Graduate Study Standards

Purpose

The graduate standards are designed to set expectations of program quality while allowing flexibility for innovation and change as well as promoting relevant and effective teaching strategies.

The foundation of graduate studies at Doane is based on a practitioner/scholar model that includes:

• programs based on an awareness of and respect for information from the academy and experience from experts in the field,
• faculty and students actively involved in their educational experience,
• learning objectives met through the reciprocal exchange between theory and practice,
• content and context recognized as having both importance and relevance, and
• learning that incorporates a process of study-action-reflection.

Admission Standards

Admission standards differ by program and are approved by the faculty in accordance with discipline-specific accrediting bodies.

Faculty Standards

• Faculty hold a terminal degree or a master’s degree with expertise in their area of instruction.
• Generally, graduate programs include a combination of full-time and adjunct faculty.Deans strive to have a minimum of three full-time faculty regularly teach classes in each graduate program.
• Faculty report to the Dean of the college/school where the graduate program resides.  If a full-time faculty member teaches in multiple colleges/schools, then they report to their primary Dean as determined by the CAO.

Course Standards

• Course standards focus on the quality of the experience and the professional growth of the participants.
• Course standards are developed to meet the outcomes of the program. They are used singularly or in combination to establish quality, growth, and competency.

Program Standards

• In consultation with the Dean, faculty set standards of high quality for all graduate programs.
• Those standards include program outcomes that align with industry expectations and accrediting body standards.
• Programs with accrediting bodies include: 
  • The College of Education is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).
  • The Master of Arts in Counseling (MAC) program is designed to meet CACREP standards.
  • The Master of Business Administration (MBA) program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).

_{(Standards approved by the Doane faculty, April 25, 1996 and revised by the Graduate Academic Affairs Committee in May, 2022).}