Graduate Program in Education

Contents: Introduction, Statement of Purpose, Institutional Memberships, Related University Services, Belief and Values Underlying the Master of Education Program in Classroom Teaching, The Organization, Course Load, Graduate Advisor, Transfer of Credit, Sufficient Progress, Appeal for Change of Grade, Time Limit, Second Masters Degree, Academic Standards, Research Project Procedures

Introduction

Education has contributed to sustaining our democratic form of government and in providing individual opportunity and social mobility. Recognizing the need for an educated citizenry, Thomas Jefferson wrote: "No other sure foundation can be devised for the preservation of freedom and happiness." Throughout our history as a nation, the interdependence of school and society has been continually reaffirmed. In recent years, numerous reports, study groups and commissions have called for changes in teacher education programs. Urbana University recognizes the need for these changes and will engage in, support, and reinforce efforts to improve teacher education programs for prospective, as well as veteran teachers seeking to update their knowledge and skills.

The assumptions of the graduate teacher education program at Urbana University are:

• Teaching is a complex human endeavor guided by knowledge that is both scientific and artistic. Utilizing a knowledge base acquired through study, research, and practice, teachers continually make complex decisions about the curriculum, students, and instruction. Teachers must be able to determine what knowledge is of most worth to young people of different ages and how that knowledge is best taught and mastered.
  
• Professional educators must understand educational and social issues that confront today's schools and be able to communicate these to parents and interested citizens. Teachers are professionals and not merely technicians following directions in a teaching manual. Teachers play an extremely important role in the development and evaluation of curriculum.
  
• Teacher education is a continuing process of career development and refinement which is a shared responsibility of school districts, higher education, professional organizations, and the state. Efforts should continue to develop a systematic approach to evaluation, feedback support, and career development opportunities for new and veteran classroom teachers.
  
• The dialogue and commitment between the university and schools must be significantly strengthened and maintained. A closer working relation ship is essential for the development and evaluation of effective teacher education programs as well as school programs. Teachers and school administrators have a right to expect support from and access to an organized educational framework providing structure for the systematic study of a body of knowledge.
  
• Community resources must be explored, developed, and used to effectively supplement and enrich the teacher's role in fulfilling professional responsibilities. While there may be developed alternative educational programs, the school will continue to be the focal point of education in our society.

It is the desire of the trustees, administration and faculty of Urbana University, that the Master of Education program be successful and valuable to graduate students who enroll and to their school community where they fulfill their professional responsibilities.

Urbana University has pledged its resources and efforts to make available professional services and leadership of the highest quality to teachers and other school personnel. Area schools and personnel are invited to join with Urbana University in a commitment to excellence in our teacher education and school programs.

Urbana University is committed to offering students the opportunity to:

1. Seek self-realization in accordance with their capacities.

2. Develop effective vocational and professional competencies.

3. Prepare for responsible participation as members of local, regional,
national, and international communities.

Recognizing its obligations to the region it serves, the University seeks to serve by:

1. Cultivating within and beyond the University those qualities needed by an educated citizenry to meet the challenges and responsibilities of societal living.

2. Providing its students with useful knowledge and skills for careers leading to effective service in our society.

3. By increased involvement of faculty and students in the life of the community as sponsors of clinics, workshops, and in-service training; as active participants in community programs as professional consultants.

4. Sharing instructional and cultural benefits offered on an off the campus by its own staff and visiting scholars and artists.

Statement of Purpose

Urbana University seeks to provide quality educational opportunities to the residents of the area that it serves. In an effort to meet the needs and demands of a changing population and economic structure, the University has found it necessary to adjust its programs, plans, and objectives as a result of collective studies by the administration and faculty. The best measure of the University's efforts through its years of service to west-central Ohio may be found in the growth and stability of the University has experienced and experiences today. The Urbana University Board of Trustees, administration, and faculty envision the graduate program as a means of continuing to meet the needs of the population it serves. It will:

1. Provide students in west-central Ohio with an opportunity to seek a Master of Education degree in Classroom Teaching at a private institution.

2. Make maximum use of University staff members in their fields of expertise.

3. Broaden the base in terms of people served.

4. Improve utilization of present facilities.

5. Improve program offerings with a manageable outlay of funds.

6. Have a positive impact on the public school network in the service area by educating quality teachers for leadership roles in improving instruction.

7. Allow the University to meet expressed local educational needs.

8. Provide for growth of the University with minor changes or additions to the existing departments.

9. Provide a source of educational expertise for local schools in the area.

Institutional Memberships

Urbana University holds membership in the following:

• The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
  
• The Ohio Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
  
• The Ohio Association of Private Colleges for Teacher Education

Related University Services

Besides the regular day sessions, Urbana University conducts special, regular evening and summer sessions and offers short-term workshops, institutes, and conferences. All credited courses, whenever offered or in whatever form, conform to the same standards and are governed by the same policies and regulations prevailing during the regular day sessions.

Belief and Values Underlying the Master of Education Program in Classroom Teaching

The curriculum offered in the Master of Education in Classroom Teaching program is founded upon a set of beliefs and values about teaching and teacher education. These are:

1. Teachers should be liberally educated. Candidates should have achieved depth as well as breadth of preparation. Their program of studies should have addressed enduring themes and issues in the human experience and should lead them toward the cultivation of the person in a well-planned and coherent curriculum.

2. All candidates should have strong academic concentrations in a field or discipline.

3. All candidates should have a strong background in professional studies leading toward sound pedagogical reasoning and decision making.

4. An advanced teacher education curriculum includes an integrated, coherent, and rigorous program of courses, seminars, laboratories, and field experiences linked in a conceptual whole that is carefully planned and implemented by a faculty working in unison.

5. Laboratory, clinical, and field experiences are integral to learning how to analyze, interpret, and understand the complexities of teaching, but only if these experiences are examined and interpreted within a coherent program of courses and seminars.

6. Sound teacher preparation is seasoned by the wisdom of practice. It must be premised on substantive involvement of skilled practicing professionals.

7. Teacher preparation must reflect research on teaching and learning as well as professional ethics and practice.

8. Teaching is a collection of concepts and skills that develop and improve over time. It is a field about which increasingly more has come t<i be known through science and scholarship, necessitating continued study and professional development for teachers.

9. Teaching is an intense and complex activity requiring sophisticated
technical expertise, but it is also a deeply human act requiring continuing commitment to basic human values and the interests of students.

The current program has as its major goals the preparation of teachers who will be recognized for their knowledge, skills, and dedication lo excellence in classroom teaching.

The Organization

The Graduate Council

The Graduate Council is comprised of the director and faculty. The council is the graduate school's policy-making body, which acts for the graduate faculty and is charged by the Director of Graduate Education Programs.

The council's functions include developing university policies and procedures for graduate studies, recommending to the University President, Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Board of Trustees the approval of new graduate degrees and programs and establishing standards for the graduate faculty. The council regulates student admission, registration, academic requirements, and other procedures regarding graduate study. It provides the central planning required to promote programs of the highest quality and evaluates proposals for new graduate programs and major revisions of existing programs.

The Graduate Faculty

The graduate faculty, the body primarily responsible for the graduate study, is comprised of faculty members whose experience and records of scholarships qualify them to offer graduate-level instruction. The graduate faculty's purpose is to encourage and contribute to the advancement of knowledge through instruction and research of the highest quality. It is responsible for student academic advising and supervision of student research and graduate assistants. Emphasis is placed on the totality of a graduate faculty member's instructional, advising, and professional responsibilities, as well as explicit scholarship criteria.

Course Load

Full-time status at the graduate level at Urbana University is defined as a minimum of 9 hours. Students must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 hours to be considered half-time.

Graduate Advisor

Each graduate degree student will be assigned an advisor upon admission to the program. The student is required to consult with the advisor to plan the program of study during the first semester of graduate study and to review the procedure for admission to candidacy.

Transfer of Credit

A maximum of nine (9) semester hours can be transferred. A maximum of six (6) semester hours can be transferred if they are in a workshop format. All transferred hours must be at the Graduate Level, from an accredited university/college and approved by the Director of Graduate Programs. (Special Note: Students who do not complete EDG 600 in the semester they are registered must register and pay for one (1) hour the subsequent semester(s).)

Sufficient Progress

Students are expected to maintain sufficient progress toward a degree. At various intervals, usually at each registration period, and especially at midpoint in the program, the advisor or program director will discuss rate of progress with the student. Students not showing promise of completing the program in a reasonable time may be advised to withdraw from the University.

Appeal for Change of Grade

Any appeal for change of grade for a particular course should be directed to the Director of Graduate Education Programs.

Time Limit

All requirements for a master's degree must be satisfied within seven (7) calendar years from the time of first matriculation.

Second Masters Degree

In some cases a student, either possessing a master's degree or currently studying toward one, may wish to obtain an additional master's degree in a related field. Only nine (9) semester hours from the first program may be applied toward the requirements of the additional degree.

Academic Standards

To be in good standing, a graduate student must have a 3.00 quality point average at all times. Grades are expressed on the student's permanent record in the following manner:

• A   Excellent: 4 quality points are assigned for each semester or quarter hour
  
• B   Average: 3 quality points are assigned for each semester or quarter hour
  
• C   Poor: 2 quality points are assigned for each semester or quarter hour
  
• F   Failed: 0 quality points are assigned for each semester or quarter hour
  
• I    Incomplete: To be used when a course has terminated, but the student for an acceptable reason, has not completed the work of the course. The 'I' has 0 quality points per hour and does not affect the cumulative point average. It can be changed to a letter grade if the student has completed the work by the eighth week of the ensuing semester.
  
• W  Withdrawal: Any withdrawal or change of course must be processed by an official Drop/Add form through the Registrar's Office, with the approval of the graduate student's advisor. During the first five days of a full term (or three calendar days of a split term) a graduate student may drop a class without record. Financial adjustments, if allowed, will be made only from the date of notification of withdrawal,
  
• AU  Audit: This mark indicates that the graduate student has registered to audit the course. No credit hours or quality points are awarded for this mark. Note: Any course taken for audit may not be retaken for credit.

Research Project Procedures

Students will do a research project in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the master's degree. The project will include the following:

1. Complete EDG 600.

2. Prepare a preliminary project proposal following the college outline for proposals. This proposal is to be developed with the assistance of the faculty advisor.

3. Establish a project committee. The student's capstone advisor is one member of the committee. The remainder of the committee may include persons in the College of Education or other disciplines and should be chosen as resource persons relative to the research. The function of the committee is to facilitate the student's progress toward completing the proposal, conducting the study, and preparing the final report. Further, the committee serves as the primary source of listening to the student's oral presentation.

4. Upon completion of the presentation, submit three copies of the final project to the director.

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