Higher Education (HIED)

This course intends to explore what might be called the landscape of U.S. higher education. Acknowledging that a majority of the program's students enter the doctoral program from a wide variety of disciplines and fields, this course is intended to give students an overview of past and current research in four overarching areas of inquiry that a majority of higher education researchers pursue. The four organizing themes are: foundations of higher education; college students; administration and organization in higher education; and, equity and diversity in higher education. Students will recognize that these four themes also intentionally correspond to the four areas in which they eventually must demonstrate competency (i.e., analytical comprehension and significance of the research). In examining the research in each of these four arenas of inquiry, students will consider various perspectives that higher education researchers commonly utilize including economic, historical, sociological, cultural, and legal perspectives.

This course focuses on foundational and current issues related to equity and diversity in higher education. This course is organized into three major areas and levels of analysis: (1) an understanding of inequality and the framing of equity; (2) the diversity frame; and (3) strategies for transformation. The course will explore the concept of equity from different theoretical perspectives and an understanding of inequality from a structural, organizational, and individual level. In the second part, the course will explore what the diversity frame is, what its limitations are, and its relation to legal developments and affirmative action. The third part will focus on action, with specific strategies for transformational change toward greater equity and meaningful diversity and inclusion in higher education. Various types of equity and diversity will be considered, but special attention will be given to the complexity of race.

Surveys group-oriented education policies internationally, especially comparing those of Britain, Taiwan, India.

This course covers the knowledge and methods of human development theories and their applications in college settings.

Students read the philosophical foundations of education research, study how philosophies influence methodologies, and analyze current educational problems. This course is designed for students entering doctoral programs in the College of Education. Our students are studying to become education researchers within a highly politicized environment. For example, particular definitions of education research and government policies that favor some types of research practices over others provide opportunities for and set limits upon the work of education researchers. Public controversies likewise contribute to challenges faced by education researchers who find their work affirmed or discounted by particular definitions and policies. In order to explore these controversies and to allow students to begin identifying their own "positionality" with regard to research, this course begins with a reading of the history and philosophies of education research (primarily focusing on the United States). The course goals are: - to identify underlying assumptions of competing forms of social inquiry, each determined to uncover new knowledge; - to bring those assumptions to bear on education research in chosen fields of study; and - to begin to develop one's own positions in order to direct further study and research. Specifically, through instructor facilitation and group discussions, students will come to understand major philosophical perspectives that permeate and drive research methodologies in education: positivism, postpositivism, interpretivism, critical theory, poststructuralism, and pragmatism. These understandings allow students to recognize the methodological assumptions that inform published research studies and to discover how methodologies might inform the research they wish to conduct as students and practitioners. Although the course is not required by any particular doctoral program in the College of Education, it is suggested for students who consider research important to their future careers and who see benefits in exploring the methodological options available.

This course bridges theoretical statistics coursework and practical research with real, large-scale data sets. The course emphasizes hands-on data preparation and analysis using statistical software. More specifically, the course will give an overview of national and international data resources that are available for educational researchers, survey the most widely used data analysis techniques in educational research, and use statistical software and large-scale datasets to produce useful results for educational policy research.

The aim of the course is to help students view the educational system and students' educational decisions through the lens of economics. We will discuss the methods that economists commonly employ to study education and read recent empirical articles that examine the impact of educational policies and practices. At the end of the semester, we will discuss insights from the field of behavioral economics, which builds on the standard economic model to better understand decision making. This course also surveys the empirical literature on the economics of education which is organized into several broad topics, including human capital and economic return to education, school choice and college access, and education production. Finally, the course covers a variety of econometric methods that are widely used in the economic study of education. These methods include regression models (e.g., ordinary least squares, discrete choice models, Multi-level modeling, panel data models, etc.) and commonly used techniques to deal with self-selection and causal inference (e.g., quasi-experimental methods).

This course is designed to give students an overview of large-scale international assessment databases and to demonstrate how these databases can be utilized to investigate critical issues in education from a comparative perspective. A number of empirical studies using large-scale international assessment databases will be reviewed, and these analyses will be replicated via computer labs. Students will develop a good understanding of large-scale international assessment databases and will learn to apply an appropriate method to address a particular topic of interest. Students will also develop a wide range of research skills necessary to independently conduct comparative research, including but not limited to formulating a research question, conducting a literature review, analyzing empirical data, and interpreting results. Although the focus is mainly on datasets relevant to education and education policy research, the skills taught in the course are broadly transferable to other social sciences including sociology.

Foundations in the policy context and student characteristics of postsecnodary education; anaysis of issues and future trends in the field. trends. HI ED 545 Foundations in Higher Education and Student Affairs (3) This course provides an overview of the basic structures, functions, participants, constituencies, tensions, and challenges facing higher education and student affairs in the United States. The course goals are to (1) introduce students to the overall structure of higher education and student affairs, (2) examine the societal and individual purposes of higher education, (3) gain exposure to key concepts in higher education and student affairs, (4) examine internal and external actors important to higher education and student affairs, (5) understand the roles of various individuals in colleges and universities, (6) evaluate contemporary challenges facing higher education and student affairs, and (7) provide an opportunity for students to improve their analytical and written and oral communication skills.

Various types of curriculums and philosophies underlying them; ways in which curriculums are developed; elective versus required courses; evaluation of achievement.

Distinctive contributions to meeting the need for postsecondary education; development, functions, curriculum and instruction, government, administration, and finance.

This course gives students an overview of research on administrative practice and organizational theory relating to higher education. Students will learn about theory, organizational structure, governance, leadership, decision-making, culture, resources, and change. To prepare students for future research, the primary assignments require students to apply organizational theory to aspects of higher education that students select themselves.

Role of education in social mobility, using quantitative, qualitative, and historical methods; focuses comparatively on Britain, East Asia, and South America. CI ED 553/SOC 553/EDTHP 553/HI ED 553 CI ED 553. (SOC 553, EDTHP 553, HI ED 553) Educational Mobility in Comparative Perspective (3)Sociologists interested in higher education have attended to the relationships between postsecondary institutions and other institutions, as well as the impact on higher education of general social and demographic processes. Many of the classical ideas in sociological theory, including those of Max Weber and Emile Durkheim, have surfaced in recent debates over the nature of higher education. Sociologists in the U.S. have explored such questions as: the gatekeeping function of higher education; the impact of universities on stratification; and the socializing environment for women and minorities. This seminar introduces some of the classical theorists and contemporary researchers of the sociology of higher education. All seminar participants will be required to write a sample research proposal, based on the readings from the seminar.

An examination of the development of American higher education against the background of influential social, political, economic, and intellectual issues.

Characteristics of higher postsecondary education students and other clientele; changes during postsecondary education years and during college; educational challenges and responses.

Reviews theory and current sociology research on student access, achievement, and governance in postsecondary education, with applications to policy analysis. EDTHP (HI ED, SOC) 557 Sociology of Higher Education (3) Sociologists interested in higher education have attended to the relationships between postsecondary institutions and other institutions, as well as the impact on higher education of general social and demographic processes. Many of the classical ideas in sociological theory, including those of Max Weber and Emile Durkheim, have surfaced in recent debates over the nature of higher education. Sociologists in the U.S. have explored such questions as: the gatekeeping function of higher education; the impact of universities on stratification; and the socializing environment for women and minorities. This seminar introduces some of the classical theorists and contemporary researchers of the sociology of higher education. All seminar participants will be required to write a sample research proposal, based on the readings from the seminar.

Analyzing case law issues of access, student rights, employment, collective bargaining, church/state, etc., relevant to higher education and student affairs. HI ED 560 Legal Issues in Higher Education and Student Affairs (3) This course is designed to teach a process of legal analysis with a focus on issues related to higher education and student affairs. The course exposes the student to a range of administrative problems at the post-secondary level which entail legal implications. The course will help current and prospective administrators in higher education and student affairs to envision the legal dimensions of collegiate-level decision processes. No attempt will be made to provide definitive legal outlines at any stage; that is a task for the institutional attorney, the state attorney general, and the courts. Explicit recognition is made of the importance of law to higher education and student affairs training, but the overall effort will be illustrative rather than comprehensive.

Application of social science theory and research to postsecondary education organizations and administration; use of research in administrative practice.

Comparative methods of studying structural variations in systems of higher education in principal industrialized nations and other selected countries.

Introduction to education policy journals and the review and editing process; discussion of emerging issues within the academic publishing industry.

A capstone course on research design and analytical approaches to support decision-making in administration and policy-making. EDLDR 585 / EDTHP 585 / HIED 585 Research Design: Implications for Decisions in Higher Education (3) By the end of this course you should be able to: (1) Define and explain the following concepts/tools of social science research: The scientific method-Theory and its role, Constructs and variables, Hypotheses and relations, Experimental designs, Quasi-experimental designs and Ex post facto designs. Sampling theory and designs-Survey designs and methods, Approaches to data collection, Measurement reliability and validity, Quantitative analytical designs, and Ethical practices. (2) Apply these concepts/tools in designing a study relating to educational research. (3) Effectively critique both the theoretical bases and methods of a journal article or report of research or policy analysis. (4) Prepare a sound research proposal.

Exploration of the theoretical framework undergirding qualitative research and its attendant practices and techniques. EDLDR (EDTHP, HI ED) 586 Qualitative Methods in Educational Research (3) This course is the introductory course in the EPS qualitative research methods sequence. This is the first course in a three-course sequence departmental sequence intended to take students from basic knowledge of qualitative methods through mastery of advanced topics. This course was designed specifically to 1) orient students to the various types of qualitative methods most widely used in educational policy research and their theoretical underpinnings; 2) provide training in basic qualitative research techniques; 3) introduce students to basic research design; 4) provide systematic practice (and feedback) in evaluating qualitative research that would allow students to become sophisticated consumers of qualitative studies; 5) prepare students for the Level 11 course. The course will begin with a brief review the development of qualitative methods in related fields (anthropology, sociology, linguistics) and quickly move on to an overview of qualitative methods in education. Students must have read the material prior to class in order to take part in in-class exercises and discussions. We will focus on key issues such as validity, interpretation and representation. Students will be asked to read studies, assess the general quality of the work, and provide a critical evaluation. Students will study specific methods of qualitative field research, and most weeks we will practice and discuss a particular research technique (e.g. participant observation, focus group interviews). These practice sessions will be informed by relevant readings. Students will practice developing coding schemas as well as get a quick overview of qualitative data analysis (QDA) packages. Finally, in small groups, students will design a basic qualitative study to be presented as a final product in the course.

The political economy and bureaucratic politics of educational organizations, with special attention to the policy making, implementation, and evaluation processes.

Advanced study of methods involved in executing and analyzing qualitative research in education. EDLDR (EDTHP, HI ED) 588 Qualitative Methods in Educational Research II (3) The course will provide practical experience with methods of qualitative data collection, data management, and preliminary data analysis that extends and deepens students' understanding of qualitative research in education. The class, limited to 15 students, will take as the focus with inquiry a common "site" around which projects of individual and group interest will be designed. Sessions will take place in "workshop" blocks during which students will present and critique the work of the project. Readings will be interspersed with the practicing of methods. The final project for the course will be the compilation of a synthesized data set that could serve as the basis of further analysis.

Supervised student activities on research projects identified on an individual or small-group basis.

Supervised experience in administrative offices, in research, on instructional teams, and in college teaching.

Creative projects, including nonthesis research, that are supervised on an individual basis and fall outside the scope of formal courses.

Formal courses given on a topical or special interest subject which may be offered infrequently; several different topics may be taught in one year or term.

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Preparation and presentation of materials in undergraduate classes under the supervision of a full-time faculty member.

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Survey course explores fundamental methods and research on campus decisions, enrollment management, faculty work analysis, institutional effectiveness, accreditation, student outcomes. HI ED 801 Foundations of Institutional Research (3)This is a graduate level course that provides students with an overview of the institutional research profession and the most common functions that institutional research offices carry out. HI ED 801 is a core course in the IR Certificate Program and is designed for higher education professionals who seek to gain a fuller understanding of campus decision support activities and processes such as strategic planning, compliance reporting, enrollment management, resource management, institutional effectiveness, student outcomes assessment, and program evaluation. The course is designed:1)To give students a foundation in the concepts, methodologies, research practices, and information systems that support campus decision making.2)To examine the diversity of the institutional research profession, including office organization and staffing, and functions/activities.3) To acquaint students with the major IR topics including overview of National Data sets, Planning and Budgeting, Enrollment Management and enrollment forecasting, Faculty Studies and Instructional Analysis, Institutional Effectiveness and accreditation, Educational Effectiveness and Student Outcomes Assessment.4) To give students experience in using SPSS software, making Power Point presentations, and effective reporting on selected IR topics. During this course, the classroom and work experiences are aimed at understanding the readings, obtaining hands-on experience in analyzing data, and developing reporting skills for the purposes of institutional research. The course serves as a bridge to the other courses that will be offered subsequently in the Institutional Research Certificate program. This course introduces main topics, concepts and processes that are central to the practice of institutional research. It gives an overview of sources used in institutional research and the methods employed. Most importantly, this course aims at introducing students to a variety of reporting strategies and developing report writing skills. Pre-requisiste: Working knowledge of basic statistics.

This course gives students an overview of the intricacies of college teaching and learning. There is both an art and a science to teaching and by exploring pedagogical issues and approaches, students will leave this class with a solid instructional foundation. They will have opportunities to learn independently, collaboratively, and reflectively as they question assumptions by reviewing current educational research, and practice instructional strategies. While teaching experience is a plus, it is not required. Being a learner, however, is not optional.

An overview of the academic advising profession and the role of academic advising in the collegiate setting. HI ED 807 Foundations of Academic Advising (3) This course will provide students with an overview of the academic advising profession and the role of academic advising in the collegiate setting. Topics include the history of academic advising; philosophical and theoretical perspectives; models of academic advising; ethical and legal foundations; emerging issues; scholarship; assessment and evaluation; the advising of diverse and unique populations of students; the use of technology in academic advising; the role of academic advising in retention, graduation rates, and student success; the professional development of academic advisers; the future of academic advising nationally and internationally; and the professional preparation necessary to enter the field of academic advising.

This course is an overview of graduate study, professional careers, and professionalism in higher education. There are no prerequisites for the course and the course content assumes no prior knowledge of higher education as a field of study or as a place of employment. Learners will be actively engaged in developing skills needed for success as a graduate student and as a professional in higher education or a related field. The goal of this course is to prepare students for success as graduate students in the study of higher education and to develop a career plan for self-direction and lifelong learning.

Strategic planning and resource management in higher education through institutional research. HI ED 810 Planning and Resource Management in Higher Education (3)This course provides students with a working knowledge of strategic planning models and budgeting structures and processes. Planning and budgeting skills are important components in institutional decision support, and this course provides students with tools and skills in environmental scanning, revenue forecasting, expenditure controls, and bench marking. Curricular goals: Upon completion, students will be able to:1) discuss, in an informed way, the history, evolution, theory and practice of strategic planning in higher education;2) appreciate contextual influences (such as organizational politics and culture, leadership, environmental constraints, and the like) on planning;3) apply data and decision-support tools that can support strategic planning and resource management;4) apply group process tools to enhance communication, consensus, and action;5) demonstrate a pragmatic ability to help integrate strategic planning with institutional research and organizational improvement in a college or university setting. HI ED 810 is designed for institutional research professionals, and the on-line learning experiences are aimed at applying the readings, obtaining hands-on experience in analyzing data, and developing reporting skills, Each Unit lists supplementary readings and weblinks where you can find additional information to explore the topic in greater depth. The methods of teaching and learning include Readings and Supplemental Resources, Professor's Notes, Discussion Forums, Drop Boxes, Collaborative Learning Opportunities in small groups, Individual Learning Opportunities or a personal project, and Essays or Papers. This course has an established start and end date and includes interaction with other students throughout the course. Pre-requisite: a working knowledge of basic applied statistics.

Develop skills to design and execute IR studies using quantitative and qualitative research methods. HIED 830 Designing Institutional Research Studies (3) This course acquaints students with best practices and necessary skills in quantitative and qualitative research design including sampling and basic measurement issues, research methods, survey research, interviews, focus groups, and selecting appropriate statistical tools. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: 1. Define and explain the following concepts/tools of social science research: The scientific method Theory and its role Constructs and variables Experimental designs Hypotheses and relations Ethical Principles and practices Survey designs and methods Sampling theory and designs Approaches to data collection Quasi-experimental designs Measurement reliability and validity Ex post facto designs Quantitative analytical designs Focus Groups & Interviews Qualitative analytical designs 2. Apply these concepts/tools in designing a study relating to education research or policy analysis; 3. Effectively critique and evaluate both the theoretical bases (if any) and methods of a journal article or report of a piece of research or policy analysis. This course has established start and end dates and includes interaction with other students throughout the course. Use of the course Web site is required (the central area for accessing class notes and postings, e-mail communication, ANGEL, downloading files). The course is structured around learning units, each roughly corresponding to one week of a Penn State semester. Learning units are self-contained and built around a single theme or topic. Each contains an introduction , objectives, reading assignments, professor's content, and learning activities. While it is possible to accelerate or vary the reading and research schedule, the discussion components among peers should adhere roughly to the time frame (the week) within which each Unit is presented. As a pre-requisite for this course, students are expected to: * Know the definition of a "variable" and the distinctions among dependent, independent, and control variables. * Know basic descriptive statistics (e.g., mean, median, variance, standard deviation, percentage distributions), basic inferential statistics (chi-square test of association and goodness-of-fit test, t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, correlations); the concepts underlying ordinary least-dquares (OLS) multiple regression and the basic multiple regression statistics (R2, R2-change, b-weights, and beta weights).

Academic program assessment/student outcomes in accountability and accreditation processes. HI ED 840 Assessing Student Outcomes & Evaluating Academic Programs (3) This course pulls together the many threads that add up to educational effectiveness: evaluating academic programs and curricula, assessing student learning outcomes, coping with accountability and performance reporting requirements, responding to the demands of both regional and disciplinary/vocational accreditation bodies. The course acquaints students with strategies and instruments for conducting outcomes studies of programs, students, and alumni alike. Assessment topics include studies of students' basic skills, general education, knowledge in the major, personal growth, and alumni outcomes. Thus, the course is designed for higher education professionals who seek to a fuller understanding of Student Outcomes Assessment, Program Evaluation, and Institutional Effectiveness. The on-line experiences are aimed at applying the readings, obtaining hands-on experience in analyzing data, and developing reporting skills. Each Unit lists supplementary readings and weblinks where you can find additional information to explore the topic in greater depth. The course has linkages to the other courses in the Institutional Research Certificate program. For example, the opening weeks of HI ED 840 expand upon some of the assessment and evaluation readings and materials covered in selected units of the Foundations course (HI ED 801). Both this assessment course and the course on Studying Students and Student Affairs (HI ED 802) draw upon and discuss relevant literature and theories of student outcomes. Persistence models and theories referred to in these courses are relevant also to Enrollment Management and Forecasting (HI ED 860). The Research Design course (HI ED 830), with its emphasis on measurement issues and survey research, provides an analytical foundation for all these other IR courses. HI ED 840 summarizes the best of what we know about assessing student outcomes. Few topics are more complicated than outcomes assessment. The needs of students and the areas of their learning vary highly among institutions and degree programs. Students are diverse and the dimensions of the learning processes in American Higher Education are extremely complex. Likewise, assessing student performance is complex and hence difficult to summarize. Moreover, before we travel into the real content of assessment, we need to place our journey within a context, and within an environment that is heavily shaping what we do. Thus, before we focus on evaluation academic programs and assessing student outcomes, we will examine accountability, accreditation, and performance reporting. In recent years, evidence of student outcomes has become one of the key indicators of institutional effectiveness, especially as it is viewed by accrediting associations and many state higher education governing boards.

Accreditation bodies, state legislatures, critics, and the public at large continue to challenge colleges and universities to demonstrate what and how students are actually learning. Further, student affairs departments are being scrutinized-both internally and externally-regarding the importance, relationship, and effectiveness of their initiatives for student learning and persistence. This course suggests that research, program evaluation, and assessment are critical skills for student affairs practitioners to develop in responding to such concerns and in order to undertake and accomplish their efforts with excellence. More specifically, this course will help students to contextualize and evaluate student affairs programs with an eye towards effectiveness and improvement.

This course gives students an overview of administrative leadership within higher education institutions. Students learn about organizational structure, governance, leadership, decision-making, internal and external constituencies, culture, resources, and organizational change. Brief discussions of key organizational theories are included but the course primarily focuses on administrative practice.

This course examines the nature and purpose of the student affairs profession, its functions, and how they can be effectively managed, coordinated, and integrated as part of student learning in American institutions. It also explores institutional strategies for organizing, staffing, and funding the large portfolio of programs, services, and facilities designed to facilitate student learning and development at different types of institutions. Complementing material learned in other HIED courses, this course will explore the practical use of student development theory, student learning assessment, and organizational theory in student affairs.

Explores diverse student populations, the value university communities place on these differences, and development of skills to assist these populations.

Numerous scholars, over many years, have explored a wide array of topics about college students;their preparation for college, their generalized and particularized characteristics, their behaviors in college, their attitudes about social issues, their relative success in achieving learning outcomes, their engagement (or lack thereof) with various components of the collegiate learning experience, their persistence, and the list goes on and on. This course probes a few of the many relevant avenues of inquiry that comprise ongoing efforts to study college students. More specifically, we will utilize Alexander Astin's Inputs-Environments-Outcomes (IEO) model (1991) as a useful way to organize an analysis of college students, perhaps with slightly more emphasis placed on the Inputs component of Astin's model.

This course is an overview of the legal standards arising in higher education, including institutional legal obligations, the rights and responsibilities of faculty, staff, and students, and the legal and regulatory roles of states and the federal government. The course is intended to serve the needs of students with varied professional and academic interests related to higher education who would benefit from a greater understanding of the legal forces that affect colleges and universities.

Develop research skills to analyze faculty workload and performance in teaching, research, outreach, and compensation. HIED 850 Analyzing Faculty Workload, Performance, and Compensation (3) This course provides researchers with an overview of faculty issues with the analytical skills and tools associated with analyzing faculty workload and performance in teaching, scholarship, and outreach. The course is designed for those entering careers in institutional research and planning, particularly those whose work supports the Provost, as well as for those whose work is related to faculty analysis and reporting in other higher education settings. Topics include an overview of needed local and existing national databases, measuring faculty workload, evaluating faculty research productivity, using student ratings of instruction, providing support for academic program reviews, conducting salary studies, addressing issues of equity/diversity, and assessing faculty satisfaction, turnover, and flow. Curricular goals: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: - Understand concepts, methodologies, research practices, and information systems that support academic decision making in the Provost's Office. - Use NSOPF, NSF, IPEDS, HERI, and other national databases that collect faculty information. - Develop appropriate metrics to gauge faculty work in instruction, research, and service. - Understand the diversity of academic work-life and labor market issues at national and institutional levels. - Carryout at a basic level the major Institutional Research faculty-related analyses, including instructional analysis, research productivity, benchmarking, salary equity, and turnover projections. - Utilize SPSS software, make power-point presentations, and produce effective reports related to faculty issues. This course has established start and end dates and includes interaction with others throughout the course. The course is structured around learning units, each roughly corresponding to one week of a Penn State semester. Learning units are self-contained and built around a single theme or topic. Each contains an introduction, objectives, reading assignments, professor's content, and learning activities. While it is possible to accelerate or vary the reading and research schedule, the discussion components among peers should adhere roughly to the time frame (the week) within which each Unit is presented. Pre-requisite: Working knowledge of intermediate statistics such as OLS regression.

This course gives students an overview of key components of strategic enrollment management. The course is divided into three parts. The first part, which contains the initial three lessons, presents core themes that permeate the class while also familiarizing students with the field of enrollment management. The second part addresses the core activities associated within enrollment management: recruitment, admissions, financial aid, and retention. The final part of the course focuses on current trends in enrollment management and on topics of interest to the students.

Formal courses given on a topical or special interest subject which may be offered infrequently; several different topics may be taught in one year or semester.