School Improvement, Ed.D.

Transfer of Credits

In this 60 credit-hour program, the core 48 credit-hours must be taken at UWG as per the student’s program of study. A maximum of 12 semester hours of graduate credit for area of concentration courses may be transferred from another accredited institution or applied from previous coursework at the University of West Georgia, subject to the following conditions:

• work must have been completed within seven years of the date of admission to the Ed.D. degree program;
• work must have been applicable toward a graduate degree at the institution where the credit was earned;
• the coursework must be approved by the Ed.D. Director.
• courses must have been taken post Master’s degree; (normally 7000 level courses or above)
• the courses must meet the thematic requirements for the AoC; and
• a grade of B or higher must have been earned in the coursework.

AoC (Area of Concentration)

The Area of Concentration (or AoC) in the School Improvement program provides a specialized, thematic concentration to the student’s studies. Made up of 15 credit hours of electives and the student’s dissertation, the AoC comprises a student’s focus within the program. Specific AoC’s are developed in conjunction with various departments within the College of Education at the University of West Georgia. Currently, the available AoC’s include:

• English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
• Elementary Education
• Educational Leadership
• Instructional Technology
• K-12 Online Learning
• Media Specialist
• Reading
• School Counseling
• Special Education (General Curriculum)

For Georgia Students only

The Doctor of Education in School Improvement Degree is approved by the Georgia PSC for a certificate upgrade for students who enter the program with Georgia certification in Educational Leadership, English to Speakers of Other Languages, Elementary Education, Instructional Technology, K-12 Online Learning, Media Specialist, Reading, School Counseling, and/or Special Education General Curriculum.

The following conditions/restrictions apply:

1. The student must enter the program with the qualifying certification area already on their Georgia certificate as a clear renewable field,
2. The student must select the applicable, qualifying certification area as their minimum 15-hour Area of Concentration. In order to receive a certification upgrade as a part of the Ed.D. in School Improvement, the hours must be taken at UWG as a part of this degree program,
3. Educational Leadership students must meet the specific position requirements, and
4. The program does not lead to initial certification.

It is the responsibility of the applicant/student to check the upgrade possibilities at the GAPSC Certificate Upgrade Advisor.

General Academic Standards

Graduate students must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher to remain in Good Academic Standing. Students must be in Good Academic Standing to be eligible to graduate and admission to candidacy.  Student’s must also maintain good standing on major program assessments, or will face intervention and consequences.

A student will be dismissed from the program if he or she earns two C’s, one F or two U’s in dissertation hours, or a combination of a C in coursework and a U in dissertation hours.

Academic Standing

In addition to the University of West Georgia academic requirements, the Doctor of School Improvement Program uses a student review process to monitor student progress within the Ed.D. program.

Each student is reviewed regularly regarding the following:

1. Academic progress and standards,
2. Ethical, legal, and professional standards and performance in the program, and
3. Progress on major program assessments.

Students not performing at the required level, not making significant progress toward completion of the dissertation, or judged to be in noncompliance with the ethical, legal, and professional standards of the program will be notified, and may face action which includes but is not limited to completing a Student Development Plan, placement on academic or other probation, or dismissal from the program.

Core Content School Improvement (18 hours):

• EDSI 9923 - The Culturally Proficient Leader: Building Inclusive Environments 3 Credit Hours
• EDSI 9925 - Policy Analysis for School Improvement 3 Credit Hours
• EDSI 9933 - Leadership for Change 3 Credit Hours
• EDSI 9941 - Organizational Theories and School Improvement 3 Credit Hours
• EDSI 9942 - Advanced Instructional Practices to Improve Schools 3 Credit Hours
• EDSI 9943 - Advanced Principles of School Improvement 3 Credit Hours

Elective (Select any one) (3 hours):

• EDLE 8304 - Leadership for Organizational Change and Improvement 3 Credit Hours
• EDLE 8305 - Effective Management to Promote Student Learning 3 Credit Hours
• EDLE 8306 - Instructional Leadership for Improving 3 Credit Hours
• EDLE 8312 - School Finance and Resource Management 3 Credit Hours
• EDLE 8324 - Ethical Leadership in Education 3 Credit Hours
• EDLE 8329 - Leadership for Equity and Excellence 3 Credit Hours
• CEPD 8102 - Lifespan Human Development 3 Credit Hours
• MEDT 8461 - Diffusion of Innovations 3 Credit Hours
• MEDT 8463 - Issues in Instructional Technology 3 Credit Hours
• MEDT 8465 - Human Performance Improvement 3 Credit Hours
• ECSE 7560 - Contemporary Issues in Education 3 Credit Hours
• ECED 7273 - Family/Community Involvement for School Improvement 3 Credit Hours
• CEPD 8194 - Research: Mixed Methods Analysis 3 Credit Hours
• Or any other approved 7000 or above course

Research (12 hours):

• EDSI 9960 - Research Design 3 Credit Hours
• EDSI 9961 - Quantitative Research Methods 3 Credit Hours
• EDSI 9962 - Qualitative Research Methods 3 Credit Hours
• EDSI 9171 - Program Evaluation 3 Credit Hours

Doctoral Seminar (3 hours):

• EDSI 9901 - Doctoral Seminar 3 Credit Hours

Dissertation (9 hours):

• EDSI 9998 - Research for Doctoral Dissertation 1.0 - 5.0 Credit Hours

Area of Concentration (AoC) (15 hours)