Required core subjects (12 hours)*:

• EDUC 5010 Graduate Study Seminar

• Research: EDUC 5933 Classroom Research and Institutional Effectiveness

• Foundation: EDUC 5903 Higher Education Philosophy and Practice

• Psychology: EDUC 5913 Adult Learning Theory & Practice

• Diversity: EDUC 5923 Adult Cognitive Styles and Individual Differences

Required education courses (6 hours)*:

• EDUC 5943 Leadership in Adult Education Venues

• EDUC 5953 Institutional Management

Field-Specific subjects (18 hours)^**+

^Note: Although students may take any elective graduate courses that make up an approved plan of study, an additional pathway has been created for those candidates who wish to specialize in Sports Administration for their elective courses. The curriculum for this pathway is listed below:

Elective Curriculum Pathway 1: Sports Administration

• HED 5203 Facility Management

• PE&R 5672 Athletic Administration

• PE&R 5503 Legal Liabilities

• PE&R 5543 Readings -- Sports Finance & Marketing

• PE&R 5622 Organization and Management of Intramural Sports

• PE&R 5562 Recreational Leadership

• HED 5500 Internship (3 credit)

*Note: Required courses are restricted, available only to students admitted to the Adult Education Management and Administration Program.

**Note: Students enrolled in the Adult Education Management and Administration option may take three-to-six semester hours of thesis credit (Thesis 5330) as part of their field-specific subjects if they choose to undertake a research project (thesis) as part of their graduate coursework. Students should also visit the Graduate Studies website at www.nwosu.edu/graduate-studies or the Graduate Office (Fine Arts #212) to receive the booklet "Guidlines for Thesis Preparation and Submission," a list of the "Policies and Procedures for a Master's Degree with a Thesis," and the appropriate forms.

+Note: The Office of Graduate Studies requires students enrolled in the Adult Education Management and Administration option to hold at least twelve credit hours of undergraduate or graduate work in a relevant discipline to their area of specialization. For those who do not, extra coursework will be required to provide an appropriate background for their graduate content area.

Candidates who complete this program will:

1. Understand fundamental concepts, roles, and issues regarding adult education, the Learning College movement, the community college, college teaching, accountability, and institutional effectiveness, including such issues as approaches to teaching underprepared students, using social media as a pedagogical tool, and embracing a service model of teaching that promotes student success (addressed in EDUC 5913 Adult Learning Theory and Practice).
    

2. Understand the needs and learning styles, the cognitive development, and cultural and individual differences of adult learners (addressed in EDUC 5923 Adult Cognitive Styles and Individual Differences).
    

3. Understand the predominant philosophical foundations of higher education as well as the range of missions, governance, financing, and major practices of higher education and the community college (addressed in EDUC 5903 Higher Education Philosophy and Practice).

4. Review and apply educational research processes and results to classroom curriculum, design, and practice and identify classroom issues, especially as they relate to outcomes assessment of adult learners (addressed in EDUC 5933 Classroom Research and Institutional Effectiveness).

5. Understand leadership techniques, managerial styles, diversity, and ethics in the context of adult education (addressed in EDUC 5943 Leadership in Adult Education Venues).

6. Develop knowledge and skills that will assist them in effectively and responsibly managing organizations by understanding the structures of organizations, the interpersonal dynamics of groups through human resource management, the evaluation of political environments, and guiding the institutional culture to achieve the goals and mission (addressed in EDUC 5953 Institutional Management).

During their last semester of coursework, Adult Education candidates will sit for the comprehensive exam. This is a multiquestion essay exam about the core and field-specific courses the candidate has taken, according to their plan of study. Specific questions will be composed by members of the candidate's graduate advisory committee in consultation with the candidate. The exams will be graded with a consensus vote of pass-fail by the advisory committee. Candidates must also orally defend their exam answers on a date scheduled after the exam is taken.

Plan of Study form

Graduate Advisory Committee form

SLO 1: Students will analyze the historical roots and development of higher education in the United States, including its various program and servies, financial support, and comtemporary roles and missions. 

SLO 2: Students will examine and evaluate various teaching and learning strategies as they relate to adult learners in higher education, focusing on the creation of pedagogy for college courses that attend to the learning styles of a diverse adult population.

SLO 3: Students will analyze and examine various structures and components of managing institutions in higher education.

SLO 4: Students will analyze classroom and institutional problems by learning the methods and techniques of classroom research.