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Student Handbook: Mission, Themes, Goals, and Major Features

 

You may download the entire handbook as a PDF below

Mission

The mission of Sacrament State’s Ed.D. Program is to address the urgent need for well prepared individuals to assume key leadership positions in the state’s public K-12 schools and community colleges. California’s increasingly large and diverse student population, coupled with the large number of retirements and impending retirements, has resulted in a high demand for skilled educators who can lead the state’s elementary schools, secondary schools, and community colleges for many years to come. Our intention is to help meet this demand, thereby benefiting not only the individuals receiving doctoral training, but also all citizens in the state.

Themes

Three curricular themes are aimed at achieving the above referenced mission:

  1. Transformational leadership. Transformational leaders understand, implement, and evaluate strategic choices based on various theories, models, and approaches for achieving organizational transformation. Our students will become facilitators of such transformation.
  2. Critical policy analysis and action. Students will engage in critical analysis of policy at the local, state, and national levels. Students will learn how policy is generated, potential effects of policy decisions, ethical implications of policy choices, and consequences of policies for social justice and equity.
  3. Informed decision making. Students will learn skillful decision making strategies in the context of multiple competing interests, problem situations, and influences of power and control.

Goals

In pursuing the above curricular themes, our goals are to produce graduates who are:

  • Visionary and effective education leaders grounded in applied research and policy development;
  • Knowledgeable and sensitive education leaders skilful in guiding organizations to reach high levels of student achievement while promoting access and equity for all students; and
  • Ethical educational leaders who model and promote high standards of professional conduct, particularly in the development and implementation of educational policy.

There are several notable features to Sacramento State’s Ed.D. Program. Perhaps the most unique feature is that it reflects a strong collaboration between the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, within the College of Education, and the Department of Public Policy and Administration, within the College of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies. We are unaware of any other Ed.D. Program in the state that is based on such a collaboration between education faculty and public policy and/or public administration faculty.

This linkage underscores our commitment to taking advantage of the University’s unique situation within the capital of the largest and perhaps the most important sub-national government in the world, and the emphasis on this fact in the core values statement of Sacramento State’s strategic plan (www.csus.edu/acaf/2007CSUS_StrategicPlan.pdf). As well, the collaboration reflects the high level of expertise that has been developed on our campus with respect to policy analysis, evaluation, and implementation.

Features

Sacramento State’s Ed.D. Program also has a number of features that are consistent with the guidelines set forth in state legislation allowing Ed.D. Programs on California State University (CSU) campuses, as well as programmatic guidelines established by the CSU Chancellor’s Office, Sacramento State’s Faculty Senate, and other bodies. These features include:

Collaboration with community colleges and public schools. Representatives of community colleges have been heavily involved in planning the program curriculum and guidelines, selecting program administrators and faculty, and actual course instruction.

Focus on practice. While drawing heavily on academic research and theories, the program is self-consciously designed to focus on what students will need as practitioners in public schools and community colleges.

Cohort model. Our Ed.D. Program is based on a cohort model in which a group of admitted students move through the program together, taking courses in sequence as a group. This approach tends to enhance student camaraderie and support for one another. Additionally, it facilitates and reinforces timely progress toward the degree coupled with building professional networks and ties that will be valuable in terms of future professional growth.

Tailored to working professionals. We expect that most people enrolled in Sacramento State’s Ed.D. Program will be working professionals, and accordingly the program is structured to best meet their needs. Courses are offered on an intensive Friday-Saturday basis to allow students to meet their other responsibilities during the balance of the week. Classes are also offered on a year-round basis (including the summer) to facilitate timely completion of degree requirements.

Degree may be obtained in three years. Given the program’s design features a student making normal progress may obtain a doctorate within three years. This accelerated format is consistent with the urgency of meeting the state’s demands for educational leaders. Note that students can only be admitted to Sacramento State’s Ed.D. Program after having already obtained a Master’s degree or its equivalent.

Admissions Criteria

The Ed.D. Program may admit candidates who meet the academic requirements for the degree program, and who possess personal qualities and professional experiences that suggest a strong potential for success as doctoral candidates, and as educational leaders in K-12 or community colleges.

The Ed.D. Program requires the following of applicants for admission to the doctoral program:

  • an earned baccalaureate degree and master’s degree or the equivalent from an accredited institution of higher education with a grade point average in upper division and graduate study of 3.0 or above;

  • sufficient preparation and experience pertinent to educational leadership to benefit from the program;

  • submission of Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores from the three sections of the General Test;

  • demonstrated educational leadership potential and skills including successful experience in school, post secondary, community, and/or policy leadership;

  • demonstrated academic excellence, problem-solving ability, and an interest in critically assessing and bringing about improvements within current educational policies and practices;

  • three letters of recommendation attesting to the leadership ability and scholarship of the candidate;

  • a written statement of purpose reflecting an understanding of the challenges facing the public schools or community colleges/institutions of higher education in California;

  • a personal interview; and

  • a statement of support for the candidate's doctoral studies from his/her employer or, in cases where this is not provided, an indication of the candidate's plan for meeting the demands of the program and his/her professional responsibilities.

Meeting these minimum requirements qualifies an individual for admissions consideration but does not guarantee admission to the program. Admission is granted on a competitive basis.