Concentration in Higher Education: Leadership

Help colleges & universities adapt to a changing world

To succeed in the 21^st Century, higher education institutions need to understand changes in everything from the age and needs of their student population to disruptive new learning technologies to the financial implications of government policy choices. You can prepare to provide the forward-thinking, evidence-based leadership today’s colleges and universities need with Brenau University’s online Ed.D. program.

The concentration in Higher Education: Leadership builds on the Ed.D. core courses with additional organizational, instructional and financial knowledge specific to the postsecondary education environment.

Potential career paths after graduation

As a graduate of the Ed.D. in Higher Education: Leadership, you will be prepared to pursue academic or administrative leadership in:

• Colleges, community colleges and universities in the public or private sector
• Adult training programs
• Local, state or federal government education agencies
• Public or private research firms
• Education policy think-tanks and other education services firms

Core courses

In our core curriculum, you’ll be challenged to understand the theory behind how education is practiced and critically explore the evidence for those theories. Regardless of your concentration, you will progress through the following 21 credits with your cohort:

• ED 828 Legal Issues and Ethics—Understand the constitutional rights of students and educators; understand ethical and legal outcomes of student-instructor interactions and more.
• ED 845 Curriculum Design, Theory, & Evaluation—Explore research-based practices for designing, evaluating, implementing and continuously improving curricula.
• ED 860 Leadership in Education—Explore models of leadership and leadership development while building your own capabilities for creative problem solving through communication and interpersonal relationships.
• ED 865 Academic Program Assessment & Evaluation—Take a holistic perspective of program and student evaluation, learn strategies for planning and evaluating assessment methods, and more.
• ED 870 Educational Issues & Policy—Reflect and discuss current policy issues impacting the field of education and complete a research project based on an issue you feel is critical to the field.
• ED 875 Cultural Perspectives & Leadership—Explore how diverse facets of individual identity impact teaching and learning, and look at systematic policy and other impacts on diverse students and instructors.
• ED 932 Future Trends in Education—Evaluate and discuss emerging trends in teaching and learning, as well as the societal, political and economic factors driving them.

Research and dissertation advising

You will take 21 credits focused on advancing your research skills and developing the capstone of your degree—your doctoral dissertation.

• ED 930 Advanced Research Methods—Build skills for analyzing data sets, evaluating research design and technique and designing research.
• ED 935 Intermediate Qualitative Research—This is an intermediate research course focusing on quantitative methods including ANOVA, MANOVA, regression analysis, non-parametric statistics including chi-square, and introductory clinical trial design in a practice setting.
• ED 940 Qualitative Research Methods—Comparisons and critiques of the major forms of qualitative research methodology and assessment of credibility, trustworthiness, reliability, and validity of studies that use qualitative designs are topics covered in this course. It will include development of research designs that can be used to inform therapeutic decision making and to assess intervention outcomes.
• ED 960 Dissertation Advisement 1: Literature Review—Begin developing the dissertation by posing questions and reviewing existing content to find a specific issue or problem to address.
• ED 965 Dissertation Advisement 2: Proposal—Build skills for designing the research for your dissertation, hone your proposal and begin developing the first chapters of your dissertation.
• ED 970 Dissertation Advisement 3: Collection of Data—With advisor approval, enter the main phase of research for your proposed topic and continue producing chapters for the dissertation.
• ED 975 Dissertation Advisement 4: Research Conclusion—Analyze your data, complete writing and revisions and prepare for oral defense of your dissertation.
• ED 980 Dissertation Advisement 5: Dissertation Continuation (if applicable)—Students who need additional time to prepare their dissertation or submit corrections can enroll in a supervised continuation course.

Courses: Higher Education: Leadership

Please note that all classes in this concentration include a practicum requirement.

• ED 842 Higher Education Academic Programs—Gain insight into the development of and outside influences impacting undergraduate education programs, including policy, sociology, economics and technology.
• ED 844 Enrollment Management in Higher Education—Learn to approach student recruitment, enrollment, support and retainment through the principles of Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM).
• ED 846 Organizational Governance Research & Theory—While focused on U.S. institutions and their governing principles, this course also takes into account international higher education management at the institutional and government levels.
• ED 848 Finance & Fiscal Policy in Higher Education—Gain skills for strategically assessing and planning budget and finance policy, with a focus on not-for-profit institutions.

Want to help build a better future for higher education? Earn your Ed.D. in Higher Education: Leadership with Brenau University! Get in touch today to start the conversation with us.