School of Education and Urban Studies

Ph.D./ Ed.D IN HIGHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS

Required Core of Professional Courses (All courses are new)

RDHE 701: Pro-Seminar in Higher Education-This course is designed to provide a forum for the discussion of range of topics related to research, development, policy analysis, organization, administration, and management of higher education. This course, offered exclusively to students in the Ph.D. in Higher Education Program, examines the core values, structures, processes, language, and stakeholders in American higher education. Considerable emphasis is placed on the examination of the modes of inquiry and the nature of research, especially to assist the student in making an early selection of topics for the Research Practicum and the Dissertation.

RDHE 702: Historical Foundations of Higher Education (3 credits)-This course is designed to provide students with an overview of the development of American higher education from the colonial period to the present, thus equipping students to understand the origin of contemporary practices and dilemmas. Special emphasis also on the contributions of African-Americans and other minority groups to the development of higher education in America.

RDHE 706: Technological Applications in Higher Education (3 credits)-This course is designed to develop and enhance the skills of students in making academic and administrative applications of technology to higher education practice, policy development, and research requirements. Specific emphasis will be placed on the use of software packages developed for the social sciences and education, as well as the utilization of electronic databases. Students will be expected to demonstrate their competency in applying appropriate computer applications to academic assignments and research projects.

RDHE 704: Higher Education Policy Analysis (3 credits)-This course is designed to strengthen the capacity of students to use statistical analysis and other modes of inquiry to analyze and interpret higher education data in the development and review of higher education policies. The course will also give attention to the major theories of evaluation in educational policy through the use of the case study method.

RDHE 705: Quality Assurance and Accountability in Higher Education (3 credits)-This course, a unique requirement among other Ph.D. in Higher Education preparation programs in the United States, provides through a modified Web-based format an overview of the practices and modalities in higher education related to quality assurance and accountability. It acquaints students as well with common used definitions of quality assurance, and it provides an in-depth review of best practices in accreditation, assessment (student achievement and institutional effectiveness), including such topics as TQM, CQI, and Benchmarking.

RDHE 703: Diversity and Multiculturalism in Higher Education (3 credits)-This course is designed to improve the student's understanding and working knowledge of diversity and multiculturalism as quality enhancers in higher education. It focuses particularly on best practices and utilizes case studies and the Internet as a means of providing useful applications of concepts presented and examined. Increased global awareness and the development of effective intercultural skills are also expected outcomes of the course.

TOP

Other Courses Required for Graduation

RDHE 899: Research Practicum in Higher Education (1-3 credits)-Before being admitted to candidacy and undertaking their dissertation projects, students must demonstrate their ability to design and conduct research. Generally this will involve participation in a published or refereed article that is presented at professional conferences such as AAHE, AERA, ASHE, AIR, and the like. The Practicum may also be a cooperative or collaborative research project conducted either with a member of the faculty or with a student or faculty member(s) from another institution. The Research Practicum (i.e., Field Research Project) provides an opportunity to directly experience the research process prior to the dissertation and a change to gain entrance to professional networks that are important to the students' career advancement. Alternatively, students can submit single authored higher education-related research that they completed prior to admission for faculty review and a waiver of the Research Practicum (Field Research Project) may be given based on this review.

RDHE 997: Dissertation Guidance (3 credits)

RDHE 998/999: Dissertation Project (12 credits required in 6 credit modules)-The Ph.D. Program in Higher Education requires a minimum of 12 credits for the completion of the dissertation project.

TOP

Other Elective Courses for the Ph.D. in Higher Education

RDHE 720: Contemporary Issues and Concepts in Higher Education (3 credits)-This course, usually but not always preceded by "Historical Foundations in Higher Education", is designed for the discussion and analysis of a wide range of current issues and concepts in higher education. The course will rely on significant use of the Internet and World Wide Web for both written assignments and in class discussions. Students must be acquainted with current journals (including e.journals) dealing with topics in higher education.

RDHE 722: Organizational Theory and Administration/Management in Higher Education (3 credits)-This course examines organizational theory, structures, systems, and administrative procedures in a variety of higher education institutions. Some patterns of governance and policy development will also be addressed. However, the student who needs a more in-depth treatment of governance should take "Governance and Coordination in Higher Education, especially if he or she already has strong competencies in organizational theory and extensive experience in the administration and management of higher education. The course will involve the use of case studies for the application of theory to practice.

RDHE 733: Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment in Higher Education (3 credits)-This course--to be taken especially by those who plan to be curriculum developers and academic affairs specialists in higher education-- will devote significant attention to academic and curricular planning, selecting and utilizing instructional strategies. It will also provide an overview of the assessment of student learning outcomes in higher education. A significant portion of the course will be developed around the use of the Internet, especially to take advantage of the wealth of information regarding best curriculum practices in colleges and universities. Required also will be the development of either a proposal for a new curriculum or the critique of an existing curriculum in a higher education institution.

RDHE 725: The American College Student (3 credits)-This course is designed specifically for those persons who have had limited experience in higher education institutions. As such, it covers a range of topics related to the American college student, such as demographic and background characteristics; values, attitudes and perspectives. It also addresses the relationship between student profiles and relevant services that should be provided to students. Class discussions, reading assignments, Internet research, and written projects will address topics such as access, persistence and success.

RDHE 735: Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education (3 credits)-This course is designed especially for the student who desires to concentrate on this particular area for administrative and research interest. It is also designed to enhance the student's understanding of basic student development theory as applied to various models for administering student services in colleges and universities. Some focus is also directed toward contemporary issues in the management and maintenance of student affairs programs in higher education, including the examination of research in student affairs administration.

RDHE 727: Legal Aspects of Higher Education (3 credits)-This course involves the analysis of legal issues related to higher education and includes an examination of major court decisions. It covers the legal structure of higher education, as well as topics related to religion, academic freedom, employment law, due process, free speech and freedom of expression, search and seizure, desegregation, tort liability, and intellectual property/copyright, among others. The case method is used primarily, with considerable reliance on the Internet.

RDHE 736: Finance and Budgeting in Higher Education (3 credits)-This course, providing a theoretical base for the use of funds for education, addresses topics such as tuition and fees, state methods of financing, financial planning, cost benefit analysis, university budgeting procedures, the federal role, and capital outlay.

RDHE 731: Governance and Coordination in Higher Education (3 credits)-This course is designed to enhance the student's understanding and working knowledge of organizational structure and the basic principles of coordination and control of higher education at the local, state and regional levels. Principles of leadership expressed through controlling and coordinating boards: role of boards and staff in planning, development and operation. Limited focus on state approval, and regional/national accrediting bodies. Students desiring to have more advanced competencies in the latter should consider taking "Quality Assurance and Accountability in Higher Education".

RDHE 738: Institutional Research and Planning in Higher Education (3 credits)-This course provides an overview of the nature and scope of policy research at the institutional and state level, as well as an overview of the various approaches to strategic planning in American colleges and universities. The course also addresses the corollary requirement for data and information system to support planning processes and the policy research agenda of colleges and universities. Registration in this course requires competencies in the basic modes of inquiry, particularly statistical analysis.

RDHE 744: Politics of Higher and Postsecondary Education (3 credits)-This course, through a case study and web-based approach, enhances the student's understanding of the role of politics in colleges and universities. It addresses the issues of pressure groups, political tactics and strategies in academic and administrative decision-making, the relationship of governing boards to other higher education constituencies, and the general political terrain that affects the planning, administration and development of higher education.

TOP

Recommended Research Courses

Basic Courses (Not counted in 18-hour requirement):

RDHE 609: Introduction to Quantitative Methods (3 credits)-Topics in statistical analysis, measurement, and research design. Also addressed are topics such as exploratory data analysis, estimation theory, and statistical inference. Use of computers for data analysis.

RDHE 619: Introduction to Qualitative Methods (3 credits)-Terminology, historical development, approaches (including ethnography, ethnographic methodology, critical theory, grounded theory, and hermeneutics), and qualitative versus quantitative social sciences; methods of inquiry.

Advanced Courses in Quantitative and Qualitative Methods:

Note: The following research methodology courses will offered only as enrollments dictate, but can be substituted for similar advanced courses in other graduate departments of the University.

RDHE 609: Introduction to Measurement in Higher Education (3 credits)-Nature and types of educational measures. Critiquing and selecting appropriate measuring devices. Constructing measuring devices. Social controversies about the use of tests in higher education. The course will involve lecture, group work, case studies, and Internet research.

RDHE 619: Quantitative Data Analysis in Education I (3 credits)-Continued treatment of statistical estimation, testing, and research synthesis. Inferential techniques including ANOVA and multiple regression with computers. Course will involve both lecture and laboratory. Prerequisite: Basic competencies in statistical analysis.

RDHE 719: Quantitative Data Analysis in Education II (3 credits)-Advanced issues in applied multiple regression and ANOVA and an introduction to ANCOVA. Use of computers for data analysis. Course will involve both lecture and laboratory. Prerequisite: Quantitative Data Analysis in Education I or demonstrated competence at entry.

RDHE 738: Data Processing Techniques in Measurement and Research (3 credits)-Use of statistical packages for data analysis. Emphases on data management, date structures, and related statistical procedures. Course will involve both lecture and laboratory. Prerequisite: Demonstrated competency in statistical analysis at the advanced level.

RDHE 818: Advanced Qualitative Research Methods in Higher Education (3 credits)-Focuses on the underlying philosophy and epistemology of qualitative approaches, types of approaches (i.e., phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography), specific data collection methods (interviewing, text analysis, observation), and issues of rigor. Prerequisite: Demonstrated competency in basic qualitative approaches.

RDHE 829: Advanced Qualitative Research Field Research (3 credits)-This primarily experiential course will focus on how to conduct fieldwork and to write reports on qualitative research. Central topics include framing a study, collecting data, considering ethical and political issues, analyzing and interpreting data, and writing for particular purposes. Students are expected to conduct one of the following types of qualitative study: a micro ethnography, a life history, a case study, or an action research project.

RDHE 628: Applied Social Research (3 credits)-Focuses on skills necessary for social research in general and survey research in particular. These include, but are not limited to, Conceptual Design of a Research Project, Constructing Operational Definitions, Sampling Logic, Instrument Design and Development, Collection and Coding of Data, Computer Aided Analysis of the Data, and Writing the Research Report.

Optional Modular/Signature (Omnibus) Courses:

RDHE 691/791/891: Selected Topics in Higher Education Seminars (1 Credit Each: Maximum of 6 Credits may be taken depending upon student need). These one-credit seminars involve specialty topics designed to enhance the knowledge, skills and abilities of particular doctoral students in response to the results of required diagnostic assessment at entry. The rationale for offering of "signature" or "thematic" courses to enhance a student's competencies and outcomes is that duplication will be minimized and the extra time can be used to strengthen other professional competencies and research skills of those matriculating in the program. [Note: Similar courses may also be offered with the prefix "EDHE."

TOP