Proposal for New Emphasis Area (Attachment to Form 1)
MSE-PD Emphasis Area in “Higher Education Leadership”
Catalog Description
This emphasis is for students that want to become future leaders in higher education and
seek a master’s degree.
Student Learning Objectives
For students interested in pursuing the Higher Education Leadership Emphasis, with a
focus on student affairs—objectives for student learning are provided by the American
College Personnel Association (ACPA) and National Association of Student Personnel
Administrators (NASPA) Professional Competency Areas for Student Affairs Practitioners
(2010). Students will acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes required for work in student
affairs including an understanding of the workings of higher education, student
development, and enhancement of student learning.
Note: Learning objectives for other focus areas within the emphasis area will be developed
as the program expands.
List of Courses
The courses with an asterisk (*) have been developed and will be made available as
workshops until an emphasis-area-relevant course prefix (HELEAD) has been approved
and “new” course proposals are reviewed and approved.
Required (all courses listed are three units):
*Introduction to Higher Education and Student Affairs—This course provides students
with a brief history of higher education as an “industry” that is quickly moving from the
colonial colleges to present-day colleges and universities. Moreover, this course helps
students to understand the history and philosophy of student affairs and its role in the
educational mission of higher education.
Four of the following courses:
*Legal Issues in Higher Education—The primary goal of this course is to provide students
with a basic understanding of the American legal system so that they can identify the
history and sources of law, read and interpret laws and relevant cases, understand how the
court systems work, and limit personal and institutional liability. Emphasis will be placed
on issues and laws likely to be encountered by higher-education practitioners.
*College Student Development: Theory, Assessment, and Application—This course helps
students to understand various theories related to growth and development during the
college years: learning and meaning making, identity development, moral development,
and psycho-social development. Equally important, students will discover the implications
these theories have for the design of educational practice on the college campus.”
*Intercultural Learning and Development in Student Affairs—This course emphasizes
personal awareness, knowledge, and skills necessary for ongoing development of a
personal intercultural framework for student affairs practice. Theories related to domestic
and international dimensions of diversity, interactional diversity and the dynamics of
power, privilege and oppression will be explored in university contexts. This course will
examine challenges and opportunities for creating inclusive and affirming campus
communities.
*Organization and Governance in Higher Education—Colleges and universities have an
important societal role now and have had for many centuries. It is important that those
who wish to pursue careers in higher educational administration understand and
appreciate the traditions, goals, mission and organization of that structure. The goal of this
course is to introduce students to college and university administration, to encourage
analysis of segments within these institutions and to gain an appreciation of the role
various elements play within these complex organizations. The outcome should be that the
student would be cognizant of the myriad issues involved within the administration of
colleges and universities. (Note this class is currently offered as a special topics course—
CIGENRL-710.)
EDADMIN 793 Practicum (Higher Education)
CIGENRL 798 Independent Study
Electives (3 units):
Additional HELEAD or EDADMIN course to be selected in consultation with advisor
These courses have been created based on acceptable standards developed jointly by the
National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) and the American
College Personnel Association (ACPA). There is no particular order to these courses;
however, it is expected that students take Introduction to Higher Education and Student
Affairs early in their program. As part of the MSE-PD degree, students will be able to
concentrate their program on six three credit higher educational leadership courses as well
as the required 12 credits of core course work for the degree total of 30 credits. There is an
increasing need as well as a desire on the part of students to obtain a degree with a focus
on higher education leadership as they are interested in seeking employment at higher
education institutions.
Assessment Plan
See attached Council for Advancement of Standards in Higher Education document.
Resources Needed
Two courses will be offered each semester including summer. Instructors are available and
will teach the proposed courses. For initial course offerings, current administrators (e.g.,
Tom Rios, Mary Beth Mackin, Brent Bilodeau, Elizabeth Watson, etc.) will teach the courses
as part of their regular assignment. Depending on enrollment levels, additional adjunct
faculty may need to be hired. Resources for advertising may be needed. Digital/library
materials can be acquired through Andersen Library. No additional library materials will
be needed.
Student Need/Demand
Over the last 3 years, the need and demand by students for graduate education in higher
educational leadership has increased. In their desire to take leadership courses, graduate
students working in student affairs at the post-secondary level have enrolled in the MSEPD Educational Leadership emphasis that essentially focuses on K-12 education leadership.
These courses have not specifically focused on higher education and do not address the
unique career needs of the students. When higher education courses were offered one
course each for two semesters), there was substantial interest and adequate enrollment to
justify consideration of a specific emphasis.
ACPA and NASPA have published joint recommendations for students’ professional
preparation and development. These organizations advocate for “masters level
preparation for entry- and mid-level student affairs positions” that “provides a broad
introduction and foundation to student affairs and its required attitudes, knowledge bases,
and skills … [and] an understanding of the higher education context, the characteristics,
needs, and developmental issues of students, and the role of their unit in enhancing student
learning” (ACPA/NASP, 2004, p. 25).
The goal of the program sponsors and instructors is to create an emphasis area that over
time continues to be responsive to the changing needs of students as well as the needs of
the workplace in this sector.
Relation of the program to other program (campus, System, region)
This higher education leadership emphasis fits into the current MSE-PD program. There
are few programs that address higher educational leadership in the state. There are
leadership programs available, but their focus is specifically on K-12 education leadership
and administration and not higher educational leadership. UW-Madison offers a PhD in
higher educational leadership. This program consistently has more interested students
than available slots (thus they turn students away).
Resources
This document is located at: http://tinyurl.com
Developed February 2012
Approved by COEPS CC April 2012
Minor Revisions on April 24, 2012 (After COEPS CC Meeting)