Coursework

The alternative format used by the Executive degree meets all the expectations of a fully rigorous higher education administration program, including the credit hour and degree requirements stipulated by the College of Education and the Graduate School. Students in this program will engage in six core areas of knowledge essential to higher education administration: 1) theoretical foundations of higher education administration; 2) research in higher education administration; 3) administrative issues; 4) student issues; 5) teaching and curricular issues; and 6) and problem solving in professional practice.

To accomplish the coursework, students meet for an intensive week of study in the first summer semester of their program, followed by monthly Thursday (evening), Friday (all day), and Saturday (all day) sessions throughout the academic year. The pattern is repeated the following year. The 2006-2007 schedule and a typical course rotation can be viewed by following the respective link: schedule and rotation.

Course Listing

AHE 510: The American Community College. An overview of the development, format, issues, and purposes of the contemporary community and junior college.

AHE 530: Law in Higher Education. Investigates and explicates the structure and background of law and equity in higher education, with emphasis on how statutory law, administrative law, and case law respond to and affect faculty, students, administrators, and trustees. Constitutional law, contracts, torts, the law of private associations, civil rights statutes, executive orders, injunctions, specific performance, corporate and partnership law, law of agency, and laws on liability are studied as they apply to higher education.

AHE 540: Organization and Administration of Higher Education. Overview of the organization, administrative roles and positions, administrative process, and administrator relationships within various institutions of higher learning.

AHE 570: Higher Education Policy and Finance. This course will introduce students to the essential elements of higher education policy and finance. Students will examine the main financing options for colleges and universities; college costs and pricing; financial aid policy, and emerging policy issues.

AHE 600: College Student Development Theory I. Introduction to the theoretical basis for the delivery of services through organizational student development, and a study of the research basis for student development.

AHE 601: Professional Seminar in Higher Education. This course is designed for students newly admitted to the doctoral program in higher education administration. As such, the seminar concentrates on issues and concerns that arise as part of the doctoral experience. Course activities and experiences may vary according to the professional experience and academic background of course participants.

AHE 602: Problems in Higher Education. A seminar examining the current issues and trends related to higher education.

AHE 603: College & University Teaching. An intensive study of the issues, policies, and principles associated with teaching in higher education. Topics include history and philosophy of college teaching, internal and external influences on instruction, faculty and students, instructional models and methods, documenting and assessing teaching, and instructional improvement.

AHE 642: Institutional Research and Assessment in Higher Education. An overview of the institutional research and analysis techniques utilized in contemporary higher education. The course is configured for those with an interest in conducting institutional research and/or working in offices of institutional research on the campus, system, and/or state level.

AHE 643: Grant Writing and Contract Management. Prerequisite: AHE 630 or permission of the instructor. An introduction to the legal principles of contracts and grants in higher education, including how to identify funding sources, make the proposal, and manage the project. Statutory, administrative, and case law will be studied as they relate to making the proposal and managing the project.

AHE 644: Academic Program Development and Evaluation in Higher Education. Design and management of academic programs; study of institutional structures for academic affairs; practice in program review for instructional improvement; and overview of graduate programs (general and liberal education, as well as occupational and professional education).

AHE 699: Dissertation Research. Directed dissertation research in the field of higher education. Enrollment is subject to program regulations and permission of the student's dissertation committee chairperson. Also offered in summer school.

BEF 653: History of American Higher Education. A critical interpretation of the institutional development of American higher education and its cultural and intellectual roots.

BEF 654: Philosophy and American Higher Education. An analysis of the language, concepts, and value judgments embedded in higher education policy issues.

BEF 667: Multicultural and Social Education for Leadership Personnel. An advanced inquiry into contemporary social and cultural dimensions of education and their relationships to leadership. Includes issues of diversity, gender, ethnicity, pluralism, and equality.

BEF 681: Ethics and Education. An exploration and examination of traditional and contemporary ethical issues confronting educational leaders, managers, and teachers at all levels of the educational process. Emphasis on an interdisciplinary approach to foundations in ethical theory and establishing a conceptual framework for the resolution of moral and ethical questions prevalent across the education spectrum.