School Administration, M.Ed.

OSRHE Program Code: 103
CIP Code: 130401
Major Code: 3765

Purpose

The School Administration program leads to the completion of academic requirements for a building administrator’s certificate. Persons admitted to this program develop the knowledge and skills necessary to administer elementary and/or secondary schools and other units of school administration such as departments of personnel, curriculum development, secondary education, elementary education, and federal programs.

Specialty Accreditation

NSU’s educator preparation programs at the baccalaureate and master’s levels are accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), www.caepnet.org, (1140 19th Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20036-1023, 202-223-0077), and the Oklahoma Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (840 Research Parkway, Suite 455, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, 405-522-5399), www.ok.gov/oeqa

Credential Requirements

All candidates seeking certification must pass the state certification test for school administration before or after the completion of the program to be a certified building administrator. There are fees associated with certification testing which is administered by an outside agency under contract with the Oklahoma Office of Educational Quality and Accountability. NSU’s Education Certification office can assist with information regarding university recommendation for certification.  If seeking certification in any state other than Oklahoma, it is recommended that individuals contact the appropriate State Department for guidelines so they can be built into the program.

Student Learning Outcomes:

1. Explore the various roles of a building administrator through applying the skills candidates learn in their courses to their current employment.
2. Illustrate an understanding of the role of school administrators from a systems thinking process by examining the numerous variables in place within an effective school system.
3. Through various assignments, evaluate and reflect upon their current system based upon best practices and consider changes as needed.
4. Think critically about the change process in a school system and how to effectively implement change to increase student achievement by identifying barriers to change and applying best practices to overcome those barriers.
5. Obtain licensure for either building (principal) or district (superintendent) level administrator.

Admission, Retention, and Graduation

Program Admission. Beyond the admission requirements for the Graduate College, admission to the program requires:

1. Be eligible for an Oklahoma teacher’s certificate/license.
2. GPA Requirement* of:
   • 3.00 overall, undergraduate, or
   • 3.25 in the last 60 credit hours, undergraduate, or
   • Have an earned Master’s degree from an accredited university

*Potential candidates not meeting GPA requirements will be placed on conditional program enrollment.

*Conditional Admission. For individuals who wish to pursue a degree, but are unable to meet the undergraduate GPA requirements, conditional enrollment may be allowed as follows:

1. A graduate program GPA of 3.5 must be obtained for 12 credit hours of course work taken at Northeastern State University.
2. Full admittance will be considered by the program faculty at the completion of 12 credit hours if the GPA requirements in item #1 are met.
3. Course work completed will be considered and applied to the degree as applicable.
4. Program faculty will make all final determinations on conditional enrollment. 

Students who do not meet the conditional enrollment requirements within the specified time frames and structure will be blocked from further enrollment in the program for a calendar year at which time students may re-apply again to the graduate college for re-admittance.

Advisement. The Graduate College assigns students an advisor upon admission to graduate studies. It is the student’s responsibility to make an appointment with the advisor prior to enrollment to discuss policies and procedures relevant to the degree program. Conferring with the student, the advisor develops the plan of study, assists in the selection of classes, and counsels the student.

Candidacy. After the completion of 12 hours of course work within the degree plan, students will contact their advisor for a review of course work, plan future course work, and complete the candidacy process.  

Retention and Graduation. Candidates for the Master of Education in School Administration degree must satisfy the following requirements:

1. Continue to meet the Graduate College’s retention standards. See the Academic Information page for more information.
2. Monitor degree progress using the degree audit system in the goNSU portal.
3. Meet Graduate College policies detailed in Academic Information and Master’s Degree Requirements regarding GPA, minimum grades, coursework age, residency and institutional / state regulations governing degree conferral.