PhD/EdD, Leadership: Higher Education Leadership Course Descriptions

LDR‐7000: Leadership Theories and Professional Practice (3 hours)

Contemporary and classical leadership theories and their application to a variety of professional settings; examine and assess organization’s leadership platform and practices. 

EDL‐7141: Organizational Change Non K-12 (3 hours)

This course is designed to address the importance of organizational change. The need for change, planning for change, implementing change and evaluating change will be addressed from a variety of theoretical and practical perspectives.

RES‐7700: Qualitative Research (3 hours)

An examination of qualitative research approaches with a focus on research design, the role of the researcher, data collection and analysis, and writing from a qualitative perspective.

EDL‐7121: Research‐Based Decision Making Non-K12 (3 hours)

This course prepares students to beconsumers of research in order to make leadership decisions based on qualitative and quantitativeresearch studies. Investigation of primary source research studies includes the analysis of the researchproblem, research questions, literature review, methodology and results to understand the structure ofresearch studies that can be applied to authentic problems in various fields of study.

HLDR‐6830: Governance and Leadership in Higher Education (3 hours)

This course includes the theoretical perspectives on higher education organizations, the organizational structure, management and leadership of colleges and universities, and governance systems. Learners enrolled in this course will become familiar with the purpose of institutional governance, its various functions, administrative models and the factors utilized to define its strategies. 

RES‐7605: Quantitative Analysis (3 hours)

An introduction to the quantitative analysis of data; including data coding and entry of data. SPSS will be used to explore descriptive and inferential statistics: using both non‐parametric and initial parametric techniques.

EDL‐7211: Policy Analysis Non K-12 (3 hours)

This course is designed for doctoral students seeking a degree program specializing in higher education leadership, organizational leadership, sports management leadership, health and human performance, and gerontology. Students examine the policy process of analysis, formation and implementation, and the ways in which politics shape these processes.

FPR‐7011: Philosophical and Theoretical Foundations of Leadership (3 hours)

Study of the philosophical and theoretical foundations of education and leadership, including analysis of the aims and goals of education, processes of attainment, content and curriculum, and the socialization function of education, schooling and complex organizations. Develop an understanding of the intersections between theory/philosophy, ethical perspectives and the development of policy, practice and institutions.

FPR‐7300: Philosophy of Scientific Knowledge (3 hours)

This course provides an orientation to the nature, uses and limitations of science with the aim of achieving and understanding of the variety of approaches to research design and developing conceptual frameworks. With regard to the meta theory of knowledge, particular attention will be paid to the following topics: the relationship between theory and observations, the role of the researcher’s values in knowledge generation, how the research conceptualizes the relationship between researcher and subjects, the standards that are used to appraise theories, the theory of reality (ontology) and of how to know that reality (epistemology) that underlies critical theories, and how different methods of data gathering and data analysis influence the generation of scientific knowledge.

LDR‐7010: Developing the Organization’s Human Capital (3 hours)

In this course, students examine and explore human resources policies and practices; administrative supervision strategies and effective communication techniques; job performance, employee development and deployment, diverse work force, employment law, training and development, harassment and health issues, and disabilities and discrimination. LDR‐7020: Leading the Knowledge Enterprise (3 hours) Leading the Knowledge Enterprise is a course that introduces students to the exciting and sometimes hard to‐define field of knowledge management. The role of the leader is emphasized, especially as it relates to identifying and leveraging the intellectual capital of an organization; promoting and facilitating knowledge sharing and innovation; intellectual assets, knowledge management strategy, knowledge management cycle and knowledge taxonomies. 

LDR‐7030: Promoting and Leading Change (3 hours)

Effective change leadership requires an understanding of the basic principles and practices underlying innovation, change processes and sustainability in organizations. The focus of LDR‐7030 is initiating, implementing and ensuring continuation of change as a key leadership challenge. Various change theories and principles are examined with an emphasis on the leader’s role in capacity building, creativity, organizational strengths and style. Participants are encouraged to develop a more situated and experienced informed approach to change in the organizational front lines. 

OLDR‐6820: Leadership: Politics, Power and Applied Ethics (3 hours)

In this course students will examine the ethical dilemmas of leadership, the foundations and context of moral choice and the moral implications of decision making. In doing so, the purpose is to make visible the ethical challenges and decision criteria facing leaders, the role of politics and power in organizations, and the leader’s ability to promote and infuse organizational ethics and integrity into the culture.

HLDR‐6820: Historical and Societal Issues in Higher Education (3 hours)

This course addresses the major social issues affected by higher education, specific issues and trends, dominant themes of historical and institutional impact. Students enrolled in this course will acquire an improved understanding of previous events of the significance of higher education, including how it has developed and increased in importance to society. 

HLDR‐6800: Law and Higher Education (3 hours)

This course addresses the legal environment of postsecondary institutions and specific issues that affect higher education. In addition to faculty and administrative structuring, curriculum development and institutional financing, a university’s policy is affected by legal concerns, including constitutional privileges, ethics and regulations that may be relevant in regard to state and local municipalities. Students enrolled in this course will participate in research and weekly discussions evaluating the significance and importance of the limitations and allowances of government‐defined operating and monetary restrictions on academic institutions. HLDR‐

HLDR-6810: Institutional Advancement (3 hours)

This course examines the role of Institutional Advancement in supporting the mission and vision of the higher education institution through the development of external funds, relationships with alumni and other external constituencies, and communications support and public visibility. 

HLDR‐6840: Fiscal and Social Responsibility in Higher Education (3 hours)

This course addresses the major financial and economic issues experienced within higher education including fiscal awareness, social responsibility and stewardship. Learners will be able to understand the primary concerns involved with budgeting, ethics and management within the higher education landscape, applying theories and principles to maintaining a functioning and sustainable institution. Learners will be exposed to the economic, political and organizational cultural factors that affect the allocation of monetary resources within the higher education organization.

LDR‐7040: Creating & Leading a Learning Organization (3 hours)

In this course, students explore and examine the five disciplines of learning organizations; characteristics of learning organizations, growth cycles, building capacity and sustainability. LDR‐7050: Strategic Forecasting and Planning (3 hours) This course examines strategic planning models, forecasting methods, trend analysis, futuring, problem‐ based learning, return on investment, organizational health and effectiveness, cost/benefit analysis, and research and planning.

RES‐7800: Mixed Methods Research (3 hours)

This course explores the theory and practice of mixed methods research in program evaluation and applied research. Prerequisite: B or higher in RES‐7700 orRES‐7605.

RES‐7620: Advanced Topics in Statistics (3 hours)

An introduction to advanced statistical concepts including multivariate analysis, linear models, hierarchical linear models, factor analysis and data management will be covered in this course. Students will use published software packages and will learn to write basic syntax for custom analysis. Prerequisite: B or higher in RES‐7605.

RES‐7710: Advanced Qualitative Analysis (3 hours)

This course provides advanced introductions to a representative range of qualitative methods. It is designed to familiarize doctoral and advanced master’s students with the commonly used qualitative research methods. The course will prepare them to further understand philosophies and concepts of qualitative methods, to utilize these methods in their own research, or to evaluate the qualitative work that others have done. This course also teaches how to use qualitative software as an analytic tool to analyze qualitative data. Prerequisite: B or higher in RES‐7700.

RES‐7900: Research Design (4 hours)

Principles of research theory, methods, inquiry, problem formulation, data collection, literature searches and ethical considerations. Emphasis on how to design a doctoral‐level research study. 

COMP‐7000 Comprehensive Exam (0 hours)

The comprehensive exam is a written exam in two parts that is administered in Blackboard. The purpose of the exam is to evaluate a) the content knowledge and students’ ability to apply that knowledge to address a problem in the field, and b) students’ ability to formulate a scholarly argument based on a literature review on a topic of students’ choice. Successful completion of the comprehensive exam is a major step that leads to admission to doctoral candidacy in the Concordia University Chicago doctoral programs. DISS‐7010: Dissertation (3 hours) Scholarly work on a dissertation as approved by the dissertation committee. Pass/Fail. DISS‐7020: Dissertation (3 hours) Scholarly work on a dissertation as approved by the dissertation committee. Pass/Fail. DISS‐7030: Dissertation (3 hours) Scholarly work on a dissertation as approved by the dissertation committee. Pass/Fail. 

DISS‐7010: Dissertation (3 hours)

Scholarly work on a dissertation as approved by the dissertation committee. Pass/Fail. 

DISS‐7020: Dissertation (3 hours)

Scholarly work on a dissertation as approved by the dissertation committee. Pass/Fail. 

DISS‐7030: Dissertation (3 hours)

Scholarly work on a dissertation as approved by the dissertation committee. Pass/Fail. DISS‐8000: Dissertation Supervision (0 hours) This course will be taken by doctoral candidates who have completed the required semester hours of Dissertation. Doctoral candidates must use this course to maintain continuous enrollment while working on their dissertation. Pass/Fail.

DISS‐8000: Dissertation Supervision (0 hours)

This course will be taken by doctoral candidates who have completed the required semester hours of Dissertation. Doctoral candidates must use this course to maintain continuous enrollment while working on their dissertation. Pass/Fail Go back to PhD/EdD, Leadership: Higher Education Leadership program.