Striving to align with the CAS Standards: Higher Education Graduate Preparatory Programs

Location

Higher Education 1 (Session 1 Breakouts)

Proposal Track

Research Project

Session Format

Presentation

Abstract

This presentation will examine Higher Education/Student Affairs (HE/SA) graduate programs’ curriculum alignment with the guidelines established by the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS). Like many professional preparation programs, HE/SA programs have a limited number of credit hours (27-65) and must structure their curriculum within these confines. The presenters will discuss their recently published quantitative study that examined the curriculum of the HE/SA programs in the United States (n = 230) and their offering of exclusive courses aligning with the six content areas recommended by the CAS Standards. This study is the first to broadly examine the curriculum of the collective HE/SA programs in the United States. It can serve as a catalyst to encourage further research and scholarly discussion around the curriculum of HE/SA programs and the professional preparation of higher education administrators. Key findings included that of the six content areas, History and Counseling were the areas least likely to be offered in HE/SA programs (48% and 41%, respectively) compared to 82% and above for the other four areas. Evidence suggests that program offerings of 36-39 credit hours may be the “sweet spot” in balancing credit hours with their ability to meet CAS Standards.

Keywords

higher education programs, student affairs programs, graduate preparatory programs, professional preparation

Professional Bio

Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at Georgia Southern University. Previously served as a graduate program director and 12 years as a college administrator. Doctorate from Rutgers University, Master’s from Texas Tech University, and Bachelor’s from Central Michigan University. Research is theoretically informed by the tenets of student development theory. In particular, application of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Kolb’s Experiential Learning, Sanford’s Model of Challenge and Support, and Astin’s Theory of Involvement. This theoretical framework is intertwined with the two streams of his scholarly agenda: 1) The profession of student affairs and 2) The residential and co-curricular experience of college students.

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Oct 2nd, 8:30 AM Oct 2nd, 9:30 AM

Striving to align with the CAS Standards: Higher Education Graduate Preparatory Programs

Higher Education 1 (Session 1 Breakouts)

This presentation will examine Higher Education/Student Affairs (HE/SA) graduate programs’ curriculum alignment with the guidelines established by the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS). Like many professional preparation programs, HE/SA programs have a limited number of credit hours (27-65) and must structure their curriculum within these confines. The presenters will discuss their recently published quantitative study that examined the curriculum of the HE/SA programs in the United States (n = 230) and their offering of exclusive courses aligning with the six content areas recommended by the CAS Standards. This study is the first to broadly examine the curriculum of the collective HE/SA programs in the United States. It can serve as a catalyst to encourage further research and scholarly discussion around the curriculum of HE/SA programs and the professional preparation of higher education administrators. Key findings included that of the six content areas, History and Counseling were the areas least likely to be offered in HE/SA programs (48% and 41%, respectively) compared to 82% and above for the other four areas. Evidence suggests that program offerings of 36-39 credit hours may be the “sweet spot” in balancing credit hours with their ability to meet CAS Standards.