First cohort of Master’s in Higher Education students graduates
Denver native Paula Abitia had always wanted to attend her “dream school,” CU Boulder, yet as a first-generation student of color, the reality of her dream included the struggle for a sense of belonging. She credits higher education professionals with helping her get through challenging times, including staff with the McNeill Academic Program, where Abitia is now paying it forward as a program Coordinator.
Abitia is one of five students who graduated last spring as the inaugural cohort of Master’s in Higher Education graduates. Launched in 2017, the program prepares knowledgeable, ethical and diverse leaders and offers evening coursework to accommodate professionals’ busy schedules.
Based in the School of Education, the program is a collaboration with departments across campus. Program founder Michele Moses notes that the combination of scholarly work and experiential learning is unique among higher education degrees.
“Not only do students gain a strong foundation in the history and philosophy of higher education and knowledge of program evaluation and research methods, but they also hone practical higher education skills in courses led by current higher education leaders,” Moses said.
Guaranteed admission now offered to high schoolers who study education
Colorado high school students interested in becoming teachers and community leaders can now earn guaranteed admission to CU Boulder’s School of Education. Introduced in fall 2018, the admission guarantee came from an agreement between CU Boulder and two high school concurrent enrollment programs, Teacher Cadet and Pathways2Teaching®.
Both programs offer college readiness courses and college credit for 11th- and 12th-grade students interested in exploring teaching as a career.
“We care deeply about recruiting and supporting excellent teachers, and it’s an honor to work with these programs to help collectively address critical teacher shortages, especially in areas where it matters most,” Dean Kathy Schultz said.
This novel agreement allows CU Boulder to effectively enroll students who have the academic preparation, interest in education and demonstrated strength in the nonacademic variables necessary to succeed as a teacher and as a community leader.
Graduate students launch new online, peer-reviewed journal
In 2017, a group of doctoral students came to the dean proposing a new journal. Just one year later, the School of Education’s student-run journal published in December.
The Assembly, a journal for public scholarship on education, is an open-access, peer- reviewed, online publication that promotes timely dialogue among educators, researchers, students, community members and policymakers. Articles and multimedia pieces come from contributors in Colorado and across the nation, and their works aim to transform systems and practices to advance educational equity.
The inaugural issue featured topics such as discussions and disagreement among teacher unions and educational effects on displaced students following Hurricane María (more on on Page 4).
Learn about The Assembly’s mission, editorial board and calls for proposals at colorado.edu/journal/assembly.