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Leadership in Higher Education
Leaders in higher education require a broad knowledge-base of the ins and outs of higher education. The Leadership in Higher Education specialization digs deep into a variety of topics specific to higher education, and will familiarize you with how higher education is organized, how it is financed, legal issues, and the history of higher education. As a Leadership in Higher Education graduate, you will be prepared to share your knowledge and skill about higher education in colleges, universities and community colleges. This specialization can also prepare you to pursue doctoral studies in Leadership in Higher Education at NCU should you choose to further your education.
General Degree Requirements
The EdS Program may be completed in 33 credits. An Academic Advisor or Enrollment Specialist evaluates each student individually and works with the student to create an academically sound Learning Plan based on prior academics and their professional goals.
Completion Period for Doctoral Degrees
Northcentral University allows 5 years to complete the EdS degree.
Certification and Licensing
The School of Education serves educational leaders by providing online graduate studies in education to reach worldwide populations. The EdS program is designed to reach national and international markets and does not purport to provide licensure or certification in any particular state or country.
Education Specialist (EdS) Degree Requirements
Individuals with a previously completed master’s degree will meet the basis of admission to the Education Specialist Program. The programs includes foundations, scholarly writing and specialization courses, as well as a final capstone. Students must pass all courses with a Grade Point Average of 3.00 (B) or higher.
Course Length
All courses are 8 weeks in length.
Course Code | Name | Course Description |
|---|---|---|
EDU7002-8 | Educational Research Methodology | The purpose of this course is to enable students to gain a holistic understanding of the research process and examine the most common research designs used in educational research. In this course, students are prepared to make thoughtful and wise choices about their dissertation research project or capstone project through the exploration of different research design options. |
Specialization Course 1 | ||
EDU7003-8 | Statistics I | This course provides an introductory exploration of statistics for the graduate student. It includes instruction on the calculation, use, and interpretation of descriptive statistics, and introduces inferential statistical analysis. The emphasis of this course is on providing a working knowledge of basic statistical concepts to help the student understand statistical methodology as used in education, and also more generally, developing a working knowledge of statistical usage in everyday life. |
Specialization Course 2 | ||
Specialization Course 3 | ||
Specialization Course 4 | ||
Specialization Course 5 | ||
Specialization Course 6 |
Course Code | Name | Course Description |
|---|---|---|
EDU7101-8 | Foundations for Graduate Study in Education (This course will be taken as the first course) | This course is an orientation to Northcentral University and to the essential skills needed to pursue a doctoral degree in Education. Doctoral level skills, such as academic integrity, time management, effective use of the Northcentral Library, comprehending complex scholarly texts and research articles, and APA form and style in professional communication are also introduced. Students will complete the course with a better understanding of personal goals, strengths, and challenges, and a roadmap to navigate their way to completion of their educational aspirations. |
EDU7001-8 | Advanced Scholarly Writing | The purpose of this course is to build advanced skills identifying and obtaining high quality sources through online library searches. In addition, the course addresses advanced writing and APA formatting skills, and it prepares students to be critically reflective consumers of research reports. |
Course Code | Name | Course Description |
|---|---|---|
LHE7004-8 | Organization & Governance of Higher Education | This course introduces doctoral students to the classical theories, traditional models, and contemporary readings regarding approaches and structures relative to organizational governance in higher education. Topical areas to be covered include organizational theory, governance models, campus climate, institutional change, and diversity. |
LHE7005-8 | Legal Issues in Higher Education | This course enables doctoral students to develop a fundamental understanding of the importance of legal issues in higher education and their impact on individual rights and responsibilities as well as those of institutions of higher education. |
LHE7006-8 | Student Affairs Leadership | Within this course, doctoral students study the evolution and current practices of student affairs in higher education. The philosophical, historical, conceptual, and research foundations of the profession and the cultural and organizational contexts of student affairs will be explored. Students will examine how various functional areas contribute to learning, personal development and other elements of the institutional mission. Students will also explore how current trends in campus demographics impact student affairs programming. |
LHE7007-8 | Strategic Enrollment Leadership | Community colleges, 4-year colleges and universities can use information and intelligence to improve relationships throughout the institution, an approach known as strategic enrollment management. Similar methodologies can be applied to prospective and current students, alumni and donors. The enhanced relationships that result can increase enrollments, improve graduation rates and advance the institution. The program provides students with the best principles and practices for leading recruitment, enrollment management, and institutional advancement efforts. Students will focus on effective enrollment management and leadership, recruitment, retention, institutional advancement, student service, targeted communication, applying technology to enrollment management and developing an institution-wide strategic enrollment process. Students have the opportunity to customize this course to their particular professional setting and goals. |
LHE7008-8 | Higher Education Finance | This course will provide students with an overview of financial issues applicable to higher education in the United States. Students will engage a broad foundation of theory, practice, research, and policy of higher education economics. Topics will include societal investment in higher education, methods of finance, costs of higher education, and budgeting concepts. |
LHE7010-8 | Current Trends & Topics in Higher Education | Higher education is experiencing radical transformation in scope, style, technology, and objectives. In this course students have the opportunity to survey many different trends and societal influences, but also have the opportunity to research those topics which relate to their professional role -- whether they serve in a community college, for profit institution, a private not-for-profit, a state university system, or a not for profit institution. Topics for consideration include 1. the effects of globalization and the prospect of international accreditation; 2. the balancing of entrepreneurial and philosophical goals of higher education; 3. the interaction between state governments and public universities; 4. the changing role of community colleges; 5. the conflicting interests and roles of boards, administrators and faculty; 6. the emergence of virtual education and the impact of technology on teaching and learning; 7. the shifting demographics and psychographics of students; 8. the differing views of academic governance; 9. the transition from a faculty-centered culture to a student-centered culture; 10. the impact of for profit higher education institutions; 11. the evolving role of professional and regional accreditation agencies; 12. the changing attitudes toward and approaches to tenure and the emergence of post-tenure review models. With guidance from the faculty member, students may also customize this course to focus on particular areas of interest and professional growth. |
LHE7011-8 | Foundations of Higher Education Leadership | The purpose of this doctoral course is to provide a foundation for the nuances of higher education leadership and theory. Emphasis will be given to the practical application of higher education leadership theories and the academic and administrative roles of an institution of higher education. Students will explore best practices to uncover links that can be made to increase the value of higher education practices. |
LHE7012-8 | Strategic Planning & Institutional Effectiveness in Higher Education | Institutional and programmatic planning in tandem with the concern for institutional effectiveness often present academic leadership with more questions than answers: How does one create the future in a time of rapid change? Where does the process essential to creating responsive, transformational change in higher learning organizations begin? Who among us should be trusted with guiding deep change in the very essence of the academy? How does one take on new programmatic initiatives without losing sight of the traditional strengths and values of the academy? How does one respond to rapidly evolving missions, confront disruptive technologies, and attain operational flexibilities in a highly competitive environment? How does one build a learning organization that does not make absolute loyalty to tradition a precondition for experimentation and action? And, importantly, how does one both stay the course and modify chosen strategic paths through the employment of practical assessment models and outcomes measures. Critically, a major goal of this course will be to insure an understanding of and appreciation for the range of approaches that can be taken to strategic planning, explicitly linking all strategies with the principles and best practices that support the drive toward institutional effectiveness. |
LHE7013-8 | Community College Curriculum and Program Development | Community Colleges enroll close to 50% of all students who begin higher education in the United States. What happens at community colleges affects the course of study, and the nature of learning for nearly half of all higher education students. This course provides students with an in-depth examination of higher education curriculum issues and specifically those of the contemporary community college curricula. Students will gain perspective on the educational, economic, political and social forces that have influenced the development of the community college, and its associated curriculum. |
LHE7014-8 | Introduction to the Community College | This course provides the student with a foundational understanding of the history, nature, and purpose of the American community college. The emphasis is on the public community college with a comprehensive educational program that includes general education, career education, community services, workforce development, basic skills education, and student development services. The course provides the student with both practical and theoretical knowledge relative to leadership and management of the contemporary community college. Students will gain perspectives on the educational, economic, political, and social forces that have influenced the development of the community college. Throughout the course students will review literature relating to the state of the community college as well as research focusing on "best practice" in these institutions. |
Course Code | Name | Course Description |
|---|---|---|
ED7053-8 | Education Specialist Capstone Project | ED7053 is the culmination of the EdS program. In this course students will have the opportunity to demonstrate the synthesis of knowledge in the Education Specialist program through the design of a real-world problem solving project. The project should be based on research and/ or fieldwork and must demonstrate an approach to addressing the problem through application of theory. Additionally, within this course students will complete a reflective self-assessment of their learning throughout the program. |
At Northcentral University, we pride ourselves in being completely transparent when it comes to tuition and fees. We have adopted an all-inclusive tuition model that gives you the cost of your Education Specialist (EdS) tuition and fees in one flat program rate*. The only additional cost above your EdS program rate is books. Learn more about the EdS costs below:
- Per credit cost: $820
- Per 3 credit course cost: $2,461
- Program cost: $27,071
- Average book cost per course: $150
- Application Fee: $0
- Technology Fee: $0
- Registration Fee: $0
Click here to learn more about payment and financing options.
*Program rates are subject to change and generally increase at the start of each calendar year.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned about our students, it’s that they are motivated and ambitious—but they are also busy! At Northcentral University, we’ve designed our education experience to work with you, not against you, so you can achieve your academic goals without sacrificing the quality, flexibility and support you need to be successful.
- Regionally Accredited
- No Physical Residency Requirements
- One-to-One Teaching
- 100% Doctoral Faculty
- Flexibility of Online Learning
- University Resources
To learn more, request information or call 1-866-776-0331 or start a live chat to speak with an enrollment advisor today. We offer new courses every Monday of the year so you can get started when it’s best for you.
