2014 New Member Orientation

Alisa Belzer

Rutgers University

How to be a Change Agent at Home

Graduate School of Education


Where we started out

• 11 separate EdD programs

• Long time to completion and students getting lost in the shuffle, inconsistent advisement

• Not distinguished from PhD

• No consideration of impact



Where we got to

• 1 School-wide interdisciplinary program with 4 concentrations

• Accelerated time to completion• Cohort Model• Coherent and consistent program experience• Very clearly distinctive from our PhD program;

students specifically choose it for what it offers• Students having significant impact in their

workplaces



Initiating Change

• Information gathering and Information Sharing (student focus groups, used CPED Resources)

• Retreats/Design Days

• Design Teams (interdisciplinary work groups)

• 3 year process, started out slowly. CPED was a huge boost!



What we had to get done during this phase

• Draw on data to make the case for change

• Decide on what the concentrations would be

• Decide on what the core would consist of

• Decide on what the balance would be

• Decide on specific courses for each

• Design recruitment materials and establish recruitment plan

• Develop admissions procedures



Major points of contention

•Change not needed; belief that the program was effective despite evidence to the contrary

•Research sequence

•Balance of core to concentration

•What a dissertation would look like

•Number of credits that could transfer in

•Centralization

•Year round program necessary for acceleration; alternative scheduling



Implementing Change

• Launched program and accepted first cohort in 2010



What we needed to get done

• Create operating systems (guiding principles, bylaws and a decision making body)

• Set up new operational systems for keeping track of things (transfer decisions, communications, registration, scheduling)

• Course design, approval, course numbers, recruit faculty, etc.

• Backward mapping from program goals and skills needed to courses

• Constant communication with faculty




• Value of the degree

• Length of time of the program

• Defining what counts as a dissertation



Institutionalizing Change

• Our fifth cohort just began

• Our first cohort has mostly graduated

• More faculty are involved



What we need to get done

• Ongoing evaluation

• Responding to indicators of need for improvement (ongoing program improvement)

• Documenting impact inside the building and in the field

• Building network

• Continuing to build systems (e.g.advisement, qualifying process issues, EdS)




• Avoiding slippage

• Length of the program

• Quality of work



Lessons Learned

• Make compromises to gain consensus/buy in• Find balance academic freedom with program coherence and

consistency• Know that with time, more people may get on board if options are

reduced• Work has to be ongoing to enact the goals and to keep on track as

more people get involved• Must keep “selling” the program to the faculty• Letting faculty know about program and student accomplishments is

important for buy in• Use data to inform process (design, evaluation, and making the

case)• Have a clear time frame• Get the Dean on board• Use CPED convenings, web page, publications, colleagues



Lessons Learned (cont.)

• Keep focused on causes of resistance; be empathetic

• Must keep “selling” the program to the faculty

• Letting faculty know about program and student accomplishments is important for buy in

• Use data to inform process (design, evaluation, and making the case)

• Have a clear time frame

• Get the Dean on board

• Use CPED convenings, web page, publications, colleagues