Quality Assurance
Quality assurance is maintained on two levels; program quality and quality of student preparation. Each will be addressed separately. Program Students Policies Preassessment Educational Administration Meetings Reflections Team Meetings Panel Review of Competencies NCATE Graduate Survey & Learner Feedback Practitioner Advisory Quality Assurance - Program Policies The University of Minnesota’s core requirements for preparation of candidates for licenses in educational administration as a school superintendent, K-12 principal, director of special education or director of community education are stipulated in Minnesota Rules Chapter 3512, Qualifications and Licensure of School Personnel. To remain versed in accepted interpretation of the rules licensure program staff are active at the state level. Dr. Werner, program director, serves as a member of the Minnesota Board of School Administrator and was co-founder with Dr. Don Krukow, then director of personnel licensing for the Department of Children, Families and Learning (currently Minnesota Department of Education) of the Universities Collaborative, a group organized to bring all of the licensing preparation institutions together to discuss licensure rules and other aspects addressing the preparation of educational administrators. In some aspects of licensure requirements the University of Minnesota goes beyond the requirements of the state and hold students to a higher standard than prescribed by law. Some examples are requiring K-12 principals to perform field experience hours at the elementary, middle and high school levels and all our final evaluation panelists must be neutral parties capable of objective professional evaluation of competencies. The University of Minnesota has a strong infrastructure designed to assure high standards of quality are met for all of its degrees and programs. The Committee on Academic Affairs (CAA) governs all course and certificate program development. A full committee review is conducted for each course prior to its authorization. The complete application for the Certificate in PK12 Administration, upon approval by the CAA, was also reviewed and approved by the University’s Board of Regents. Additionally, prior to eligibility authorization for the program’s federal financial aid for students, representatives of the federal government reviewed the certificate program proposal. Educational Administration Bi-weekly Meetings Another aspect of quality assurance is the relationship that the licensure program has to the Educational Administration program area. Educational Administration faculty meet every two weeks throughout the academic year to discuss program procedures, evaluation standards, and other questions related to components of the program area. Collectively we establish and interpret a vision of rigor and standards commensurate with the reputation of the University of Minnesota, which was ranked 19th among 155 graduate schools of education in the country, and 11th among public institutions in the U.S. News and World Report’s 2005 survey report. In all 10 of the specific education areas ranked in the survey, the University placed in the top 20 with the category of administration and supervision ranking 14th. Team Meetings One of the great strengths of the licensure program is the strong communication among the four individuals with primary responsibility for development, coordination, and student advisement. Dr. Neal Nickerson, adjunct professor; Dr. Lynn Scearcy, coordinator; Dr. Ann Werner, program director; and Nuria Sheehan, administrative assistant communicate directly with each other on a continuous basis. They provide a consistent message to students, demonstrate a common vision and have shared beliefs regarding service and quality. The interaction of this team makes work “FUN” – a key element to ongoing motivation. NCATE The College of Education and Human Development is accredited by NCATE. Its last formal review was conducted in 2000. Formal preparations are currently underway for the next scheduled review in 2005. Graduate Survey and Learner Feedback The licensure program involves itself in a pattern of continuous improvement in which data collection including feedback from graduates as well as current students is valued. A recent survey of students completing within the past three years was conducted, with a 48% return, providing valuable insights into strengths and areas for growth. During orientation new students are schooled on the importance and the value placed on their ongoing feedback to the program. Program participants are viewed as partners in their preparation process and therefore are encouraged to share insights and best practices so that others may grow from their excellent work. As a result of University policy at the completion of each course students are given course evaluation forms to fill out and submit. That feedback is seen by the instructor and the department chair and, in the case of licensure program adjunct faculty, by the program director. Practitioner Advisory The shared role of practitioners and the university is one of the core beliefs upon which the Licensure and Leadership Development Program is built. Practitioner advice is provided to the program in five categories: 1. Adjunct lecturers: Current or recently retired practitioners who have earned doctorate degrees or comparable credentials in academia (i.e.: former Commissioner of Education), are lead instructors for some of our topic-specific courses. For example, Michael Lovett, Ph.D. and James Martin, J.D. both assistant superintendents for human resources in suburban districts serve as instructors for the course titled Administration of Human Resources. 2. Speakers: Licensed practitioner or experts from the Minnesota Department of Education and other sources are extensively used to supplement course instruction providing first hand expertise. 3. General advisory committees: Our general advisories provide valuable insights when discussing the overall program. 4. License-specific advisory committee: These groups are license area specific and serve in a hands-on capacity. The current intensive development focus is for the cohort titled Administration of Community and Alternative Education Programs. Two licenses are addressed, director of community education and the principal’s license as applied to general plus alternative settings. 5. Listening groups: These are asynchronous web formats where participants with guaranteed anonymity provide daily insights into the current work of licensed professionals. These insights inform continuous improvement of field experience projects and are invaluable! Return to top
Quality Assurance – Students Dr. Arthur Harkins, professor, University of Minnesota states that in order for learning to take place the learner must make personal meaning of information. It is this process of identifying appropriate and stimulating information that addresses the competencies and supporting practices, teaching, providing opportunities for personal meaning making, and finally learning that exemplifies the teaching and learning for students in the Licensure and Leadership Development Program. The first element of quality assurance for students is embedded in MR 3512 and stipulates the number of credits and the competencies that students must demonstrate through their knowledge, skills, and abilities. These competencies are embedded in all of the coursework in which students enroll and the project-based learning that students must complete. All of the instructors for licensure courses earned doctorate degrees with the exception of Robert Wedl, former Commissioner of Education for Minnesota who, because of the level of position held has gained a deeper understanding of administrative content. These individuals are supported by speakers with practical expertise in specific content areas. Instructors are hired based on exceptional knowledge in specific content areas. Instructor vitae and addition information is available under the instructors section. In addition to the rigorous standards for instructors as noted earlier all courses must be developed according to the standards of the College of Education and Human Development and are monitored by the Committee on Academic Affairs. The University also has a uniform grading policy which is included in all course syllabi. There are a variety of ways that students are evaluated in specific courses including objective tests, written work, oral presentations, and observational data. Three essential components of the licensure program that serve as both development and assessment tools will be addressed in the following sections. Preassessment The preassessment is a specific requirement in MR3512. At the University of Minnesota this is a process as much as it is an end product. The process begins with the first course, EdPA 5385 Licensure Seminar, and its product is used to help guide the students learning plan. This plan called the plan of action, becomes content for the resume and vita, helps to identify products for the e-folio, and becomes the summaries of evidence for each competency in the e-folio to be used in the exit panel assessment. The development of the preassessment is also a process, both individual and collaborative. Within the Licensure Seminar students begin in licensure area groups working both in class and on-line. They collaborate with each other and consult with practitioner mentors to identify the questions for each competency. By identifying the questions before the actions, students are taught that there is flexibility and great variety in how a question may be answered in practice. The answers to these questions are influenced by administrative styles, beliefs, size of district, policies, etc. and are demonstrated as exhibits of authentic practice that are included in the student’s portfolio. Once the questions are identified within a group, each individual compiles a personal preassessment doing an in-depth analysis of 5 categories for EACH competency: - List all of the courses that are found on official university transcripts. All courses that address the specific competency may be included no matter if they were taken as part of a degree or non-degree program.
- List all of the workshops, seminars, and other formal training experiences that do not appear on a transcript.
- List all of the personal study such as readings or research that apply to the specific competency.
- List all of the experiences that the candidate has participated in that required the application of this competency or competency set.
- The fifth section is the plan of action. After analyzing what the individual has, he or she lists his or her plan for how to go deeper into the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with this competency or states, if this is an area of strength, that the candidate believes he or she is at entry level or better for the competency area.
Current Examples of Quality Preassessments: The preassessment is then submitted to the student’s advisor who goes through it and makes recommendations to reinforce areas that appear to be weak and not addressed in the plan of action. A copy of the accepted plan is kept on file for each student. Students must complete this requirement prior to receiving permission to enroll in the field experience. Our preassessment process is a long and sometimes tedious process, but students frequently express how affirming it is to them as well as useful as a building block to next steps in the licensure process. The preassessment begins the development of the integrated thought process in which the students learn to analyze past experiences looking for how various competencies work together to form a whole. In performing those steps the learner develops a deeper understanding of the meaning of each competency and sub-competency. Reflections This is one of the most valued aspects of the licensure and leadership development program. Using the reflection sheet format, students are required to complete a reflection for each assigned project for licensure specific courses, the field experience and for portfolio sections. The reflection has 7 sections. In addition to the title and description of the exhibit, the student must identify at least two different categories of sources that served to inform best practices. One of those two must be the literature category and include at least two references from readings. Quotes with citations are encouraged. This is to reinforce the importance of teaching students to look to empirical evidence to determine if the practices they are engaged in are “best” practices or simply ways of doing things that have been passed on from one mentor to the next generation of administrators. This supports the program vision of the integration of professional wisdom, empirical evidence and authentic practice. The next category for reflection is to teach students to reflect on everything they do using the four frames of leadership presented by Bolman and Deal in Frames of Leadership. This teaches them to see that every action they perform or decision they make has impact on multiple aspects of the total organization. Requiring this of students over and over throughout the program in writing is included to help the aspiring administrator naturally incorporate this process into practice once each moves from reflecting formally in writing to consistently and quickly reflecting in their heads once licensed and practicing as an educational administrator. Finally, students are asked to apply what they have done to their values and beliefs and to make assessments on how they will improve when performing similar tasks in the future. It is another step in assisting students to integrate professional wisdom and empirical evidence in the performance of their authentic practice. Reflection Examples: Panel Review of Competencies – Moving to Institutional Recommendation The second course that students are encouraged to enroll in is EdPA 5386 Portfolio Seminar. Students are taught the process of developing a licensure portfolio that they will expand throughout their licensure program. Beginning with students enrolled fall semester 2004 students are required to submit an electronic portfolio. Prior to that time students generally submitted a hard copy portfolio. One copy of each student’s portfolio is kept on file at the University of Minnesota for seven years. Students sign permission to review forms prior to their panel review. Therefore, all portfolios are available as teaching tools for students. They are also available as exhibits for outside reviews of the Licensure and Leadership Development Program. It is the process of creating the licensure portfolio that is considered more important than the final product. Though the portfolio is the final product that is used to assist the aspiring administrator in the demonstration of the knowledge, skills, and abilities for each of the competencies, the in-depth process of identifying key exhibits and thinking through the competencies that support the exhibits is what is most important in preparing students for their oral presentation. The panel review is a very serious process at the University. Approximately 80% of the students pass their review panel the first time. The others receive a Professional Development Plan (PDP), which identifies only those competencies that the student did not pass at entry level. The PDP identifies specific competencies and learning tasks to assist the student to gain the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform at a minimum of entry level. Upon completion of the PDP the student is required to either meet with his or her advisor to verify competence or meet with a second or third full panel. This is the decision of the first full panel and depends on the extent, breath and depth of deficiency. PDP Examples: A University of Minnesota defining belief regarding the panel reviews is that they must be non-biased. This means that the panel members must not have a close relationship with the candidate including currently or formerly serving as a colleague of the candidate or being a personal friend. The panel members include three or more individuals, with at least one representing the University and serving as the panel facilitator, at least one other member representing practicing administrators in the license area under consideration and the third member may be a representative of either the University or the field. Better than 90% of our panels include two current or recently retired practitioners but almost all of our University representatives have also been practicing administrators for most of their careers. The panel facilitator is trained to conduct panels and prior to each panel the facilitator reviews the panel instruction sheet with each of its members. Each student is scheduled for a two-hour review with a follow-up deliberation time for the panel and a feedback session between the panel members and the candidate. Panel members use the Licensure Portfolio and Evaluation Form, which is partially filled out by the candidate prior to the panel, to document the completion of the competencies. Upon completion of the panel each panel member signs the form attesting to its authenticity. The assessment form is kept in the student’s file for seven years. Prior to the panel review each candidate is required to participate in a pre-panel meeting with one of the advisors. These sessions generally are approximately two hours in length. These conferences have multiple purposes including review of the student’s portfolio to determine if it is ready to be presented, coaching on techniques for the oral presentation, review of the student’s folder to determine that all other requirements are met including completion of credits, and to complete the student's pre-panel checklist which identifies paperwork that must be submitted prior to institutional endorsement to the Minnesota Department of Education. One of the forms that must be completed is the Culminating Requirements Form, which is sent to MDE as part of the institutional approval. If it is determined that the student is not ready the panel date is rescheduled. Once the student has passed the panel, completed all credit requirements, and submitted the required paperwork a letter is sent to MDE along with a completed packet of supporting paperwork. The letter is the University’s attestation that all requirements are met and recommends the individual be issued an administrative license by the State of Minnesota. Template Letters to State: Return to top eFolio Instructions To create ‘anchor links’: See instructions on the Courses & Competencies page.
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