The MEd in Administration of Higher Education is a 12 course (36 credit) program that helps professionals develop the administrative and leadership skills needed for careers in post-secondary education and other educational settings.
The program is designed to provide competencies for those employed or seeking employment in an array of functional areas and offices, including academic advising, admissions, alumni affairs, development, college unions, athletics, career planning and placement, residence life, orientation, student activities, financial aid, international student services, multicultural affairs, offices of the registrar, and a host of other professional positions at colleges and universities and other higher education-related agencies and organizations.
A minimum of 36 credits is required for completion of the MEd in Higher Education Administration. Candidates may enroll in the program on either a full-time or part-time basis, and they should plan their program of study in consultation with their faculty advisor accordingly.
Students enrolled in the administration of higher education program are required to complete a practicum experience, which is designed to link theoretical issues in practice and in the classroom to problems and concerns encountered by students in a field setting. Students will select a field setting and gain practical hands-on work experience under the guidance of a master’s-level or higher site supervisor. The practicum experience consists of two consecutive 3-credit courses – Practicum I and Practicum II – taken over an academic year (one course per semester) combined with 300 total work hours in the field (150 per semester). Students typically spend 10 hours per week working at a local college or university in an academic or student affairs setting. Students formally apply for the practicum experience and consult with their advisor regarding field placement.
3.00
This course provides a broad overview of the American higher education landscape and serves as the primary vehicle for introducing students to the complex nature of college and university administration. The interplay between organizational characteristics, structures, and modes of governance will be explored as a means of elucidating the practical application of administrative theories in higher education.
Offered Fall Term
3.00
This course provides students with a practical, working understanding of the legal foundations that govern institutions of higher educations. Using the case study method, it examines legal problems facing college and university administrators including tort liability, rights of teachers and students, free speech issues, contracts, tenure, confidentiality of records, and legal aspects of hiring and discrimination. Students will learn the current state of the law and acquire appropriate skills and resources necessary to make sound decisions in their professional practice, utilizing their knowledge of student development theories and the practical application of law and policy in higher education. Some emphasis will be placed on those areas of significance to the student affairs professional.
Offered Fall Term
3.00
This course examines financial management and fiduciary practices internal to institutions of higher education. It provides an introduction to the sources of higher education funding, budgeting and disbursement, control mechanisms, and the role of finance in strategic planning. It also provides students with information they need to better understand and participate more effectively in the funding, budgeting, and revenue/expenditure processes in higher education. Students examine the role of strategic planning and resource allocation in public and private colleges/universities. Various topics, issues, and trends in the financial arena of higher education are also explored.
Offered Spring Term
3.00
This course provides the knowledge and skills necessary for locating sources of information and doing effective descriptive research in higher education. Students will design and execute field research on structures and problems of specific post-secondary institutions.
Offered Spring Term
Choose three of the following courses:
3.00
This course provides students with the opportunity to examine theoretical scholarship and empirical research on race, class, and gender in American higher education. The overall goal of this course is to assist future practitioners in the field in developing an ability to critically evaluate institutional and departmental approaches to diversity in higher education. Students will explore such issues as affirmative action, sexual harassment, access and financial aid practices, and the relationship of diversity to learning outcomes.
Offered Fall Term
3.00
This course will explore theories, rationales, and methods of student development in higher education, as well as the organization and administration of student personnel services. Students will explore the history of student affairs and develop an understanding of the various functional areas and competencies associated with student affairs work. In addition, students will become familiar with a variety of theorists who have shaped the profession and incorporate relevant theories into program planning and assessment.
Offered Fall Term
3.00
The course is an in-depth examination of post-secondary students at all levels utilizing available statistics and other resources to describe various campus cultures and explore student attitudes toward society in general and the post-secondary experience in particular. Focus is given to exploring trends and changes in the enrollment characteristics of college students and addressing the attitudes and values of campus sub groups and cultures. Consideration is given to methods of locating resources on students and to measuring the effect of post-secondary education.
Offered Spring Term
3.00
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to leadership characteristics and theories in higher education. The course examines various leadership styles endemic to the college and university environment, focusing on those relevant to the president, vice presidents, department chairs, deans, faculty, and students. Trait-factor, group, transformational, situational, and other theories of leadership are explored in the context of team-building, participatory decision-making, staff development, resource allocation, and future planning.
Offered Spring Term
3.00
In-depth research into and discussion of a range of pressing issues and problems such as affirmative action, executive compensation, international higher education and globalization, online/distance learning, for-profit higher education, and Internet issues. The goal of this course is to help students gain a general knowledge of some of the most salient higher education issues in the United States and develop skills to analyze and manage emerging issues they may encounter as professionals in the field.
Offered Spring Term
3.00
Examines the rationale, role, structure and function of public and private two-year institutions, with attention to the sociology of student populations, curricular and instructional trends, administrative problems, and future planning.
3.00
This course provides an opportunity for students to research a topic of special interest in higher education and write a related comprehensive research paper that integrates scholarly resources on the topic. The course enables students to gain research competence in a selected area of interest relative to the field of higher education.
Occasional
3.00
The purpose of this course is to provide students with an overview of college and university cultures in American higher education. Students will gain an understanding of the properties of campus culture, including norms of behavior, values, stories, physical artifacts, sagas, myths, symbols, and architecture, all of which guide and shape institutional behavior. In addition, students will examine the cultural norms of behavior of various institutional stakeholders - faculty, staff, students, and administrators - and develop an understanding of how campus culture affects each of these groups. In order to become more familiar with the ethos of institutional functioning and behavior, students will conduct a small-scale independent research project, employing qualitative research techniques, to investigate and analyze a particular campus subculture.
3.00
This course examines the process of human development across the lifespan. While it will focus primarily on psychological processes, the intersection with biological and social processes will be explored as well. The major psychological theories of cognitive, social and emotional development will be covered as will the foundations for individual differences. Special emphasis will be placed on topics of interest to people entering the counseling professions. Normally offered yearly.
3.00
Analysis of selected counseling theories representative of the field of counseling psychology. Theories will be selected from the following areas: Psychoanalytic, Psychosocial, Rational, Cognitive Behavioral/Learning Theory, Person-Centered, and Existential Theory. Treatment goals and techniques will be explored.
3.00
A survey of various theories of vocational choice and development, and strategies for the implementation of vocational counseling in the school, agency, or business/industrial setting. Concepts of work, vocational concerns of women and minorities and other major issues also investigated.
3.00
A study of the origin, contributing factors, and implications of drug and alcohol misuse. Various stages and manifestations of abuse/ dependence will be considered and current treatment modalities will be explored.
3.00
The anatomy, physiology and psychology of human sexual functioning are reviewed. Etiology, interpersonal dynamics, and treatment of sexual dysfunctions are reviewed.
3.00
A survey of problems and issues confronting cultural diversity. The study of ethnicity and sexual orientation as they influence the development of identity. Implications for counseling strategies. Normally offered yearly.
3.00
A study of the practical and theoretical aspects of counseling small groups. There will be provision for a laboratory experience in which students participate in a group and study the dynamics of behavior as this group develops. Group stages of development and leadership skills will also be examined. Normally offered yearly.
3.00
This course will discuss issues surrounding admission testing and financial aid practices, admission policies and procedures, diverse students (e.g., first generation, students with learning disabilities, traditionally underrepresented populations in higher education), and the technology tools used to facilitate the college search and application process (e.g., Naviance, ConnectEDU, the Common Application). School-based programs to promote early college awareness will also be discussed, and the perspective of both the high school and undergraduate admissions counselor will be considered. Normally offered yearly
3.00
The practicum experience provides for the practical application of administrative skills in an appropriate field placement under the guidance of a site supervisor at an institution of higher education. The experience helps students gain exposure to various fields of work, and it provides an opportunity for students to observe, experience, and understand employer/employee relationships within the higher education environment. Students will apply theories learned in the classroom to a wide array of professional projects. Students enrolled in the course will meet as a class to discuss practicum-related issues.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
3.00
This course provides a broad overview of the American higher education landscape and serves as the primary vehicle for introducing students to the complex nature of college and university administration. The interplay between organizational characteristics, structures, and modes of governance will be explored as a means of elucidating the practical application of administrative theories in higher education.
Offered Fall Term
3.00
This course provides students with a practical, working understanding of the legal foundations that govern institutions of higher educations. Using the case study method, it examines legal problems facing college and university administrators including tort liability, rights of teachers and students, free speech issues, contracts, tenure, confidentiality of records, and legal aspects of hiring and discrimination. Students will learn the current state of the law and acquire appropriate skills and resources necessary to make sound decisions in their professional practice, utilizing their knowledge of student development theories and the practical application of law and policy in higher education. Some emphasis will be placed on those areas of significance to the student affairs professional.
Offered Fall Term
3.00
Examines the rationale, role, structure and function of public and private two-year institutions, with attention to the sociology of student populations, curricular and instructional trends, administrative problems, and future planning.
3.00
This course examines financial management and fiduciary practices internal to institutions of higher education. It provides an introduction to the sources of higher education funding, budgeting and disbursement, control mechanisms, and the role of finance in strategic planning. It also provides students with information they need to better understand and participate more effectively in the funding, budgeting, and revenue/expenditure processes in higher education. Students examine the role of strategic planning and resource allocation in public and private colleges/universities. Various topics, issues, and trends in the financial arena of higher education are also explored.
Offered Spring Term
3.00
This course provides students with the opportunity to examine theoretical scholarship and empirical research on race, class, and gender in American higher education. The overall goal of this course is to assist future practitioners in the field in developing an ability to critically evaluate institutional and departmental approaches to diversity in higher education. Students will explore such issues as affirmative action, sexual harassment, access and financial aid practices, and the relationship of diversity to learning outcomes.
Offered Fall Term
3.00
This course will explore theories, rationales, and methods of student development in higher education, as well as the organization and administration of student personnel services. Students will explore the history of student affairs and develop an understanding of the various functional areas and competencies associated with student affairs work. In addition, students will become familiar with a variety of theorists who have shaped the profession and incorporate relevant theories into program planning and assessment.
Offered Fall Term
3.00
The course is an in-depth examination of post-secondary students at all levels utilizing available statistics and other resources to describe various campus cultures and explore student attitudes toward society in general and the post-secondary experience in particular. Focus is given to exploring trends and changes in the enrollment characteristics of college students and addressing the attitudes and values of campus sub groups and cultures. Consideration is given to methods of locating resources on students and to measuring the effect of post-secondary education.
Offered Spring Term
3.00
This course provides an opportunity for students to research a topic of special interest in higher education and write a related comprehensive research paper that integrates scholarly resources on the topic. The course enables students to gain research competence in a selected area of interest relative to the field of higher education.
Occasional
3.00
The purpose of this course is to provide students with an overview of college and university cultures in American higher education. Students will gain an understanding of the properties of campus culture, including norms of behavior, values, stories, physical artifacts, sagas, myths, symbols, and architecture, all of which guide and shape institutional behavior. In addition, students will examine the cultural norms of behavior of various institutional stakeholders - faculty, staff, students, and administrators - and develop an understanding of how campus culture affects each of these groups. In order to become more familiar with the ethos of institutional functioning and behavior, students will conduct a small-scale independent research project, employing qualitative research techniques, to investigate and analyze a particular campus subculture.
3.00
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to leadership characteristics and theories in higher education. The course examines various leadership styles endemic to the college and university environment, focusing on those relevant to the president, vice presidents, department chairs, deans, faculty, and students. Trait-factor, group, transformational, situational, and other theories of leadership are explored in the context of team-building, participatory decision-making, staff development, resource allocation, and future planning.
Offered Spring Term
3.00
The practicum experience provides for the practical application of administrative skills in an appropriate field placement under the guidance of a site supervisor at an institution of higher education. The experience helps students gain exposure to various fields of work, and it provides an opportunity for students to observe, experience, and understand employer/employee relationships within the higher education environment. Students will apply theories learned in the classroom to a wide array of professional projects. Students enrolled in the course will meet as a class to discuss practicum-related issues.
Offered Both Fall and Spring
3.00
In-depth research into and discussion of a range of pressing issues and problems such as affirmative action, executive compensation, international higher education and globalization, online/distance learning, for-profit higher education, and Internet issues. The goal of this course is to help students gain a general knowledge of some of the most salient higher education issues in the United States and develop skills to analyze and manage emerging issues they may encounter as professionals in the field.
Offered Spring Term
3.00
This course provides the knowledge and skills necessary for locating sources of information and doing effective descriptive research in higher education. Students will design and execute field research on structures and problems of specific post-secondary institutions.
Offered Spring Term
3.00
This course examines the development of institutions and practices of higher education from their medieval origins to the present, concentrating on the American experience and identifying key trends in theory, organizations curriculum, and sociology. Not offered on a regular basis.
