Preparatory Institute for Project Management

2023 Courses Full

Review sections below for information on 2024 course dates and registration window.

What Is It?

  • An online program, intended to be a precursor to the MCAA’s Institute for Project Management, overseen by the same committee that manages the IPM and AIPM.
  • A 12-week curriculum, taught as a series of 90-minute classes, covering topics fundamental to project management at an introductory level.

Who Should Attend?

  • Individuals on the project management track, who have relatively little (0-3 years) experience.
  • This includes:
    • Assistant Project Managers
    • Project Engineers
    • Recent college graduates
    • Employees transitioning from field to office, or from estimating to project management

Course Structure

  • Pre-IPM is designed and taught by 6 experienced contractors and professional instructors who have first-hand understanding of the challenges facing project managers, and the skills required to meet those challenges.
  • Each session is a combination of lecture and Q&A, ensuring that students are involved in a dynamic learning experience.
  • Participants will complete weekly quizzes and homework assignments, demonstrating what they have learned.
  • Upon completion of all course requirements (lectures, quizzes, and homework), students will receive MCAA Pre-IPM certification.

Curriculum Overview by Topic

  • Understanding The Project Manager’s Role
  • Planning: The Key to Successful Projects
  • The Project Manager’s Impact on Productivity
  • Knowing Your Costs, Catching Problems Early, and Getting Paid
  • Documentation: Why Great Projects Need Great Records
  • Project Scheduling: The Importance of Having a Clear Game Plan
  • Relationships Are Everything: Understanding Yourself and Managing Others
  • Being A Professional: Problem-Solving and Issue Resolution
  • Change Orders 101: Identification, Importance, and Management
  • Time Management & Personal Efficiency
  • Leadership at All Levels: Your Ability to Influence Others
  • Project Completion: Starting Strong and Finishing Stronger

How Will This Benefit My Workforce?

  • The Pre-IPM curriculum is designed to build participants’ understanding of key components of mechanical project management.
  • Pre-IPM will improve participants’ efficiency, management skills, and ability to adapt to change. Practical application is a core focus, and participants will walk away from each session with new ideas and skills to apply to their jobs.

Participation Requirements

  • Students must attend all 12 lectures. Lectures will not be recorded.
  • Students must complete all quizzes and submit all homework assignments by their respective deadlines to be eligible for Pre-IPM certification.
  • Students must be able to participate on a computer (not a tablet or phone), with audio and video capability and a reliable high-speed internet connection that allows video streaming. Each student must be signed in on their own computer, and must be prepared to come onscreen and ask/respond to questions.

2024 Course Dates and Future Schedule

  • Pre-IPM is run once a year, with multiple courses being offered during the same timeframe.
  • All 2024 courses will begin the week of May 21st and conclude the week of August 20th, 2024.
    • There will be no classes the weeks of May 28th or July 2nd, due to holidays.
  • ‘Morning’ classes (odd-numbered) will take place 10:30am-12pm EDT (7:30am-9:00am PDT).
  • ‘Afternoon’ classes (even-numbered) will take place 2:30pm-4pm EDT (11:30am-1pm PDT).

Registration

2024 REGISTRATION SCHEDULE

  • Registration for our 2024 Pre-IPM courses will open in February of 2024. The exact date and time of registration release will be announced via the MCAA Weekly Update, and at that time will be reflected at the top of this page.
  • Registration is first-come, first-served.
  • There is no limit on the number of participants a company may enroll.
  • All registration will be done online, via this webpage. Once a registration period opens, there will be registration link provided in this section.

GENERAL INFORMATION

  • Registration is done via this page and is first-come, first-served.
    • Participants must attend all sessions to be eligible for certification.
  • The 2024 MCAA member rate for tuition is $1,025 per student, payable online during registration. Refunds will not be issued after the first day of class, nor for partial completion of the program.
  • To register yourself, or someone else, both the registrant and the individual completing the registration must have an MCAA account. Please reach out to Jan Grillo to create an account.
    • Account creation can take several days. Accounts should be created well in advance of the registration open date.

Questions?