History of the EDL HIGHER EDUCATION OPTION
TO: Members of the College of Education Executive Committee
FROM: Jerry Siegrist
DATE: May 25th, 1998
RE: Higher Ed Option
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DRAFT
EDL HIGHER EDUCATION OPTION - PROPOSED REVISION
Dr. Randy Bass working with the Educational Leadership faculty, Dean Toth, and Dean Clark has proposed a revised slate of courses for the Master of Education degree with a Higher Education option. Proposed degree requirements, course descriptions, and rationale follow:
Degree Requirements
Core
PSYC (TBA) 3 hrs
RSCH 7100 Research Methodology in Education 3 hrs
BVED 5400 Computer Technology for the Workplace
OR
BVED 7400 Applied Computer Technology 3 hrs
9 hrs
Academic Concentration
LEAD 7800 Organization, Finance, and Budgeting in Higher Education 6 hrs
LEAD 7810 Students and Student Affairs in Administration in Higher Education 6 hrs
LEAD 7820 Teaching, Learning, and Academic Programs in Higher Education 3 hrs
LEAD 7830 Law and Policy in Higher Education 3 hrs
LEAD 7840 Assessment and Evaluation of Higher Education programs 3 hrs
21 hrs
Field Experiences
LEAD 7907 Internship in Higher Education Leadership 3 hrs
LEAD 7908 Advanced Internship in Higher Education 3 hrs
6 hrs
Total 36 hrs
Course Descriptions
LEAD 7800 Organization, Finance, and Budgeting in Higher Education (6)
A study of the unique organizational structure of American institutions of higher education, their sources of funding, and their budgeting processes. Particular emphasis will be placed on institutional culture and its effect on the character of the institution. Emerging issues and will be included and examined as required.
LEAD 7810 Students and Student Affairs Administration (6)
A study of the nature, culture, and development of the college student and the administration of student affairs programs. This course will include an examination of the design and evaluation of student affairs programs. Emerging trends and issues will be included and examined as necessary.
LEAD 7820 Teaching, Learning, and Academic programs in Higher Education (3)
A reflective examination of effective teaching strategies and curriculum in higher education. The role of administrative staff members in achieving curricular goals will be emphasized. Emerging trends and issues will be included as appropriate.
LEAD 7830 Law and Policy in Higher Education (3)
An examination of statute, case law and policy effecting the conduct of higher education. Policy establishment and change are included as are emerging trends and issues.
LEAD 7840 Assessment and Evaluation of Higher Education Programs (3)
A consideration of the various methods of assessing outcomes and evaluating programs in higher education. Trends and issues in assessment will be included and updated as necessary.
Rationale
All of the LEAD 78XX courses are new. The rationale behind the programmatic structure is that students in a master's program in higher education will not be going into faculty positions. They will be in positions where knowledge of organizational culture, finance, and budgeting will be needed. They will also be dealing with students and student programs. So both courses (LEAD 7800 and 7810) will be six hours each. This structure will allow these courses to be conducted in a workshop format with a more intense focus than a three hour course would allow. LEAD 7820 is appropriately a three hour course, because students usually will not be directly involved in academics. This course is designed to give them enough understanding of teaching and the academic program so that they can support academics as the student learning imperative dictates. LEAD 7830 will acquaint students with the legal climate of higher education and prepare them to avoid the legal pitfalls that can quickly consume the unprepared. It is also essential that students grasp the importance of policy and the proper ways to effect policy change if they are to be successful as higher education administrators. Finally, LEAD 7840 is intended to prepare students to handle the ever-increasing demands for evaluation of the programs in which they work.
Technology will be integrated into all of these courses as it can be appropriately applied. Students will be required to use word processing programs, spreadsheets, data bases, and statistics packages. Other software may be used by students in internship settings. It is essential that students who will work in higher education are able to work with the diversity of cultures found in today's society. Multicultural issues will be a major component in LEAD 7810 and will be included in all courses as appropriate. Oral and written communications will be an emphasis throughout the program. The historical and philosophical context of higher educati6n will be a part of all courses. Major issues in each area will be included in the appropriate courses. New issues that appear will be added. In this way, students will receive a foundation in the basic issues of higher education and become acquainted with new issues in the field.
LEAD 7907 and 7908 were originally coupled with LEAD 7909 as 3 internships of 2 hours apiece. These internships can be better handled as two three-hour courses offered consecutively in the fall and spring The original plan would have required teaching one of these in the summer. Considering the down time experienced in many areas of higher education in the summer, arranging these internships could have been a problem. Student difficulty in arranging summer work schedules to complete these internships was also a factor in the change.
RECOMMENDATION: That the Executive Committee approve the revised Master’s program as described.
Respectfully, Gerald R. Siegrist