health professionals. During their first five years after graduation, graduates will demonstrate abilities to:

anticipate, identify, evaluate, and control workplace hazardous conditions and practices;
develop effective safe operating procedures and comprehensive safety and health programs to address identified hazards, conditions, and practices in a cost effective manner;
support employees and managers in developing a positive organizational safety culture;
work effectively with labor and management in an effort to address safety and health issues in the workplace;
measure and evaluate occupational safety and health performance;
conduct themselves in a professional and ethical manner, and to
pursue life-long learning, including formal training and educational opportunities, to stay both current and proficient in the practice of safety sciences and in the business skills necessary to make the business case for needed safety and health interventions in a changing global economy.

In addition to providing a high-quality educational experience, the Occupational Safety and Health program renders significant service to employers in southeast Michigan through cooperative education programs, internships and other experiential learning activities that enhance student learning and support area employers’ needs for health and safety services. The students in OU's OSH program have chartered a Student Section of the Greater Detroit Chapter of the ASSE and carry out community and campus safety-related public service projects as a regular part of their ASSE Student Section activities.