KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE PROPOSAL Change in Existing Policy. Major or Degree Affected: EDD in Secondary Education (EDD in SECED) program

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1 KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE PROPOSAL Change in Existing Policy Major or Degree Affected: EDD in Secondary Education (EDD in SECED) program Area of Policy Change: X Admission/Readmission Policies Progression/Retention Policies Other (please identify) Responsible Department Secondary and Middle Grades Education Proposed Effective Date Fall 2013 (New effective date post GPCC 2nd reading =Fall 2015) I. Current Information Page Number in Current Catalog: For Program of Study; Click Education (Teaching Fields Major) For Admission Requirements & Program Description- all concentrations have the same admission requirements. Current Policy Information in Catalog/Other Material (please copy exactly): Admission Requirements 1. An earned master s degree in professional education or a related field; 2. A clear and renewable Georgia Teaching Certificate or departmentally-approved equivalent. 3. At least three years of professional teaching or administrative experience or both in P-12 education (current full-time employment as a professional educator is preferred); 4. A competitive Graduate Record Exam (GRE) score and Graduate GPA. The GPA and GRE will be utilized with other admission criteria to determine program eligibility. Although no minimum scores are required, candidates are encouraged to prepare and score well since admission to the program is competitive. Please note: The Analytical/Writing score one receives as part of the GRE exam is used competitively in the admission review process. It is strongly encouraged for applicants to do well on this portion of the exam

2 How Do I Apply 1. Complete the On-line Graduate Application. 2. Obtain and submit official transcripts from EACH college attended, including those institutions where degrees were NOT earned. Official transcripts are those in a university sealed envelope. Your transcripts should reflect at least a Master s degree with at least a 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale). 3. Obtain and submit a copy of Georgia Teaching Certificate or a departmentally-approved equivalent. 4. Complete and submit a Professional Resume documenting education, teaching experience, volunteer and service accomplishments, and record of leadership activities. Your resume MUST reflect at least three years of teaching experience. 5. Complete and submit a Professional Reflections Statement. 6. Submit a copy of official GRE scores from the Educational Testing Services. 7. Submit a copy of the Transfer Credit Request Form if applicable. 8. International Applicants Only: Please contact for all international admission requirements related to your citizenship or visa status OR link to the Graduate International Admissions page: II. Proposed Information (please highlight changes): Admission Requirements 1. An earned master s degree in professional education or a related field. 2. A clear and renewable (or comparable) Georgia Teaching Certificate or equivalent in the teaching field to which you are applying or a related field. 3. A minimum of three years of experience teaching in 4-8 schools. 4. A competitive Graduate Record Exam (GRE) score. GRE will be utilized with other admission criteria to determine program eligibility. Although no minimum scores are required, candidates are encouraged to prepare and score well since admission to the program is competitive. Please note: The Analytical/Writing score one receives as part of the GRE exam is used competitively in the admission review process. It is strongly encouraged for applicants to do well on this portion of the exam.

3 5. Research Response & Analysis writing sample. The applicant will select from a list of recent research articles in their area of content expertise and provide a 3-5 page written response to the article. Click here for the list of articles and specific instructions. How Do I Apply 1. Complete the On-line Graduate Application. 2. Obtain and submit official transcripts from EACH college attended, including those institutions where degrees were NOT earned. Official transcripts are those in a university sealed envelope. Your transcripts should reflect at least a Master s degree with at least a 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale). 3. Obtain and submit a copy of Georgia Teaching Certificate or equivalent. 4. Complete and submit a Professional Resume documenting education, teaching experience, volunteer and service accomplishments, and record of leadership activities. Your resume MUST reflect at least three years of teaching experience. 5. Complete and submit the Research Response & Analysis writing sample. (Link this to the instructions and related articles) 6. Submit a copy of official GRE scores from the Educational Testing Services. Final decisions by the admissions committee are based on a comprehensive, competitive review of all materials. Only completed application packets will be considered for admissions. Online Application Forms can be found at: or you can send your materials to: Kennesaw State University Office of Graduate Admissions 1000 Chastain Road, MB 9109 Kennesaw, GA International Applicants Only: Please contact for all international admission requirements related to your citizenship or visa status OR link to the Graduate International Admissions page: III. Justification for Change: In 2011 the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (PSC), which regulates teacher certification in Georgia, mandated that all graduate degrees for educators in Georgia be renamed and aligned with certification areas. Our degrees had concentrations which were aligned with certification areas, but the name of the degree (Teacher Leadership for Learning) was not recognized by the PSC. The action by the PSC drastically altered our degree structures in the Bagwell College. As an example, the three big enrollment degrees (MED in Adolescent

4 Education, EDS in Teacher Leadership for Learning and EDD in Teacher Leadership for Learning) have become more than a dozen degrees. At the same time, the PSC established three new areas of certification at the graduate level (Instructional Technology, Curriculum and Instruction and Teacher Leadership). In terms of the Educational Doctorate degree (EDD), we determined that the 5 years of experience prior to admission for the Middle Grades Education EDD program was no longer applicable since this was no longer a teacher leadership program; therefore we reduced the required number of years of experience to 3 years prior to admission determining that this was more appropriate. The faculty who teach in the middle grades and secondary education programs have 8 years of experience with our EDD students. Our students are professional educators-- middle grades and secondary classroom teachers whose intent it is to return to their schools as more knowledgeable of the content and pedagogy of their disciplines. Although we require the GRE which includes an analytical writing test, we have found that the GRE is not adequate in helping us identify the most qualified and promising of our EDD applicants. In particular, we desire a more specific way to assess our applicants ability to analyze and respond to research in their areas of expertise. We aim to assess two areas; 1) an applicant s skill in analysis and synthesis of research in their area of expertise; and, 2) an applicant s skill in constructing a written response to research in their area of expertise. Therefore, as a new admission requirement for EDD, the applicant will be asked to review a research article in his/her concentration and prepare a written response to the article. The applicant will select one article from a list. He/she will construct a 3-5 page response. This response will be evaluated by the admission team using a holistic rubric developed by faculty who currently teach in the EDD programs and who hold content expertise in the area addressed by the selected articles. Each candidate s response will be scored by two faculty members. If the scores differ significantly, the scorers will consult between themselves to reach a final score. Here are the instructions to applicant. Please respond in writing (3-5 double-spaced pages) to one of the following articles. In your response, be sure to explain the problem or issue to which the author (or authors) are responding summarize the primary position, points, or conclusions of the article reflect upon the ramifications of the article (in terms of pedagogy, curriculum, policy, or some other focus) within your specific professional context All applicants (except those applying to the English/ Language Arts concentrations) to the EDD in Middle Grades and the EDD in Secondary Education should respond to this article. Kirschner, P. A. & van Merrienboer, J. J. G. (2013) Do Learners Really Know Best? Urban Legends in Education. Educational Psychologist 48 (3),

5 Applicants to the EDD in Middle Grades English/Language Arts and the EDD in Secondary Education- English will select any one of these three articles: Behizadeh, N. (2014) Mitigating the Dangers of a Single Story: Creating Large-Scale Writing Assessments Aligned With Sociocultural Theory. Educational Researcher published online 27 March DOI / X Brauer, L. & Clark, C. T. (2008) The Trouble is English: Reframing English Studies in Secondary Schools. English Education Kirkland, D. E. (2008) The Rose That Grew From Concrete : Postmodern Blackness and New English Education. English Journal, 97 (5), KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE PROPOSAL Change in Existing Policy Major or Degree Affected EDD (Educational Doctorate) in Secondary Education (EDD in SECED) program Area of Policy Change: X Admission/Readmission Policies Progression/Retention Policies Other (please identify) Responsible Department Secondary and Middle Grades Education Department Proposed Effective Date Spring 2013 Signature Page Submitted by: Faculty Member Alice W. Terry 11/7/13 (2 nd Reading at GPCC 2/11/15 by Nita A. Paris) Date