CPED Framework in the Online Environment Fall 2013
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 [email protected]
Contact Information