Attachment A
Faculty Senate Agenda
February 19, 2004

UC Davis/CSU Sacramento/Sonoma State University
Joint Ed.D. Academic Program Proposal
Executive Summary

The Joint Ed. D. in Educational Leadership is designed to produce exemplary educational leaders for schools and community colleges capable of envisioning and managing educational environments that promote learning, equity, and achievement for all students. By integrating educational theory, proven practice and leadership competencies into a real-world, problem-based curriculum, graduates of the program will be uniquely positioned to manage the complexities of educational organizations, affect school change processes, and shape the educational policies that bear on the practice of education in the public setting.

The three-year curriculum of the program is constructed to include four overarching and inter-related themes that are seen as integral to the academic and professional development of educational leaders. These are:

• Visionary Leadership and Management;
• Policy into Practice;
• Data for Decision Making; and
• Building Community in a Diverse Society.

Each course in the curriculum is tied to one of these themes and each is reinforced by tailored learning outcomes that promote student skill acquisition and accountability. As importantly, each course will utilize problem-based, case-study learning approaches that will ground the program in the realities of schools and community colleges. Applied research of this character will be designed to yield practicable solutions to contemporary educational problems, while concurrently helping students incorporate data and assessment practices into daily decision-making.

The Joint Ed.D. in Educational Leadership is intended primarily for working professionals. Using a cohort system, these individuals will rely on their collective experiences to supplement the formal learning process, and will be enrolled in a common sequence of core courses. After completing these core requirements as a cohort group, approximately half of the students will focus on education in the Pre-School - Grade 12 setting, while the other half will focus on the community college arena. Within each area of focus, students will have in-depth personalized interactions with faculty from all the participating institutions. Program delivery methods will include distance-based learning components to further support working professionals’ needs, and to introduce technology as an integral part of the learning process. In addition to these innovations, the program will use its unique access to the legislative and governance processes of the state capital, and the collective, complementary academic resources of each of the three participating universities, to enrich the learning environment and the curriculum.

In sum, the Joint Ed.D. in Educational Leadership program is envisioned as a dynamic professional training ground, essential to the next generation of California’s educational leaders. Drawing upon its curricular strengths, the combined teaching and research traditions of its three partner institutions, and its unique location in one of the fastest growing regions in Northern California, the Joint Ed.D. in Educational Leadership is determined to make a lasting difference in the educational excellence of California’s public schools and community colleges.