Doctor of Education: Educational Leadership

Program Requirements

TaskStream

Students will be required to submit assignments to TaskStream, an online assessment management system, during the time doctoral courses are taken. Students will have the option of paying an annual fee or multi-year fee to submit coursework through TaskStream.

Course Requirements

Courses are offered in a specified sequence of two courses per term, three terms per year. Students take all of the required courses, choosing between 734 and 737, for a total of 33 units. Each student selects an emphasis of 15 units of coursework: Leadership, Teaching and Learning, or School Psychology. By the second term, students must determine their choice of emphasis in order to register for the appropriate courses.

Elective Courses

Students may petition to substitute a 700-level elective course for either of the two courses below. In addition, students who have completed all coursework for the degree may take additional courses (except EDUC 794 or EDUC 795) at half tuition.

Global Perspective

EDUC 780 Global Communities of Learning (two to three units) is an elective course typically offered each spring. Students should contact the program director or department chair to determine if credit can be earned for the degree.

Dissertation Courses

When students begin dissertation work with their committee, they enroll in EDUC 794 for one semester and for EDUC 795 for each semester therafter, until the dissertation has been successfully defended. Enrollment in these courses entitles a student to access faculty and university resources, including library databases and services. These courses do not count toward the total unit requirement for the Ed.D.

Other Degree Requirements

Residence and Study Load

Doctoral students are expected to complete a minimum of nine units per year.

Grading and Grade-point Average

Throughout higher education, and particularly at the doctoral level, commitment to learning should outweigh the pursuit of grades. Nonetheless, grading and the grade-point average continue to play a crucial role in students’ studies. For doctoral students, the grade of B is considered minimally acceptable. Courses graded B- and below are not applied toward doctoral degree requirements and must be repeated.

A doctoral student whose cumulative grade-point average falls below 3.0 may be disqualified from further doctoral studies, or placed on academic probation and given one enrollment period to raise the cumulative grade-point average to the satisfactory level. Students on probation for more than a total of two terms throughout their doctoral study may be dismissed from the Ed.D. Program.

A doctoral student whose grade-point average falls between 3.0 and 3.2 is required to meet with his/her advisor to identify academic skills that may need strengthening and to take appropriate action.

Early Review

To evaluate success in meeting program goals and uphold the mission and objectives of the university and the School of Education, the program design includes procedures for quality control and assessment. These include an Early Review to be completed when students have completed 12 units in the program at the 700 level. The first-year review calls for a self-assessment, a portfolio of coursework, and a written qualifying exam. The student’s academic performance is also reviewed. Students must have passed EDUC 740 Intermediate Statistics and Data Analysis before participating in the Early Review. Continuation in the program is contingent upon a successful Early Review.

Guided Inquiry Project

Upon passing the Early Review, students begin the Guided Inquiry Project, enroll in EDUC 748, and select a faculty mentor to oversee the project. The Guided Inquiry Project provides the doctoral student the opportunity to demonstrate the ability to prepare a review of literature that focuses on an approved topic and identifies, analyzes, and synthesizes relevant research. As an exploratory review of literature, the Guided Inquiry Project may help establish the foundation for the student’s chapter two of the dissertation.Students enroll in EDUC 749 to complete the Guided Inquiry Project.

Ethics Symposia and Conferences

Christian perspectives and moral and ethical issues in educational leadership form an essential strand in the doctoral program and are embedded within many courses and activities. The course specifically dedicated to this topic, EDUC 705, is required of all students. Students present at one and attend a total of two student symposia where the papers developed in EDUC 705 are shared.

In addition, students must attend two of the annual program conferences on ethics.

Advancement to Candidacy

Following successful completion of all coursework and the Guided Inquiry Project, approval of the dissertation proposal, and recommendation by appropriate advisors, students are advanced to doctoral candidacy status.

Dissertation

The final step in the doctoral program is to design, conduct, and write a report of a research study completed by the student. Standards and procedures for the dissertation are defined by the doctoral faculty and are provided to students in a Dissertation Handbook.

The student defends the dissertation in a meeting with the faculty committee. Subsequently, the student participates in a public presentation of the research.

Students who have completed all program requirements, successfully defended their dissertation, and fulfilled all obligations to the university will have their doctoral degree posted and then will be entitled to use the term ‘doctor.’

Time to Degree Completion

Doctoral students are permitted eight years from the date of initial enrollment to complete all requirements for the Ed.D. degree. Extensions beyond the eight-year limit may be granted at the discretion of the department chair and the dean of the School of Education. Students needing an extension due to unusual circumstances must make their request in writing, stating the reasons for the extension, a timetable for completion of requirements, and the expected date of degree completion.

Faculty-Student Authorship Arrangements

It is expected that all doctoral faculty and students will observe the standards published by the American Psychological Association (APA) for the determination of authorship on any joint publications, as found in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5^th edition).

Note: All stated academic information is subject to change. Please refer to the current Graduate Catalog for the most current and controlling information.