Eastern  Michigan  University

Division of Academic Affairs

 

Outline for Submitting Proposals to Revise Programs

 


Use this outline to prepare proposals to revise existing programs, including undergraduate majors and minors and graduate degree programs and certificates.  Proposals for revising programs should be submitted in narrative form, using the following outline.  Guidelines are on the following page.

 

Program Name and Code:     Learning Disabilities Master of arts                                                                                        

Revised program Name and Code (if applicable):                                                                                                                               

Degree:               M.A.                                                                                                                                                                                      

Department(s):             Special Education                                                                                                                                    

College(s):                      Education                                                                                                                                                       

 


I.  Rationale

II. Description of Current Program

III. Proposed Revision

IV. Impact

V.  Budget

 


VI. Action of the Department/College

 

1.  Department:

 

Vote of department faculty:                For          18                            Against      0                          Abstentions          0             

                                                                (Enter the number of votes cast in each category.)

 

I support this proposal.  The proposed revision can                     cannot                                   be implemented within the affected Department(s) without additional College or University resources.

               

                                                                                                                                                                                               

                Department Head Signature                                                                                                                                                                                               Date

 

2.  College/Graduate School:

 

A.  College

I support this proposal.   The proposed program can                                                                                      cannot                                                be implemented within the affected College without additional University resources.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                               

                College Dean Signature                                                                                                      Date

 

B.  Graduate School

                                                                                                                                                                                               

                Associate Dean Signature                                                                                                  Date

 


VII. Approval

 

                                                                                                                                                                                               

                Associate Provost Signature                                                                                             Date

 

 

 


VIII. Appendices

                A.  Market Analysis/Needs Assessment

                B.  Mandates

                C.  Request for New Graduate or Undergraduate Course Forms

                D.  Letters of Support from Impacted Departments

E.  Cost Analysis (Complete only if the revision cannot be implemented without additional University resources.  Fill in Estimated Resources for the sponsoring department(s).  Attach separate estimates for other affected departments.)

 

 

Estimated Resources:                 Year One                       Year Two                            Year Three

                               

Faculty / Staff                               $_________                 $_________                    $_________

SS&M                                            $_________                 $_________                    $_________

Equipment                                     $_________                 $_________                    $_________

 

Total                                           $____n/a_____                         $___n/a______            $____n/a_____

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proposal to Revise Master of Arts Degree in Learning Disabilities

 

I.                               Rationale:

The faculty in the Learning Disability Program Area, in the Department of Special Education, are proposing revisions to the Master of Arts in Learning Disabilities program. These revisions are necessary to:

 

  • Meet revised standards promulgated by the Michigan Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Early Intervention Services
  • Meet revised accreditation standards as delineated by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), which is the program’s accrediting body

§         Provide "highly qualified" teachers as defined by federal mandate, Public Law 107-110 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as "No Child Left Behind (NCLB)”

  • Increase program enrollment by permitting qualified individuals who have completed a bachelor’s degree AND earned a teaching certificate, but who have not yet earned an endorsement in special education, to enter the graduate program in Learning Disabilities
  • Increase flexibility in program scheduling to support and facilitate graduate student scheduling and rate of degree completion

 

The Master of Arts in Learning Disabilities was one of the first such graduate preparation programs established in the State of Michigan. The program has contributed significantly to the preparation of teachers of students with learning disabilities for the state as well as for the nation. The initial program design targeted students desiring advanced work in the area of special education. This population included students with initial endorsement(s) in special education area(s) as well as reading teachers who had completed the M.A. degree in Reading. The program was updated in the late 1980’s as a result of surging program enrollment and a nationwide surplus of qualified teachers of students with Learning Disabilities. The revised program limited enrollment to only those individuals who had earned a teaching certificate and an initial endorsement in an area of special education.

 

After nearly twenty years, the graduate program in Learning Disabilities is again ready for revision as the earlier surplus of teachers of students with Learning Disabilities is now described as a national shortage of such personnel. The proposed revisions reflect current research on best practices in special education teacher preparation  and address the significant nationwide shortage of teachers of K-12 students with Learning Disabilities.

 

Faculty in the Learning Disabilities program area have been working on the design and development of the proposed curricular revisions across the past four years. The revision process has involved repeated consultation and communication with current graduate students, department faculty, field-based experts in Learning Disabilities as well as recent graduates of the program. These constituencies were asked to discuss the current program curriculum and propose new curricular design and areas of emphasis which would improve and contemporize the program. Program faculty collected and summarized the data from these groups for presentation to the department's Learning Disabilities Advisory Board.