Higher Education

HED 4201 Assessment in Higher Education (4 Credits)

This course is designed to give student a broad understanding of assessment in higher education. This course will improve student’s familiarity with existing assessment instruments for students, services, programs and facilities as well as provide an understanding importance of maintaining high standards of ethics and integrity in assessment of higher education and student affairs.

HED 4202 Program Evaluation in Higher Education (4 Credits)

This course is an overview of the craft of program evaluation, “…the systematic assessment of the operation and/or the outcomes of a program or policy, compared to a set of explicit or implicit standards, as a means of contributing to the improvement of the program or policy” (Weiss, 1998, p. 4). Program evaluation, simply put, is the craft of applying research methods in a thoughtful way to the task of finding out what and/or how interventions work in the context of the programs or policies in which they operate. This is accomplished by systematically investigating the effectiveness of program processes and outcomes within their political and organizational context. The goal is to inform social action and, by extension, improve conditions for program recipients and participants. Students in this course will explore program evaluation within the context of higher education. The purpose of this course is threefold: (1) Develop an understanding of existing evaluation theory and practice; (2) Apply evaluation theory and approaches to the context education evaluation; and (3) Develop an experiential base upon which to engage in evaluation in educational practice, and for many as a component of doctoral research projects.

HED 4210 Critical Higher Education (4 Credits)

This course examines the social and political context of U.S. education and provides an analysis of schooling, cultural politics, and global influences that inform current practices and structures of the higher education system. Central to this course is the development of a critical understanding of topics related to meritocracy, stratification, diversity, and decentralization in higher education. Prerequisite: Ph.D. student in higher education or permission of instructor.

HED 4211 Current Issues in Higher Ed (4 Credits)

A study of contemporary higher education as a specialized field of inquiry and as a professional area in which to work. Explores institutional missions as well as entities such as administration, faculty, curriculum, and student, in relationship to current issues.

HED 4212 Introduction to Public Policy and Higher Education (4 Credits)

This is an introductory course that gives students an overview of federal and state public policy, current issues, research methods, and practical skills required for the policy formation process. This is the introductory seminar to the Public Policy, Leadership and Organizational Change emphasis area for the master's program.

HED 4213 Leadership and Supervision (4 Credits)

General leadership theory and its implications for higher education; specific focus on leadership skills, such as conflict resolution, problem solving, use of teams and change advocacy.

HED 4214 History American Higher Ed (4 Credits)

The purpose of this course is to trace the history of higher education in the United States from the system’s pre-colonial beginnings through the present day. Readings will focus on the original purposes of higher education within the US, the forces leading to system massification and the subsequent competing visions and goals that have led to its becoming one of the most highly contested social institutions within the public arena. Higher education in many ways serves as a mirror to US national and state-level priorities. Understanding this relationship between higher education as a system, and higher education as a national, state and individual level asset helps us understand how we’ve arrived at our current historical moment: a decentralized system in which education represents a spectrum of institutional types, constituencies and local concerns. One could therefore argue the history of higher education gives us an opportunity to view the US postsecondary educational system as a dynamic reflection of our country’s past, present, and future.

HED 4215 Curriculum Development and Teaching Strategies in Higher Education (4 Credits)

The goal of this course is to prepare those who will serve in higher education with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to design curriculum and pedagogical strategies that produce effective and equitable learning outcomes for all students and adults in postsecondary settings. This course pushes students to think about curriculum and instruction as a decision-­‐making process that requires articulated goals, strategic alignment, and thoughtful planning in order to realize a more effective and inclusive pedagogy. Throughout the course students will come to understand the complexities of curriculum and teaching design, but also have the process clarified with a framework for choosing among different ways of teaching that result in significant and transformative learning experiences for their future students.

HED 4216 HED Research Processes (4 Credits)

Enables students to explore current research and theories associated with their scholarly interests and resources for doing research, and to address problems in conducting original inquiry and investigations in postsecondary education. Attention is directed to the investigation of a research problem of each student's interest. Prerequisite: Successful completion of 10 credit hours of research courses or permission of instructor.

HED 4217 Student Affairs Administration (4 Credits)

A review of student services, emphasis on programmatic content and relationship to student development; organization of student service programs and national trends. To further describe the historical development of student affairs work including significant persons and activities and to begin the development of students' own professional identities as a reflective practitioner and to understand the responsibilities for integrating assistantships/internships/work experiences to theory and new knowledge.

HED 4218 Organization and Governance in Higher Education (4 Credits)

Students enrolled in this course will acquire a nuanced understanding of how colleges and universities are governed in the United States. Questions guiding this course will be: Who has the power to make decisions on college campuses? What roles do various constituents, such as board members, presidents, deans, faculty, staff, chief diversity officers, student affairs professionals, and students play, and how reflective are these individuals of the broad diversity of U.S. higher education? How does the larger social/political context in the U.S. affect how institutions are governed? What does academic governance reveal about power, privilege and oppression? We will explore how organizational characteristics (the culture, history and structure), positionalities and identities, and policies (for example, tenure and promotion, shared governance, and academic freedom) influence the ability of institutions to dismantle systemic oppression, promote opportunity for all stakeholders, and strengthen democratic life. We will use normative and critical theories to examine the organization and governance of higher education.

HED 4219 Introduction to Higher Education (4 Credits)

This course is designed to provide students an overview of higher education as a field of study and practice. The topics covered attempt to equip students with working knowledge of the structures, functions, challenges, concerns, and opportunities within higher education as a social institution. Grounded in values and principles of inclusive excellence, the course take equity and diversity as departure points from which any and all productive understandings of higher education must engage.

HED 4220 Org & Governance of Higher Ed (4 Credits)

Study of theoretical perspectives and empirical research drawn from the social sciences related to higher education organizations and governance with an emphasis on application of theory and practice.

HED 4221 Financing Higher Education (4 Credits)

Financing public and private institutions of higher learning; sources of income, budgeting procedures, funding and control, use of simulated exercises to illustrate principles. Recommended prerequisites: HED 4210, HED 4211 and HED 4214.

HED 4222 Legal Issues in Higher Education (4 Credits)

Review of a broad range of administrative problems with legal dimensions; process for analyzing case law on issues of access, student rights, employment, collective bargaining, church-state relations, private sector and liability. Students gain practical experience (praxis) in analyzing and applying legal concepts to higher education subjects.

HED 4226 The Community College (4 Credits)

General issues related to community college, such as history, mission, characteristics, students, curricula, teaching and student services.

HED 4229 Student Support in College (4 Credits)

This class will introduce students to basic interpersonal helping skills required in Higher Education settings, including relationship building, listening, giving feedback, problem-solving, and resolving conflicts. Students will become familiar with crisis intervention models and techniques; signs and symptoms of distress and mental illness; strategies for making appropriate referrals to mental health providers; and considerations about self and other when engaged in helping relationships, particularly those with cultural differences. Central to the course will be discussion of the appropriate role Higher Education professionals have in helping students while recognizing their limitations.

HED 4230 Reflective ePortfolio (2 Credits)

The purpose of this course is to assist students by facilitating the transition in to professional positions in higher education. A learning portfolio is a required component for completion of the degree program for the master's degree (MA) in Higher Education to demonstrate significant learning about the field of higher education and oneself in the program.

HED 4235 Organizational Change (4 Credits)

This course will focus on designing, implementing, and evaluating effective change in higher education through an equity-minded lens. The course is intended to assist students in developing a set of understandings in how to plan and implement change in higher education organizations, institutions, and as an industry. The course will introduce “equity-minded change” in higher education and will focus on how institutions can change to achieve equity, while addressing the importance of managing organizational development on a macro and micro level in higher education institutions and organizations. Students will acquire tools to manage and understand change through structural, political, human resource, and symbolic perspectives to understand the systemic interrelationships among these factors to effectively meet the changing socio/economic/political environments within higher education as they impact student success.

HED 4242 Educational Policy Analysis (4 Credits)

Students in this experiential course will develop critical policy analysis and Praxis skills that have relevance for the implementation of public policy and finance strategies for higher education. Students will employ critical thinking skills to analyze, evaluate and interpret public policy and finance with the goal of advancing the field of higher education’s understanding of effective public policy and finance, as well as the unintended consequences that may arise with various policy solutions and funding strategies. Specifically, students will learn how to evaluate whether public policy and finance hinders or assists post-secondary institutions and their leaders in dismantling systemic oppression while promoting educational equity and opportunity and strengthening the public purposes of higher education. Students will interact directly with public policymakers, post-secondary administrators, policy researchers and policy analysts while assisting with a quarter-long experiential policy analysis project with an intermediary public policy organization. Students will also develop a policy analysis paper.

HED 4246 Issues of Access & Opportunity (4 Credits)

This course addresses theories and research on a variety of issues related to college preparation, school structures, and inequalities in college access. The course will cover different levels of analyses: theoretical, individual levels (i.e., race, ethnicity, and social class), organizational levels (family, geography, high school context, and outreach), and field levels (i.e., policy, testing, rankings, media, and policy). Special attention will be paid to the sociocultural context influencing issues of college access and opportunity for students.

HED 4247 Retention, Persistence, and Student Success in Postsecondary Settings (4 Credits)

This course introduces students to relevant research, theory, and practice related to college student retention and persistence. Students explore cultural, institutional, and individual factors that may impact college student persistence and critically examine theories attempting to explain why students leave college. In addition, students also closely explore the dynamics of oppression at the individual, institutional, and socio-cultural levels and the resulting impact on student retention. Effective retention practices, programs, and assessment procedures are also identified and examined.

HED 4260 Students and College Environments (4 Credits)

This course will serve as an introduction to college environments and the complexity of campus and culture. The purpose of this course is to familiarize you with today’s higher education settings and provide you with strategies to maximize learning and development, for all students. In line with inclusive excellence, attention will be paid to the impact of campus environments on diverse student populations. Theoretical concepts will help explain, describe, and examine the college environments as a system and its impact on students, faculty, and staff.

HED 4261 College Student Development Theory (4 Credits)

An overview of human development theories relevant to college students, of traditional and non-traditional ages. This application will enhance the ability of student affairs professionals as they work to maximize the affective and cognitive development of students within the college setting.

HED 4270 Internship in Student Affairs (0-6 Credits)

HED 4281 Inclusive Excellence Programming and Development (4 Credits)

IE in Programming and Development will provide an overview related to the development and implementation of cultural programming and cultural centers over time. This course will pay specific attention to the role of student activism in creating change on college campuses in the form of cultural programming, centers, diversity curriculum, and inclusive excellence initiatives. The course will also address the challenges and competencies associated with inclusive excellent programming and development.

HED 4284 Inclusive Excellence in Organizations (4 Credits)

In recent years, major demographic and economic changes in this country and worldwide have contributed to the diversification of the workplace. As a result, the need for understanding how to enhance cultural diversity in organizations has taken on a greater importance. Accordingly, framed through the concept of Inclusive Excellence, this course focuses on the changing demographics of our society, especially related to race and culture, gender, age, physical ability, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status, emphasizing the implications these factors have for leadership and management in a variety of organizational settings.

HED 4287 Critical Race Theory and Education (4 Credits)

The purpose of this course is to provide students with an in-depth exposure to Critical Race Theory (CRT) as it pertains to education. Critical Race Theory is an analytical framework that provides race-based epistemological, methodological, and pedagogical approaches to the study of everyday inequalities in P-20 education. Together, we will work through the historical development continuing on to the contemporary nuances of CRT. In addition, we will work to expose the ideological construction of race and education in the U.S. As such, we will also work through the oppressive nature of education and boldly confront notions of colorblindness. Throughout this course, we will struggle with the challenges surrounding the inclusion of multiple voices and multiple perspectives in the complex intersections among race, ethnicity, gender, class, and sexual orientation. Specifically, we will critique the strengths and limitations of CRT as a framework for addressing educational inequalities. Prerequisites: HED 4289.

HED 4288 Gender & Sexuality in Higher Education (4 Credits)

This course examines how gender, sexuality, and their inhabitants have been constructed, confined, and disciplined in U.S. higher education. Although neither a history nor philosophy course, we will engage both history and philosophy of sexuality and gender within and beyond higher education studies. Also, while neither a policy nor an administrative practices course, we will also engage issues of policy and practice in colleges and universities. The considerations, complications, and implications that course participants will engage will have direct import for postsecondary education, yet are transferable to other educational, community, and social contexts.

HED 4289 Race and Racism in Higher Education (4 Credits)

This course explores connections between race, racialization, and racism in American higher education. It draws on historical, political, economic, and cultural explanations of racial inequity in educational outcomes and processes. The course uses institutional and systemic levels of analysis to examine racial equity in higher education.

HED 4294 Seminar in Higher Education (4 Credits)

Advanced seminar to examine timely topics, issues, and problems. The course description is developed each time the course is offered to describe the topics to be investigated.

HED 4295 Internship in College and University Administration (0-6 Credits)

Supervised experience in administration at college or university level.

HED 4296 Internship in Public Policy (0-6 Credits)

Supervised experience in postsecondary public policy analysis or research, usually at a state or national compact or agency in the Denver-Boulder area. Recommended prerequisites: HED 4210, HED 4211, HED 4212, HED 4221, HED 4242, HED 4243.

HED 4297 Internship in College Teaching (0-2 Credits)

Supervised experience in teaching at college level.

HED 4991 MA Independent Study (1-10 Credits)

HED 4995 Independent Research (1-10 Credits)

HED 5991 PhD Independent Study (1-10 Credits)

HED 5993 Doctoral Research - EdD (1-20 Credits)

Doctoral research credits for doctoral research project toward the EdD. Prerequisite: Must be an EdD student in HED; must have completed at least 80% of coursework; cannot complete more than five credit hours of HED 5993 prior to passing the comprehensive exam.

HED 5995 Independent Research (1-20 Credits)