MHE 6110: Foundations of Higher Education (3 Credit Hours)

The course is designed to provide an overview of the field of higher education in the United States. The historical underpinnings and development of the field will be discussed from a period of colonial colleges to a contemporary system of varied post-secondary institutions. A major goal is to explain the antecedents and evolution of the higher education missions of teaching, research, and service across the diverse higher education landscape, as well as chart the changing values and institutional structures related to governance, academic professionalism, leadership, curricula, student culture, state relations, access, and accountability. Overall, the course will introduce higher education as an academic field of study and an area of professional practice developed over centuries of innovation.

MHE 6210: Transition to Adulthood in the Context of College and Culture (3 Credit Hours)

College attendance is a powerful and complex life event associated with the transition to adulthood. In this course we will focus on the way college provides a context which facilitates the learning and development of students. We will start with an overview of relevant theories of human development and their application to the college experience. We will then explore the inter-related domains of cognitive and psychosocial development and examine how college experiences can facilitate more complex ways of understanding the world and the self. Throughout we will emphasize the way differences of race, ethnicity, nationality, class, gender, age, sexual orientation, ability, and religious belief can influence development during the college years.

MHE 6310: Introduction to Higher Education Research (3 Credit Hours)

This course engages students in the examination and practice of foundational knowledge and skills associated with consuming, conducting, and disseminating research in the higher education context. Topics addressed in the course include: identifying, evaluating, interpreting, and applying higher education literature to professional practice; developing and implementing methodologically appropriate research plans that advance higher education knowledge; diverse forms of data collection and analysis; and research ethics. Throughout the course, students are provided opportunities to cultivate and enact a scholar-practitioner identity.

MHE 6450: Student Engagement and High Impact Practices (2 Credit Hours)

The Association of American Colleges and Universities has identified eight High Impact Educational Practices shown to be beneficial to students from many backgrounds. (http://www.aacu.org/resources/high-impact-practices)  When done well, these practices encourage high levels of sustained systematic student engagement in active learning practices. Students will learn the theory and application of high impact and active, engaged learning pedagogies in this intensive Winter Term course. Opportunities to engage in many of the high impact practices (service learning, diversity/global learning, research, etc.) are available throughout their two-year program

MHE 6520: Helping, Advising, and Professional Development Coaching College Students (3 Credit Hours)

This course is designed to cover the essential helping, advising, and professional development coaching skills necessary for assisting students to learn at institutions of higher education. The objective is not to prepare the learner to be a counselor; rather the learner will be exposed to relevant theories and applications that are essential to the helping, advising, and professional development coaching processes on college campuses. Introduction of student development and counseling theories that aid in working with college students in general, as well as special populations, will be examined. The role of the helper in conjunction with contemporary social problems and research literature will be discussed. Based on the experiential nature of this course, students will visit various student and academic life offices on campus.

MHE 6620: Budgets and Finances in Higher Education (2 Credit Hours)

During this course, students will learn the economics of colleges and universities and how they are financed. Topics include revenue sources, endowment management, and the draws on the budget from within and outside academia, including the myriad of scholarships and financial aid, and other regulatory policies. Students will debate policy options and possible approaches to educational challenges.

MHE 6010 / 6020 / 7010 / 7020 Colloquium: Contemporary Topics in Higher Education (non-credit)

This non-credit seminar is held once a month and examines current issues, trends, and best practices in higher education. Coordinated by the M.A. in Higher Education program, invited experts facilitate monthly dialogues with MHE students and faculty.

MHE 6820: Enrollment Management (1 Credit Hour)

During this course, students will learn the approaches and processes by which university admission offices identify student populations to recruit, their marketing and outreach strategies, basic concepts of filling and crafting the composition of their classes (e.g. common applications or not, deadline vs rolling admissions, financial aid options, focus on international students etc.).  Students will learn how admissions policies and enrollment management models relate to university priorities.

MHE 6920: Program Evaluation, Assessment, and Decision Making in Higher Education (3 Credit Hours)

Program evaluation and assessment are critical to the success of data-driven planning and decision-making. This course will focus on the elements of the entire process of program evaluation and assessment, from envisioning and defining program and student learning outcomes, to benchmarking, to assessing how well desired outcomes have been achieved, to presenting evidence-based recommendations. Students will engage in hands-on, ‘real time’ projects using institutional data sources as well as how to prepare findings for effective distribution and dissemination. Throughout the process, students will learn project management skills as well as the ethics, barriers, and general best practices of program evaluation and implementation.

MHE 7110: Administration and Governance in Higher Education (2 Credit Hours)

This course focuses on understanding the missions, and organizational structures of higher education institutions. Students will also learn contemporary theories of organizational behavior, culture, and administration, and their applications to colleges and universities.  Students will engage in case studies and tours of other universities, meeting and contrasting higher education leaders and various instructional types.

MHE 7210: Law and Higher Education (1 Credit Hour)

Students will be introduced to legal issues confronting colleges and universities today and how institutions handle them. Topics will include legal and ethical developments that might arise during the semester, but will focus on issues such as student codes of conduct and free speech, student safety and well-being, civil rights and inclusion, student organizations, and the array of complex societal, governmental and legal issues institutions of higher education must navigate.

MHE 7310: Diversity and Social Justice (3 Credit Hours)

Through exploring central issues in diversity and social justice, this course aims to present the importance of critical self-reflection, cultural competency, and personal responsibility in helping college students become cultural brokers. Social justice theory will be examined, as well as various aspects of diversity, in order to help higher education professionals interact, communicate, work, and serve in a diverse world. Special attention will be given to the role of power, culture, privilege, and oppression in helping college students become culturally competent. Students will have the opportunity to explore how diversity and social justice affect personal, academic, and professional goals.

MHE 7410:  Theory and Practice of Global Education (1 Credit Hour)

This course introduces the concept of Comprehensive Internationalization (“IZN”), examines how it differs among the roughly 4,200 institutions of higher education in the USA and offer strategies to achieve it.

MHE 7450: Comprehensive Internationalization in Diverse Contexts (1 Credit Hour)

Students in this course engage in comparative analysis of comprehensive internationalization efforts in diverse higher education contexts. The course includes a short-term study-away experience during which students explore and analyze multiple comprehensive internationalization philosophies, models, and practices. Course assignments challenge students to reflect on the relevance and consider applications of comprehensive internationalization in their professional practice.

MHE 7820: Organizational Leadership, Development, and Change in Higher Education (3 Credit Hours)

The course will focus on the complexities of leading and managing planned change in a higher education environment. In addition to exploring the many theories and facets of leadership, students will engage in case studies of influential leaders who effectively managed strategic initiatives. Students will learn best practices and techniques for managing large-scale organizational change, as well as the communication, negotiation, and general project planning skills required for successful implementation. In addition to strategies for developing the organization, an equal emphasis will be placed on individual development, both of self and of others. To this end, students will engage in in-depth self-assessments of their personal leadership intentions, strengths and weaknesses. In addition, they will devise strategic personal development plans as well as learn how to provide leadership coaching to others.

MHE 7985: Internship I (1 Credit Hour)

The purpose of the MHE internship requirement is to provide students with professional experience in a higher education organizational setting so that they may become familiar with the role, mission, operation and activities associated with a specific functional area or organizational unit. The internship experience combines a minimum of 135 hours of fieldwork with an academic seminar (including assigned readings, reflective assignments, collaborative discussion of work experiences) in the interest of providing students with valuable opportunities to cultivate essential professional competencies as well as integrate graduate coursework and practice. Internship seminar themes include reflective practice, organizational culture, professional ethics, career planning, and professional standards. Registration in the internship seminar requires MHE Graduate Director approval of an internship learning contract. One MHE internship may be completed in the student’s apprenticeship site.

MHE 7986: Internship II (1 Credit Hour)

The purpose of the MHE internship requirement is to provide students with professional experience in a higher education organizational setting so that they may become familiar with the role, mission, operation and activities associated with a specific functional area or organizational unit. The internship experience combines a minimum of 135 hours of fieldwork with an academic seminar (including assigned readings, reflective assignments, collaborative discussion of work experiences) in the interest of providing students with valuable opportunities to cultivate essential professional competencies as well as integrate graduate coursework and practice. Internship seminar themes include reflective practice, organizational culture, professional ethics, career planning, and professional standards. Registration in the internship seminar requires MHE Graduate Director approval of an internship learning contract. One MHE internship may be completed in the student’s apprenticeship site.

MHE 7990: Capstone (3 Credit Hours)

A culminating project in which students in their final semester integrate, synthesize and apply their academic work and out-of-class learning experiences to address an authentic issue or problem (the question) in a campus department or program. Working as small teams under the guidance of a mentor (client) who presents a vexing problem, students will research the problem/question, conduct a literature review and analysis of relevant theory, design and implement assessment or data collection strategies, benchmark the problem with other peer/aspirant campuses, and develop a comprehensive set of recommendations to address the problem/question.  At a final capstone presentation, students will present their recommendations to the clients in front of other graduate students, program faculty, clients, and other invited guests, who will be encouraged to ask clarifying questions. A final paper will showcase how students integrated their learning in responding to the capstone experience. Throughout the semester, the capstone instructor will assist students with reflecting on the process they are undertaking to connect theory to practice and how this process can be used in their future careers.