The request to revise School Administration Graduate Certificate and MSA

Date: April 8, 2016
To: College of Education
From: Office of Academic Affairs
Approved On: March 21, 2016
Approved by: Graduate Council
Implementation Date: Spring 2017

Note: Deletions are strikethroughs. Insertions are underlined.

Catalog Copy

Students seeking to “add-on” the Certificate in School Administration to a previous master’s degree must complete 21 credit hours, of which a portion is a supervised year-long internship.

Certificate Requirements

• ADMN 6100 – Fundamentals of Educational Leadership (3)
• ADMN 6105 – Legal Aspects of Schooling (3)
• ADMN 6110 – School Leadership and Management (3)
• ADMN 6130 – Supervision of Instruction (3)
• ADMN 6120 – Instructional Leadership (3)
• ADMN 6161 – The Principalship (3)
• ADMN 6410 – Internship and Seminar Part I (1-9)
• ADMN 6420 – Internship and Seminar Part II (1-9)

The following Courses are Optional Electives – They Do Not Count Towards Certificate Completion:

• ADMN 6490 – Internship and Seminar: Administration (3-6)
• ADMN 6491 – Internship and Seminar: Supervision (3-6)

Admission Requirements

To be eligible and to apply for this program, applicants must:

• Hold a master’s degree from a regionally accredited institution
• Have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.2 in all previously completed graduate degree coursework
• Have three years of successful teaching experience or other professional education experience
• Submit a complete résumé
• Submit a valid NC teaching educator license or equivalent
• Submit three letters of reference from current or past supervisors (Must include principal) that document leadership and administrative experiences and potential for success as a site-based school administrator
• Submit a 1-2 page personal statement that addresses professional experiences, future goals, and an understanding that school administrators must possess a comprehensive conceptual, pedagogical, and reflective knowledge base
• Follow all admission guidelines established by UNC Charlotte’s Graduate School

School Administration

Master of School Administration (MSA)

Graduate Certificate in School Administration

Department of Educational Leadership

edld.uncc.edu

Graduate Program Director

Dr. Debra S. Morris

Graduate Faculty

Dr. Lynn Ahlgrim-Delzell, Associate Professor Dr. Bob Algozzine, Professor

Dr. Jim Bird, Associate Professor

Dr. Mark D’Amico, Associate Professor

Dr. Sandra Dika, Assistant Professor

Dr. Lisa Driscoll, Associate Professor

Dr. Mickey Dunaway, Associate Professor

Dr. Claudia Flowers, Professor

Dr. Do-Hong Kim, Associate Professor

Dr. Richard Lambert, Professor

Dr. Jae Hoon Lim, Associate Professor

Dr. Alan Mabe, Professor and Department Chair Dr. Florence Martin, Associate Professor

Dr. Brenda McMahon, Associate Professor

Dr. Lisa Merriweather, Associate Professor

Dr. Debra S. Morris, Clinical Assistant Professor Dr. Rebecca Shore, Associate Professor

Dr. Chang Wang, Associate Professor

Dr. Jim Watson, Assistant Professor Clinical Associate Professor

Dr. Patti Wilkins, Clinical Assistant Professor

The mission of the Master of School Administration (M.S.A.) program is to prepare innovative, collaborative, effective, and reflective leaders who are prepared to develop school environments that ensure equitable and quality learning opportunities for a rapidly changing and increasingly diverse population and that focus on improving the learning for all students in the 21st century. Program graduates qualify for a PreK-12, Level 1 School Administrator’s license (Principal).

The mission of the Master of School Administration (M.S.A.) program is to prepare innovative, collaborative, effective, and reflective leaders who are prepared to develop school environments that ensure equitable and quality learning opportunities for a rapidly changing and increasingly diverse population and that focus on improving the learning for all students in the 21st century. Program graduates qualify for a PreK-12, Level 1 School Administrator’s license (Principal).

Program Objectives

Program objectives are aligned with the approved national standards of the Educational Leaders Constituent Consortium, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, the National Council for Accrediting Teacher Education, and the State Board of Education’s Standards for School Executives. In particular, there are six basic standards that serve as core curriculum components:

1. visioning for school improvement
2. creating a positive school culture, providing an effective instructional program, and designing comprehensive professional growth plans
3. managing the organization
4. collaborating with families and community, responding to diverse interests and needs
5. acting with integrity, fairly, and equitably
6. interacting and influencing the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context

Admission Requirements

In addition to the general requirements for admission to the Graduate School, applicants must:

• Have a minimum of three years of successful teaching experience or other professional education experience
• Hold a Class A North Carolina teaching educator license or equivalent
• Submit an acceptable GRE or MAT test score
• Submit a 1-2 page personal statement that addresses professional experiences, future goals, and an understanding that school administrators must possess a comprehensive conceptual, pedagogical, and reflective knowledge base
• Submit a complete résumé showing evidence of leadership
• Submit a copy of the teacher educator license
• Submit three letters of recommendation from school administrators (Must include principal) who can attest to your potential success as a school principal

Application deadline is January 1 for applicants applying to the North Carolina Principal Fellows Program. Application deadline is April 1 for enrollment in the master’s degree program and the graduate certificate program.

Admission decisions are based on an analysis of applicant profiles made by program faculty and clinical instructors. Applicants with the highest profile rankings are invited to participate in interviews. Program faculty, clinical faculty, school district central office personnel, acting principals/assistant principals, and program graduates serve on interview teams. These interviews are designed to provide the applicant an opportunity to show evidence of academic strengths, leadership potential, and personal characteristics. After the interview, the applicant will provide a writing sample from a given prompt.

The Master of School Administration Program faculty is committed to achieving diversity among the students admitted in each year’s cohort group. The Graduate School will notify applicants of their admission status.