Student Affairs & Advising Coursework
596: Capstone - Individual Studies
The M.Ed. capstone course provides an opportunity for students to fully develop and showcase their competency in the M.Ed. program learning outcomes centered on professional skills, written and oral communication, and reflective practice. The capstone experience a variety of assessment points: a scholarly/professional paper, the student’s learning ePortfolio, oral presentations, a focused look at ethics and ethical decision-making, and other professional skills. In this course, you will be working on your scholarly paper, through cycles of writing and a peer review process. You will also have other assignments that delve deeper into ethics, interview and professional techniques, and, finally, reflections on your learning. These reflective writings include a philosophy statement(s) and summarizing the student’s lessons learned and enduring understandings related to the program learning outcomes of the M.Ed. program. Students will present their ePortfolio highlights in a final oral presentation and an "elevator pitch" of their knowledge, skills, and abilities.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. how to give and receive critique on writing,
2. how to write a document that can serve as an academic piece of writing that you can consider submitting for publication,
3. more about how to engage in ethical research,
4. how to use what you have learned in courses and on the job to answer key interview questions,
5. how to adapt your resume and cover letter to an alternative career area in Higher Education, and
6. finally, your self-efficacy, that is, your “belief in your ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish a
task,” should be reinforced.
Capstone Paper: Analysis of International Student Engagement
Leadership Analysis: JCU Eliminates Tenure
842: Administrative Leadership
The purpose of HIED 842: Administration in Higher Education is to give you a high-level understanding of how colleges and
universities are structured and function. You will be introduced to university organizational charts, reporting and authority lines, leadership and decision-making. We will discuss the importance of both internal and external constituents for administrators in higher education. Finally, the course ends with lessons on organizational change and what factors can impede or support sustained organizational change.
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
1. identify important forces and dynamics that are present within colleges and universities and account for them when
planning and acting;
2. more thoughtfully lead an individual unit and conduct meetings, projects, and other activities effectively;
3. engage multiple constituencies within higher education institutions skillfully; and
4. institute change within higher education institutions.
846: College Students and Their Success
Numerous scholars, over many years, have explored a wide array of topics about college students—their preparation for college, their generalized and particularized characteristics, their behaviors in college, their attitudes about social issues, their relative success in achieving learning outcomes, their engagement (or lack thereof) with various components of the collegiate learning experience, their persistence, and the list goes on and on. This course probes a few of the many relevant avenues of inquiry that comprise ongoing efforts to study college students. More specifically, we will utilize Alexander Astin’s Inputs-Environments-Outcomes (IEO) model (1991) as a useful way to organize an analysis of college students, perhaps with slightly more emphasis placed on the Inputs component of Astin’s model. To the extent that the work of the learning leaders of colleges and universities—both curricular and co-curricular professionals—may be strengthened insofar as they understand various characteristics of college students and the educational environments that may contribute to their progress towards hoped-for outcomes, this course and all that it may spawn is a useful resource worthy of significant and thoughtful investment.
My hope is that students who complete this course will have made progress towards:
1. Appreciating the scope and complexity of the study of college students, including an ongoing curiosity to understand more;
2. Articulating “general” descriptions of contemporary American college students while, at the same time, understanding the limitations of such “generalizations” and the importance of considering subpopulations of students in various ways;
3. Developing a working IEO-type model that accounts for nuances among college students, learning environments, and educational outcomes;
4. Understanding a specific student subpopulation including particular considerations that may enhance the educational experience for this subpopulation; and,
5. Making stronger connections between research and practice in higher education/student affairs.
- Ivory Tower Film Response
- From the Horses' Mouths: Interviews with Today's "Typical" College Student
- Levine and Dean Query and Respond - Writing Assignment
- Interview with Today's "Typical" College Student #2
- Understanding Theory - An Application Exercise
- Exploring a Particular Student Subpopulation More Thoroughly
- Student Subpopulations a la Quaye and Harper
- Synchronous Session - Subpopulations
- Interview with Today's "Typical" College Student #3
- Lesson 7 Synchronous Session
- The Third Book Presentation
- Constructing Your Own IEO Model
Written Assignments
807: Academic Advising
As a critical part of any quality undergraduate education, academic advising is a complex role that fundamentally shapes the educational experiences of students. Though the boundaries of academic advising are established by individual institutions, the profession has a number of essential components that require deliberate thought and development. This course will examine these core components and provide a venue for students of higher education to consider the growth of professional academic advising in modern universities. Similarly, this course will allow students to discuss how the changing landscape of higher education poses challenges to academic advisers as they become responsible for an ever-broadening range of duties within individual institutions. This class will explore these challenges and provide individual students the opportunity to develop an understanding of professional standards for academic advising while cultivating a deeper appreciation of the critical role that academic advisers play in engaging students in meaningful conversations about the value of higher education.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Explain the development of professional academic advising within higher education.
2. Explain different ideas about student development as it relates to academic planning.
3. Identify the range of issues and challenges facing undergraduates at university today.
4. Demonstrate essential advising skills including building rapport, questioning, documenting, and analyzing situations.
5. Analyze different student scenarios and provide reasonable pathways for students to move forward.
6. Articulate a personal philosophy of academic advising that incorporates the challenges and opportunities that higher education presents students today.
7. Construct an advising syllabus that reflects a comprehensive understanding of the growth of students as they progress through their undergraduate career.
545: Foundations in Higher Education and Student Affairs
HI ED 545: Higher Education and Student Affairs in the United States is an introduction to the educational context and major organizational and academic characteristics of higher education, including an analysis of current issues and future trends. The course provides an overview of the basic structures, functions, participants, constituencies, tensions, and challenges facing higher education and student affairs in the United States.
Four reoccurring themes will occur in this course: history, diversity of students, variation of institutions, and stratification, which will provide you with continuity. In addition, the course has been divided into three major modules: the organizations that exist within the higher education system, issues related to faculty, and the student experience.
Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to do the following:
1. Analyze, identify, and articulate the driving factors behind current trends/issues in higher education.
2. Look for and evaluate available written or verbal information regarding higher education for validity, impact on the field, and usefulness for personal growth and development.
Meredith College: Institutional Snapshot
806: Teaching and Learning
“The more that teachers know about themselves—the private curriculum within—the more their personal decisions are apt to
be about how to pave the way for better teaching“ (Hamachek, 1999.)
In this class, you will be able to discuss, reflect, and receive feedback on what is currently known about good college
teaching. You will question your assumptions, gather evidence to support your views and through reflection, be able to do
your own meaning-making.
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
1. Discuss and analyze college teaching issues.
2. Review evidence-based teaching practices in your discipline and question actual applications of such practices.
3. Practice teaching via microteaches.
4. Actively reflect on course activities and topics.
808: Professional Seminar
Learners will be actively engaged in developing skills needed for success as a graduate student and as a professional in higher education or a related field. The goal of this course is to prepare students for success as graduate students in the study of Higher Education and for students to develop a career plan for self-direction and lifelong learning.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Define Higher Education as a field of study and professional practice;
2. Demonstrate graduate-level academic skills in critical thinking, critical reading, research, scholarly writing, self reflection and professional communication through a variety of assignments including short essays, article critiques, the development of a learning e-portfolio with a reflective learning journal/blog;
3. Demonstrate professional skills and competencies such as:
personal and group productivity: managing projects and meetings effectively;
acting responsibly and managing time effectively to meet assignment deadlines to become a more self-directed learner;
reflective practice in a higher education context;
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4. Navigate the hiring process at institutions of higher education;
5. Plan for careers, professional development and lifelong learning, including specific skills related to resume writing, interviewing and working with mentors.