CPED Framework in the

Online Environment

Fall 2013

Goals for the Session

Understand the challenges of developing scholarly practitioners through online programs

Reflect on the challenges of incorporating the CPED principles/framework into highly structured online programs

Develop strategies to deal with traditional college structures, faculty, and students when trying to change the traditional

Reflect on the value of the CPED framework to the “quality” discussion of online education

Second wave CPED member Have PI’s for both the Higher Ed and

Educational Leadership programs We are incorporating parts of CPED

framework into all of our programs (Ed.D., Ph.D., and M.Ed.)

TTU and CPED

HIED Doctoral Program Enrollments (N = 157)

Ed.D. - Online68%

Ph.D.28%

Ed.D. - Onsite4%

Graduates of the Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration will be scholarly practitioners, change agents, and influencers with the skills and competencies to name, frame, and solve problems of practice, using empirical evidence to evaluate impact (principles 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). Understanding the importance of equity and social justice (principle 1), they use applied theories and practical research as tools of collaborative change (principles 2, 5, 6).

Trademark Outcome of Ed.D.

University sees online as a way to reach 40,000 students

Supportive Dean who is reforming the College of Education

College as a whole does not fully embrace or understand distance learning

Characteristics of Culture/Administration

Two assistant and one associate professors

Added two new assistant professors in fall 2013

Faculty to student ratio if everyone had equal loads – about 1:32

Heavy reliance on adjuncts (practitioners)

Characteristics of Faculty

All work full time Are required to be currently working in a

higher education institution and must be in a professional position

Require a minimum of three years professional experience in higher education or similar leadership experience

Characteristics of Students

Was purposefully created for online delivery to serve needs in the state of Texas

It is a 60 hour degree (above master’s) completed in 3 years (including master’s work = 90 hours)• 2 years of intensive coursework• 1 year – thematic problem-based dissertation

working with external collaborative partner (higher education institutions)

30 hours of graduate-level work is accepted from the master’s

Program Overview

Students are enrolled once a year in a cohort Normally admit 15 – 20 per year; fall 2013 –

admitted 3 cohorts Have them separate into two foci:

• Community college administration• Four-year college/university administration

Program Overview

There are no substitutions for the 60 required hours of coursework (prescribed)

Students complete 21 credit hours per year, six (6) in the fall term, six (6) in the spring term, and nine (9) hours across the summer for two years; third year is dissertation

Three (3) mandatory one (1) week summer professional development sessions are required in Lubbock, TX the first three years of the program

Program Overview

Program Overview

Program courses are sequenced in three phases• Phase 1 – knowledge level• Phase 2 – hypothetical practice• Phase 3 – authentic practice

Evaluation occurs at the end of each course and at the end of each phase

Remediation occurs as needed Formal evaluations by the full-time faculty of

each student’s progress occur each year

Program Overview

Field-based internships incorporated into most courses – using the concept of students’ institutions as “laboratories of practice” (principles 2, 3, & 4)

Traditional qualifying examination process (though take home)

Pseudo-themed Dissertations of Practice• Problem identified within a higher education

institution – preferably one that is affecting many throughout the state

• Collaborative partner sits on dissertation committee

Challenges – Traditional Administrative Structures/Culture

Do not see that multiple cohorts of students at different stages in the process need to be “managed”

Adherence to traditional policies and tenure structures; faculty are not recognized for the “extra” time and effort they are putting into the initiative

University and College are counting on us to generate head count

Challenges – Faculty

Asking faculty to do more while rewarded under traditional measures

Faculty are not required to train to be online teachers

Course quality is inconsistent No instructional design help to produce courses

that are consistent across the board No policies to standardize program expectations Not all faculty are “practitioners” and their approach

diminishes the application of content

Challenges – Faculty

This summer we had 14 students complete qualifying examinations at the same time – faculty nightmare (and it was in the summer)

Two faculty are working with the 14 students on dissertations

Each faculty member has a different process and expectations

The College of Education is not ready to look at managing this program outside of the traditional norms of consensus on everything

Challenges – Students

New student application process is not stringent enough• University wants graduate students – everyone

looks good on paper Students work more than full time Very busy – taking 6 (fall), 6 (spring), and 9

(summer) credit hours – leaves limited time to “engage”

Difficult to remediate a student that is not local

Challenges – Students

Students struggle with writing at the appropriate levels

Students are not prepared to conduct research – but reformed program is designed to fix this through periodic remediation

Students falling out of cohort sequence due to life events

Student falling out of cohort sequence due to failing qualifying exams

Challenges – Curriculum

One year dissertation is extremely time consuming and takes a tremendous amount of faculty time

Faculty are not on the same page of the process of completing a dissertation

Collaborative partners are willing to help now – but for how long?

Challenges - Curriculum

Class projects use “laboratories of practice”• Students must use their institutions as their

laboratories Challenges with this are:

• Difficult to supervise students on their projects at a distance

• Relying on partners at the institution to give their time and access to authentic situations

• Students do not like to get outside their departments• Students do work full time and these projects are

time intensive

Challenges – Dissertation in Practice

TTU does not currently support “group dissertation” concept

Normally, the program follows the traditional dissertation format of 5 chapters

The online Ed.D.’s first cohort is doing pseudo-thematic dissertations

Problems of practice were identified through the program faculty by working with area community colleges

Challenges - Dissertation

First cohort in the program is 13 students spread across Texas and 1 in Michigan

Students are having difficulty in staying together as a group

Groups are not using their support-system from cohort as we had hoped• It has become an everyone for him or herself

mentality We have insufficient number of faculty to spend the

amount of time necessary to get these students through in a year

Challenges - Dissertation

We are seeing evidence that completing a dissertation at a distance is very isolating

Have now moved to allowing students to work on a problem at their institution• Difficult to get students to think in context of

“broad problem” in the field

Challenges - Quality

Not all faculty expect the same rigor Not all students admitted should be in an

accelerated program Challenging to incorporate “laboratories of

practice” throughout the curriculum and ensure the projects have merit and are rigorous – and that students are prepared to deliver to the partner institutions

Session Activity

Activity Logistics

If numbers permit – divide into four equal groups (might want to align based on focus - K-12 focus; higher ed focus)

Each group will address the questions provided (will be provided on a hand-out and on the next slide)

Use chart paper and markers – reflect on the questions as a group and be ready to report out

Questions to be Addressed

How do traditional culture/administrative structures challenge innovation in incorporating the CPED framework/principles into distance programs?

How does the faculty role change in a CPED-reformed online program? How do we incentivize for workload and innovation?

Questions to be Addressed

What are the challenges of ensuring student success in an online CPED-reformed program?

What are the challenges of getting students through the Dissertation of Practice – online?

How can we use the CPED principles to “redefine” the distance quality stereotype?

Wrap-up Questions

Dr. Stephanie J. Jones, Ed.D.Texas Tech UniversityAssociate Professor

Higher Education Program Coordinatorstephanie.j.jones@ttu.edu

Contact Information