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Background
In the early 1970s, it became clear to administrators and education department faculties in TCU member colleges that there was a need in our region to have a new degree program in educational administration. Minnesota had changed its certification requirements for school administrators and North Dakota was discussing the possibility of similar changes.
For a number of reasons, everyone concerned felt that this new degree program could best be accomplished cooperatively. It made sense for the three schools to pool their strengths and resources rather than for any one school to offer the program by itself.
By the end of the 1975-76 academic year, approval had been gained from all necessary campus governance bodies and institutional boards of control for TCU to begin offering two graduate programs in educational administration: the master's degree and the education specialist degree. The first program chair was appointed in early summer 1976, and the program officially began admitting students on July 1. The first graduates participated in Spring 1977 commencements, and approximately 400 students have completed degrees since the program began.
After a two-year candidacy period (1977-79), Tri-College University was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in the spring of 1979. In June 1984, accreditation was renewed for the maximum ten-year period. Accreditation is at the specialist degree level. TCU was the first -- and the only -- educational consortium in the nation to be accredited to offer its own degrees.
In the spring of 1989, the Tri-College University Educational Administration Program received initial accreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
In the spring of 1994, the TCU Board of Directors determined that the Tri-College University Educational Administration Program degrees would be assumed by each of the participating institutions beginning July 1, 1996.
Program development is ongoing. Curriculum changes are made using graduate surveys and field surveys. The latest curriculum changes occurred during the 1995 and 1996 academic school years. The TCU Educational Administration Program was changed to an Educational Leadership Program to reflect the changing needs of the geographical region it serves. The revised curriculum reflects new standards set forth by NCATE based upon results of a field study and several focus groups who represented practitioners from the field of education.
Purpose
The principle purpose of the Tri-College University Educational Leadership Program is to provide professional/academic education for individuals preparing for mid-management administrative positions (i.e., elementary school principal, secondary school principal, community education director), staff administrative positions (i.e., school district business managers, technology coordina-tors, curriculum coordinators), and upper-echelon administrative positions (i.e., superintendent of schools).
The TCU Educational Leadership Program is built on the belief that the professional/academic preparation of educational leaders is best offered in an organizational context that is rich in professional diversity and represents the various sub-disciplines of education with which school administrators must be familiar.
The organization of the program follows the Reasoned Action Leadership Model of development. The model is based upon current knowledge of teaching and schooling, and on the research of administration and leadership. The Reasoned Action Leadership Model holds fundamental that schools function in a professional sphere which focuses on activities associated with teaching and learning. It is further held that leaders are required to perform some managerial task that are only distantly related to the teaching act. The most important professional responsibility of administrators are those which closely relate to the primary function of school (student learning and achievement).
In the Reasoned Action Leadership Model, the research on and our knowledge of the activities and principles of teaching surround all other components of the school leadership process. This portion of the knowledge base then serves as a conceptual framework for those aspects of education which deal most specifically with school leadership. In this manner -- with the principles of teaching encompassing the principles of leadership -- the interdependence of teachers and leadership is given recognition and reinforcement.
The instructional program, which focuses on the development of knowledge, understanding, attitudes, and skills, is built around several mutually supportive, interdependent curricular areas which reflect the intended programmatic outcomes and those of the NCATE standards.
The core faculty of the Tri-College University Educational Leadership Program -- the group of professors that provides most of the instruction in the program and makes programmatic and curricular decisions -- is drawn from the educational faculty of Minnesota State University Moorhead and North Dakota State University. It includes specialists in educational leadership as well as faculty members with interests and competence in other related fields of professional education.
Another important component of the mission of the Tri-College University Educational Leadership Program is that of professional service to area schools, school districts, and practicing educational administrators. Members of the core faculty provide leadership in the development and improvement of educational programs and the administration of those programs, and provide service to the field of educational leadership through active membership and participation in local, state, and national organizations.
The Tri-College University Educational Leadership Program is committed to expanding the research on the knowledge base of education, leadership, and the administration of educational programs. This is accomplished through the individual research efforts of professors and the resulting publication of articles, monographs, and books. It is also accomplished through collaborative efforts between faculty and students on research and/or grant projects, and through advising of research resulting in master's papers, theses, and field studies.
The body that reviews important decisions of the faculty of the TCU Educational Leadership program is known as the program council. It is composed of faculty and administrative representatives of all three institutions. Its membership is as follows:
- Chair, TCU Educational Leadership
- TCU Educational Leadership Faculty Representative
- Dean of Education and Human Services, MSUM
- Dean, College of Human Development & Education, NDSU
- Chair, Education Department, CC
- Chair, Counseling, Educational Leadership, Field Experience, and Foundations, MSUM
- Chair, School of Education, NDSU
- Director of Academic Studies, MSUM
- Dean of Graduate School, NDSU
- Institutional Representative,MSUM
- Institutional Representative, NDSU
- Provost, Tri-College University
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