Courses (An Abbreviated List)
07B:100 Issues and Policies in Higher Education
Good policy decisions reflect a thorough understanding of numerous pertinent issues. This course therefore focuses on selected issues in post-secondary education in the United States. Readings include analyses by higher-education scholars, articles from The Chronicle of Higher Education and mainstream publications, and writings of various higher-education critics of the past and present. After a broad consideration of different conceptions of what higher education should be, the class focuses on issues ranging from governance, to curriculum, to access. Themes such as diversity, the value of different types of knowledge, the roles of professors, and the rights of students, weave together discussions of different issues. This course fosters critical thinking about post-secondary education, preparing students to make thoughtful contributions to future discussions of issues and policies in higher education.
07B:118 Introduction to the Law of Student Services
This course is an introductory course that examines the law as it applies to students in postsecondary institutions. It is designed for practitioners who plan to work with students in colleges and universities as well as for those with interests in legal issues that affect students. It presumes no prior knowledge of the law.
The course involves an extensive introduction to the law, legal terminology and the court system as well as examining the basic organization of postsecondary education within the American legal system. Substantively, the course offers an in-depth examination of the principles of tort and contract law, the issues of what 'duties' an institution assumes on behalf of its students, and a review of constitutional basics on campus. Some topics include: student discipline, the design of disciplinary systems; the First Amendment as applied to speech, protest, student organizations, and religion on campus; the Fourth Amendment including search and seizure and other issues related to housing; non-discrimination; and issues related to athletics and privacy. By the end of the semester students should have an understanding of the basic laws that affect those working with students in any capacity as well as some practice in developing policies and procedures that implicate legal issues when dealing with students.
The purpose of this course is to prepare education graduate students to effectively and efficiently meet their scholarly needs, as well as to discuss the processes of scholarly communication. Participants will become familiar with research strategies, information literacy, the UI library system and other sources for research. By the end of the course, graduate students will: (1) understand different types of research and written reports and determine the most appropriate type of written report for a task or assignment; (2) know how to analyze a subject or problem and develop an appropriate strategy for researching it; (3) have a good grasp of searching techniques in a variety of resources; (4) have the ability to critically analyze an information source todetermine if it has accurate, reliable, and useful information; (5) have an understanding of how to effectively use specific resources of importance to educators; (6) recognize the usefulness of geo-referenced data made available through Geographic Information Systems (GIS), utilizing spatial data from the web.
07B:206 Research Process and Design
This course is designed to introduce students to the basic tools and concepts of quantitatively-oriented research design in education and the social sciences. The course should help students both evaluate and carry out research. Design, analysis, and interpretation of results will be discussed together. The topics covered include: experimental and quasi-experimental design; correlational and ex post facto designs; threats to the internal and external validity of studies; measures of association; statistical control; measurement reliability and validity; and hypothesis testing.
07B:209 Survey Research and Design
Principles and practices of survey research design are the focus of this course. Students are expected to develop instrumentation used in survey research, to engage in the design of a survey research study in a field setting, and to critique survey studies and findings. In general, the major objectives of this course are to introduce students to the skills and resources needed to design and conduct a survey. The skills include identifying and developing specific survey objectives; designing survey studies, sampling respondents, developing reliable and valid self-administered questionnaires, and administering surveys.
07B:216 Finance in Higher Education
This course provides an overview of the economics and finance of higher education in the United States, with an emphasis on the analysis of financial policies and current issues at the national, state and institutional levels. The purpose of this course is to apply the concepts, models and methods of economic theory in the analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of issues, problems, programs, policies and behaviors related to the finance of higher education. This course has its foundation in the fundamental economic theories and concepts that are centrally and widely applicable in the study of higher education finance such as human capital theory, public sector economics and microeconomics. No prior knowledge of economics is necessary to take this course. The course is designed especially for those who are currently in, or are preparing for, professional positions that emphasize administrative, academic, research, student affairs, policy analysis, and/or consultative roles related to higher and adult education in institutions or agencies in the public or private sectors.
07B:218 The Law and Higher Education
This course has two goals: (1) to provide students with an understanding of the legal system and the dynamics of law that condition institutional operations in colleges and universities; and (2) to offer an overview of the specific areas of law that directly affect key groups (administrators, faculty, staff, and students) in postsecondary institutions. It presumes no prior knowledge of law but seeks to give students a detailed framework for understanding both legal reasoning and the process of law as well as an up-to-date review of key areas of law, as found in the case law. The course should prepare practitioners to understand the legal environment in which colleges and universities function.
This course is organized to create a common basis of understanding of the legal system, of key legal terminology, and of the 'process' of law. Course materials are designed to ensure that all students start from a level playing field and allow students to be comfortable with reading cases during the first few weeks of the course. Beginning with the fourth week the course is organized to include readings on substantive legal topics combined with numerous 'assigned' cases designed to illustrate the law as applied to postsecondary institutions. Lectures review the legal framework for each topic while students present cases to illustrate the applications to practice.
07B:220 History and Philosophy of Postsecondary Education
This course analyzes the development of post-secondary education in the United States. It traces, over four centuries, the evolution of higher education from a small enclave for white males, to a ubiquitous and stratified system that serves a wide variety of students. We investigate topics including: European influences; scholarship and student life in the early colleges; alternative forms of "higher" education during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; the rise of the university and the modern system; the role of athletics and youth culture in the university; and postsecondary education's tremendous growth, along with its complex problems, during the last half-century. Throughout, we analyze changes in higher education's participants, content, and structure. Thus, through the lens of history, we consider philosophical issues including: access to higher education; the undergraduate curriculum; academic freedom; the role of universities in society; and the balance of teaching, research and service. Class meetings consist of lectures by the professor, short presentations by students, and extensive discussions.
07B:222 Introduction to Policy Analysis and Evaluation
This course examines a variety of contextual, theoretical, and technical approaches to the analysis of contemporary public policy. Effective policy analysis is informed by the perspectives and insights of several relevant social sciences and other disciplines. This course emphasizes policy research and other analytics based on a variety of theoretical perspectives and analytical frameworks drawn primarily from the disciplinary perspectives of the policy sciences of economics, sociology, and psychology. This course is intended for graduate students interested in the study and analysis of public policy in education, and especially, but not exclusively, for those interested in policy analysis in the higher and postsecondary education sector.
07B:224 Organizational Theory and Administrative Behavior
The purposes of this course are: (1) to review research literature related to organizations; (2) to review basic and current research literature dealing with individual and group behavior in organizations; and (3) to relate selected theories, models, and constructs to processes and problems of institutional administration.
07B:225 Introduction to Public Policymaking (a.k.a. Education and Public Policy)
This course provides students across many different areas of academic interest with an integrated and comprehensive survey of the activities, actors, tools, and techniques of American public policymaking. It offers an innovative, systems approach to the study of public policymaking that combines a comprehensive framework for understanding policy design and analysis with a case study methodology applied to an issue of interest to each student. Students use this framework to "map" the evolution in an individual policy of their choice and compare the alternative paths from problem to outcome employed in different policy domains.
The course is practice-oriented. It divides the policymaking process into four stages – inputs, production outputs and outcomes so as to familiarize students with the language and concepts of performance management as practiced by public managers at all levels of government and the private sector. Beginning with problem identification, agenda setting and decision-making, the course then examines the details of policy production, that is, how promises are turned into results. Policymakers work with standard "technologies" of governance – authority, agency, program, rule, contract, and budget – to design and deploy policy outputs and achieve policy outcomes. The course then examines the active roles of both the commercial and nonprofits sectors in the formulation and delivery of public policies at the national, state, and local levels of policy delivery.
07B:226 Educational Management
The purposes of this course are: (1) to review major management theories and models, and selected aspects of related literatures applicable to administrative leadership in the educational contexts; (2) to assess dimensions of best practices associated with effective management of these institutions; and (3) to relate selected theories, models, practices, and research findings to processes and problems of management in educational institutions including colleges and universities, schools, and agencies of oversight and control.
07B:228 Policy Design and Implementation
This course is an introductory 'applied' course for prospective professionals in education and other social services settings. It is designed to teach students the principles of policy design and drafting and apply these to actual problems through a series of exercises that require students to develop simple policies in settings with which they are familiar and then create accompanying memos that explain the reasons for their choices to their'supervisor.' These exercises emphasize the pedagogical lesson that there are many ways to design policies and procedures, all of which have costs as well as benefits.
The course begins with an examination of the discrepancies between policies as promises and as results. Students briefly review basic materials on key aspects of policy implementation to develop an understanding of the obstacles encountered in designing policy. Students are also introduced to two types of writing - policy drafting and 'persuasive' writing – not commonly presented in graduate education. Students' policy recommendations are expected to 'fit' work environments, administrator perspectives and agency goals and to be'do-able' within the given context. Similarly, students are asked to generate'memos' that justify the 'workability' of their proposed 'solution." Students planning careers in administration or management will find these writing assignments useful tools in practice.
07B:245 The American Professoriate
This graduate seminar will consider historical and contemporary issues involving the American professoriate. Attention will be directed to similarities across, and differences among, faculty members in different types of institutions and academic disciplines. The American Professoriate is designed to acquaint students with various aspects of faculty life. The course is organized around topics that are particularly relevant to people contemplating faculty careers, as well as those who are interested in higher education administration, student affairs, and public policy.
07C:336 Impact of College on Students
This course reviews the major methodological, conceptual and substantive issues on how postsecondary education affects students. The topics covered include: the methodology of studying college impact; conceptual models of student development and the impact of college; learning and cognitive development; moral development; values and attitudes; psycho-social development; educational attainment; career and economic benefits; and quality of post college life.
07B:370 Quantitative Methods for Policy Analysis
The purpose of this course is to help you expand your knowledge of quantitative methods, apply your knowledge to policy-relevant questions (especially in the area of education), and evaluate critically the claims of those who use quantitative research to promote specific policies. We will examine a range of methodological strategies used by quantitative researchers to investigate social problems and programs, particularly secondary data analysis, quasi-experimental designs, and regression analyses. Issues of validity will be explored (conclusion, internal, construct, and external), as well as questions about the usefulness of quantitative evidence in promoting just and effective public policies. A basic premise of the course is that you will come to a deeper understanding (and hopefully appreciation) of quantitative methods through the actual application in investigations of education problems and policies.
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