Mission, Purpose, and Goals

Program Areas
- Educational Administration (K-12)
- Higher Education
- Comparative and International Education
- Evaluation Studies

EdPA Faculty and Staff
- Program personnel
- Department Faculty
- Faculty & Staff Directory

Affiliated Centers
- Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI)
- Institute on Community Integration (ICI)
- Postsecondary Education Policy Studies Center (PEPSI)
- National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO)
- Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP)

Administration and Management of Programs
- Administrative Committee
- Graduate Studies Committee
- Grievance Committee

To Top | Back to Table of Contents | Back to Benchmark Graphic

Mission, Purpose, and Goals 

Three related purposes give direction to departmental activities. A priority of the Department is to initiate, sponsor, and support research and development activities that will enhance the body of knowledge and techniques that constitute the four program areas: Educational Administration (PreK-12), Evaluation Studies, Higher Education, and Comparative and International Development Education. 

Central to the purpose of the Department is the development and provision of professional preparation programs for persons seeking positions in the four program areas. The Department of Educational Policy and Administration is committed to the study of educational policy and to the preparation of leaders who can act effectively and ethically within the structures, processes, and cultural contexts of organized education. The department prepares administrators, scholars, and analysts for leadership roles in education through the four complementary but distinct program tracks.

The Department also seeks to provide mission-related service through disciplined study of the needs of educational and human service organizations and to provide leadership in the solution of current problems in educational governance and management. All of the above illustrate the commitment of the Department to bridging the fields of practice and theory.

The four program areas in the department work closely together sharing budget, space, office staff, and graduate assistants. Faculty members sometimes teach in more than one area in the department as well as in other departments. The Department of Educational Policy and Administration is housed on the third and fourth floors of Wulling Hall (86 Pleasant Street, SE) on the Universityís East Bank campus. The College of Education and Human Development Deanís offices are located in Burton Hall, also on the East Bank campus; the offices of Student Services are on the first and second floors of Wulling Hall. 

To Top | Back to Table of Contents | Back to Benchmark Graphic

Program Areas

Educational Administration (PreK-12)

Specific degree, licensure, and certificate programs are tailored to meet the learning needs of educators with different academic and professional goals. For example, some Educational Administration graduates provide leadership within formal and informal educational settings, such as schools, school districts, and community-based youth development programs. Others develop, analyze, and evaluate educational policies and programs. Still others teach and conduct research at colleges and universities. A significant number of graduates rise in their areas of specialization to become leaders at state and national levels. 

Students in the Educational Administration program area engage in rigorous, engaging, and supportive learning experiences. Faculty ground these learning experiences in theoretical frameworks to promote understanding and emphasize application to varied contexts of educational practice. The Educational Administration faculty bring a wealth of experience and expertise to their teaching, research, and advising. Areas of faculty expertise include: K-12 school administration and leadership, educational law and policy, school finance, technology leadership, staff development, collaborative models of educational service provision, K-12 program evaluation, special education, youth development, educational futures, and the historical, sociological and ethical foundations of education. In recent years, the program areaís established and nationally recognized faculty members have been joined by some of the most accomplished new scholars in the field. The breadth and depth of faculty expertise provides students with access to a range of content specialties, educational perspectives, and instructional styles and modalities.

Higher Education 

The core curriculum includes intensive studies of leadership, organization, and policy in higher education institutions and systems. In addition to taking core courses in higher education and methodology, students select an area of focus aligned with their professional interests and career goals. Student colleagues contribute a wide array of experiences with and interests in diverse institutions, creating classroom environments with a range of perspectives and insights. Internships in University offices and off-campus provide students with opportunities to research and analyze current issues on-site and to apply their developing leadership skills and knowledge. 

Recent graduates of the M.A. program serve in such positions as associate director of student affairs, advisor in career services office, administrative assistant to the registrar, disability specialist, director of a college computing center, and labor relations administrator. Graduates of the doctoral programs typically pursue careers in administration, research, and policy analysis.

The core faculty of the higher education program has extensive experience working with colleges and universities as deans, department heads, chairs of curriculum committees, student affairs staff, policy analysts, and institutional researchers. Their expertise includes organizational theory, management, finance, psychology, economics, public policy and sociology. 

The Higher Education program is also home to the Postsecondary Education Policy Studies Center (PEPSC). Created in 1999 as a research and service center, PEPSC works to raise public awareness of critical policy issues in postsecondary education, critique existing and proposed policies, foster better understanding of policy implications, and facilitate discussions about policy development through research and dissemination activities. For example, the Center hosts an on-campus lecture series open to students on diversity and multiculturalism in Higher Education. 

Comparative and International Education

Graduates of the CIDE program, which attracts a considerable number of international students from Asia, central Asia, South America, and other regions, pursue careers in teaching, administration, consulting, and counseling in universities, government agencies, foundations, and private non-profit organizations.

Foundational coursework in CIDE incorporates relevant knowledge from the behavioral and social sciences and the humanities, focusing in the following three areas of inquiry: 

• Comparative education examines historical, philosophical and cross-national perspectives of education through the use of descriptive and comparative studies of education systems and outcomes. 
• International development education addresses issues of socio-cultural, international, and community development, academic achievement, and social stratification, whether in formal systems of K-12 and higher education or non-formal adult education. Studies in this area also can include issues of gender equity and multicultural education.
• International education and exchange education includes study of the following areas: internationalization of K-12 or higher education, study abroad program administration and programming, international education administration at K-12 or higher education levels, international educational exchange programs, intercultural education and training, and cultural adjustment and learning.

Evaluation Studies 

Our graduates leave with a portfolio filled with evidence of their expertise with the tools of the evaluation tradeóqualitative and quantitative inquiry methods, communication skills, and computer database analysis experience. Evaluation knowledge and skills are gleaned not only from time in the classroom but also from internships and collaboration with evaluation professionals in real-world settings.

Evaluation Studies students have access to some of the best evaluators in the field. One of the program's faculty members recently received the American Evaluation Associationís Myrdahl Award for Evaluation Practice. Other faculty members and regular speakers have written books on their areas of expertise. In addition, the Minnesota Evaluation Studies Institute, held each summer in the Twin Cities and sponsored by the Department of Educational Policy and Administration, provides students with an opportunity to learn and reflect on relevant issues in evaluation with other national experts and practitioners. 

To Top | Back to Table of Contents | Back to Benchmark Graphic

EdPA Faculty and Staff

Metro III-B Personnel

Department Faculty

Faculty & Staff Directory

To Top | Back to Table of Contents | Back to Benchmark Graphic

Affiliated Centers 

Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI)

Institute on Community Integration (ICI)

Postsecondary Education Policy Studies Center (PEPSC)

The Postsecondary Education Policy Studies Center (PEPSC) was created in 1999 to raise public awareness of critical policy issues in postsecondary education, critique existing and proposed policies, foster better understanding of policy implications, and facilitate discussions about policy development through its research and dissemination activities.

National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO)

Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP)

To Top | Back to Table of Contents | Back to Benchmark Graphic

Administration and Management of Programs 

Administrative Committee

Graduate Studies Committee

Grievance Committee 

To Top | Back to Table of Contents | Back to Benchmark Graphic