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HESA Core Curriculum

The curriculum of HESA is designed to empower students with the knowledge and understanding necessary to enter the student affairs profession. With a core of courses designed to introduce students to the foundations of student affairs and higher education, students will gain an understanding of the historical, philosophical, cultural, and sociological underpinnings that inform today's student affairs profession.

The curriculum is structured so that students will complete the core courses with the same cohort of students. In the second year of the program, students will be able to explore areas of personal interest with electives and supervised practical experience.

The HESA Curriculum

Semester 1

  • EDLR-5102 Assessment, Evaluation, and Research in Student Affairs I
    The role of assessment and evaluation to address current student affairs issues in higher education settings. Contents will focus on skill development in problem identification, research question formulation, qualitative design, interview protocol development, and critique and applications of professional literature.
  • EDLR-5105 Structured Group Interventions in Student Affairs
    Basic approaches to structured group work in relation to goals, objectives, and group dynamics. Implications of group approaches to the personal and educational development of students and staff in Student Affairs. Students enrolled will participate in a hands-on ropes course activity, complete group assignments, and learn the importance of group work in higher education administration.
  • EDLR-5122 College Student Development: Programs and Services
    History and philosophy of student personnel work related to contemporary and projected student developmental programs and services.
  • EDLR-5092 Senior Year Experience Practicum
    Provides students with classroom and leadership experience. HESA students facilitate discussion and provide vital information on topics important to UConn Seniors.

Semester 2

  • EDLR-5102 Assessment, Evaluation, and Research in Student Affairs II
    Application of assessment and evaluation research methodologies to address genuine problems in student affairs contexts.
  • EDLR-5117 The College Student
    Characteristics of today’s college students and the impact that student behavior theory has on college students. This course will also analyze the most recent student development theories that are employed by student affairs practitioners.
  • EDLR-5119 The Law, Ethics, and Decision Making in Student Affairs
    Survey of case law and statutory provisions related to higher education with a focus on student affairs administration. Students will develop an understanding of ethical decision making and its application to relevant student affairs scenarios.
  • EDLR-5092 Practicum in Higher Education
    Provides an opportunity for students to become familiar with the functions and tasks that administrators perform.

Semester 3

  • EDLR-5108 Leadership Challenges in Higher Education
    Application of leadership theory to challenges faced by higher education professionals. Students will learn to identify a crisis, provide leadership for crisis management, and utilize methods of managing communication regarding incidents.
  • EDLR-5126 Leading Toward a Multicultural Educational Environment
    Issues of difference, particularly racial, ethnic, gender, ability, religion, sexual orientation, and other cultural differences.
  • EDLR-5092 Practicum in Higher Education
    Provides an opportunity for students to become familiar with the functions and tasks that administrators perform.
  • Elective

Semester 4

  • EDLR-5118 Seminar in Higher Education
    Designed to promote the integration of the core curriculum and practitioner experiences of the masters degree program in Higher Education and Student Affairs and to prepare students for their transitions to a professional position within student affairs upon graduation.
  • EDLR-5107 Resource Management Issues in Student Affairs
    Analysis of higher education resource development and management with an emphasis on issues in student affairs administration; including, financial management and analysis, human resource management, and management of information technology resources.
  • Elective

Possible HESA Electives

The following Educational Leadership courses are typically available to HESA students:

  • ELDR-5113 The Small College Experience
    Designed to explore and understand a unique form of higher education, the American small college, from various perspectives.
  • EDLR-5201 Influences on Adult Learning
    Interaction of person and environment, culture, role of environment, situational barriers, motivation, self-regulation, personality, gender, life transitions, and self-directed learning.
  • EDLR-5124 Higher Education in Film
    How depictions of the college experience have captured the historical development of higher education and how film can be utilized as a tool for promoting student learning.
  • EDLR-5112 Alcohol and Other Drugs and Their Influence on Higher Education
    Examination of alcohol and other drug issues in higher education, substance abuse, and modalities of intervention for individual students.
  • EDLR-5125 Issues in Student Affairs Administration
    An examination of issues which affect the new student affairs administrator.
  • EDLR-5205 Professional Development
    How adults learn best and principles of human resource development to implement effective, job imbedded professional development programs.
  • EDLR-5094 Diversity & Organizational Change in Higher Education
    This course includes an overview of diversity issues in higher education including frameworks for understanding organizations, leadership approaches, and case-study analyses of diversity issues in higher education.
  • EDLR-5203 Adult and Experiential Learning
    How experience enhances learning. Addresses Reflection, Problem solving, Analogical mapping, Deliberate practice, Development of expertise, and Design of staff/professional development.
  • EDLR-5202 Workplace Learning
    Trends in workplace learning and workforce development. Conceptual models of performance improvement and transfer of training. Focus on individual, work team, and organizational variables related to learning, performance, and transfer of training.
  • EDLR-5201 Influences on Adult Learning
    Addresses Interaction of person and environment, Culture, Role of environment, Situational barriers, Motivation, Self-regulation, Personality, Gender, Life transitions, and Self-directed learning.
  • EDLR-5204 Organizational Learning
    Group and collective learning in organizational settings, with an emphasis on adaptive and generative learning processes.

Students may also choose approved electives from other departments at the University.

 

For a complete listing of course descriptions, please see the UConn Graduate Catalog.