My Passion for Fraud and Risk Management Led Me to Utica College

By Alycia Maurer, August 2015

The starting point of why I chose Utica College to pursue my Master of Science in Economic Crime Management (renamed the MS in Financial Crime and Compliance Management) began after the program was suggested to me by a respected business associate, who is a founding member and also on the Board of Directors for her company. I had spoken at two of the company’s annual conferences and she saw me share my passion for fraud management, and also saw the interest other fraud and risk management professionals expressed in learning more from me.

To grow, I knew it would be important to continually evaluate where I am and where I want to go. It was timely that my business associate’s advice to me was to broaden my knowledge of fraud and risk management to reach outside of my employer’s industry. If I did so, she explained, I would be able to help my company in new ways—as well as have the opportunity and flexibility to help other companies, should I choose to do so.

The interview process to determine the program that fit me best based on my experience, strengths, interests and goals was rigorous. I became aware of the support of all of the faculty and administrators involved in managing this program and, despite juggling a full-time job, I felt confidence in my ability to be successful.

The Utica College administrative staff knows students in the MS FCM/ECM program are working professionals with families and other obligations and life events. That is why each student is assigned a Success Coach. The Success Coach will assist you through all of the necessary steps to help make sure everything is in place before you start the program, and also along the way for each session. I could see there was support, resources and genuine caring in a successful outcome.

I started the program in April 2014 after Utica was first recommended to me in September 2013. I am so glad my business associate contact recommended Utica College to me because she was right! The first class I took, I was able to share new knowledge and perspectives with my management team, my co-workers and contacts in other departments. In each class, the knowledge gained from the curriculum is augmented by interacting with my cohort classmates and learning from their experiences as well. It is from all of this learning I’ve been able to increase my awareness of risks, speak more intelligently with technical resources, and also learn additional skills such as how to better manage my time. Now, I have more time to catch the bad guys!

About the Author

Alycia Maurer has reduced fraud losses significantly for her company over the past five years by providing fraud mitigation advice for projects within her department and across her company, identifying and successfully implementing software solutions, developing relationships with contacts across the company and partnering with these contacts to resolve complex fraud risk issues. Her interest in identifying and solving these types of issues, which she refers to as “shiny stuff”, is what motivated her to pursue a Master of Science degree in Economic Crime Management (now MS in Financial Crime and Compliance Management) at Utica College.​