Master of Education in Career and Technical Education
Program Description
The Master's in Education, Career and Technical Education degree program is designed to prepare students for a profession in career and technical education. Graduates of this program are able to assume roles as CTE administrators, educators, and training and development personnel in secondary, post-secondary, and business and industry settings. Students take courses in Career and Technical Education and in Education Foundations. Students also take 15 hours of coursework in one of three selected emphasis area in administration, teaching, or educational technology or in an area that is of interest to the student.
Brief History of the M.Ed. in Career and Technical Education Program
NAU has a long history of providing graduate degrees in the Career and Technical Education. When NAU was the Arizona State College, master’s programs in both industrial education and home economics education were offered as part of the School of Applied Science and Technology. In the fall of 1984 NAU began offering a Master in Vocational Education (MVE) through the College of Design and Technology. The MVE was moved to the Center for Excellence in Education in fall, 1994. Under the 2002-2004 catalog, the degree name was changed to Masters in Career and Technical Education to align with a name change in the national arena. The MVE (and now MCTE) has always been on the forefront of distance education. In the 1990’s the program was one of the first state-wide programs, delivering degree courses in satellite campuses and employing interactive television (ITV) classrooms. In addition, the MVE program was one of the initial adopters of online education at NAU in 2000-02. In 2003 the MCTE program went entirely online and expanded from a statewide to a nationwide student audience. Today, the program is moving towards an international student audience. Currently there is one degree seeking student from Italy.
The MCTE program offers two options: option one for Thesis and Oral Defense and option two for Final Oral Exam. The program of study requires the following courses designed to meet the identified program goals:
· CTE Core (12 units): CTE 591 History and Philosophy, CTE 691 Research in CTE, CTE 692 Instructional Management and CTE 696 School and Community Relations
· one of EDF 500, 670, 671, 672, and 677 (3 units)
· 15 units of courses in a concentration area from other programs in the College of Education or within CTE and in consultation with an advisor.
Background Information
Enrollment
Admission requirements to enroll in the MCTE are the same as those established by the Graduate College. This program does not require GRE scores or any other standardized test scores. However, students need to provide a writing sample that they complete while filling their online application.
As with the BSED in CTE: Occupational Education, it is difficult to explain enrollment trends in the Master’s of Education in Career and Technical Education (MCTE) program because they do not conform to changes in legislature or other university issues. While the Technology Research Initiative Fund (TRIF) established in 2000 dedicated significant funds to workforce development and one of the programs that benefited from that funding was CTE, it did not have as much impact as it could have had for the undergraduate program. This is because the MCTE is an advanced degree and there are fewer professionals that would need such a degree to advance in their specific fields. Recently, two new online programs that compete directly with the population that may be attracted to the MCTE program were opened: Master’s in Public Administration and Master’s in Counseling: Human Relations. Both of these programs are also offered online and they are attractive to professionals that are seeking further their education to move to middle-level management positions.
M.Ed. in Career and Technical Education (PAIR data)
Graduation Rates
The graduation rates for the M.Ed. in CTE have remained relatively stable across the review period as has the overall enrollment in the program. Throughout the review period between 22-38% of the enrolled candidates in the program are conferred degrees (unduplicated count/degrees conferred). This would indicate that the program candidates are able to demonstrate good academic progress within the degree, not resulting in a bottleneck situation in which only a small number of candidates complete the program in an academic year with a continually rising number of candidates in progress within the degree program. The profile of degree awards is indicative of the enrollment trends within the program. That is, most degree completers in each of the years included in this review period are identified as being an online student or are taking courses in a community campus location.
M.Ed. in Career and Technical Education Degrees Awarded by Location (PAIR data, duplicated count)
Degree Awarded / FY 2004 / FY 2005 / FY 2006 / FY 2007 / FY 2008 / FY 2009 / FY 2010 / FY 2011 / FY 2012Community Campuses* / 7 / 3* / 2* / 3* / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
Flagstaff* / 2 / 0 / 0 / 1* / 0 / 0 / 1* / 0 / 0
Online / 2 / 9 / 7 / 7 / 11 / 19 / 8 / 10 / 12
TOTAL / 11 / 12 / 9 / 11 / 11 / 19 / 9 / 10 / 12
*There were 10 students identified as a campus based students, but this program is only available online. Students sometimes classify themselves based upon their residence not understanding that that degree is not offered at a campus based location.
Program Diversity and Student Engagement with Diversity
The M.Ed. in CTE program continues to attract a primarily male (60-70%), White/Anglo (70-80%) population of students. This gender trend, however, is representative of the national figures for CTE programs, which often show a traditional model of gender by discipline (Ashunda, 2011). Given the program offerings in Family and Consumer Science (often female weighted), and Business, Industrial Technology, and Administration (typically male weighted), the gender distribution is in line with other national data on gender diversity in CTE programs. The ethnicity breakdown for the program mirrors the U.S. Census data for 2010 for Black/African American (4.5%), 5.3% American Indian (5.3%), but diverges from the state population statistics for Asian (3.1% vs 0%), Hispanic (30.2% vs 8-15% in typical years), and White (57.1% vs 70-80% in this review period). Recruiting and retaining a more diverse candidate pool is an area of need for this program.
Number of Students Enrolled in the M.Ed.in Career and Technical Education by Gender (PAIR data, fall term of each academic year used for comparison purposes)
Gender / FY 04 / FY 05 / FY 06 / FY 07 / FY 08 / FY 09 / FY 10 / FY 11 / FY 12Female / 15
(65%) / 16
(64%) / 17
(62%) / 21
(66%) / 24
(75%) / 26
(60%) / 24
(63%) / 21
(64%) / 20
(74%)
Male / 8
(35%) / 9
(36%) / 11
(38%) / 11
(34%) / 8
(25%) / 17
(40%) / 14
(37%) / 12
(36%) / 7
(26%)
TOTAL / 23 / 25 / 28 / 32 / 32 / 43 / 38 / 33 / 27
Number of Students Enrolled in the M.Ed.in Career and Technical Education by Ethnicity (PAIR data, fall term of each academic year used for comparison purposes)
Race / Ethnicity / FY 04 / FY 05 / FY 06 / FY 07 / FY 08 / FY 09 / FY 10 / FY 11 / Spring 12African American / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1
(3%) / 3
(9%) / 5
(12%) / 2
(5%) / 2
(6%) / 1
(4%)
Asian American / 0 / 0 / 1
(4%) / 1
(3%) / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
Hispanic / 0 / 1
(4%) / 2
(7%) / 5
(15%) / 2
(6%) / 2
(5%) / 3
(8%) / 5
(15%) / 0
Native American / 5
(22%) / 3
(12%) / 1
(4%) / 1
(3%) / 0 / 0 / 2
(5%) / 1
(3%) / 1
(4%)
White / 18
(78%) / 21
(84%) / 24
(85%) / 23
(72%) / 26
(81%) / 35
(81%) / 28
(74%) / 23
(70%) / 23
(84%)
International / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
Other/Not Specified / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1
(3%) / 1
(3%) / 1
(2%) / 2
(5%) / 0 / 1
(4%)
Two or More / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1
(3%) / 2
(6%) / 1
(4%)
TOTAL / 23 / 25 / 28 / 32 / 32 / 43 / 38 / 33 / 27
Self-Study Summary
Relationship of the M.Ed. in Career and Technical Education program to NAU’s mission and strategic goals?
The program has been a leader in distance delivery for over 20 years. This learner-centered degree has been completely online since 2003 to provide convenient access for students. Faculty members focus on relevancy in the coursework with a well-planned curriculum that is applicable, challenging, and helps prepare students for a variety of careers upon graduation (NAU Goal 1). The program also focuses on personal contact with students. All advising is done by full-time faculty and all faculty members are accessible to students for assistance 7 days per week. To address the goal of student access, progress and affordability (Goal 2), this program offers year-round admission and allows students to start the program at any time. The flexible program of study allows students to customize coursework to meet individual career goals. In addition, the program is focused on affordability by allowing students to achieve their master’s degree in an efficient and timely manner. Because the program does not charge program fees, has very low course fees, and most courses do not require the purchase of textbooks, students are able to earn their degree in an affordable manner. The M.Ed. in CTE program also addresses the goal of innovative and effective practices by employing a rigorous online education program. Candidates are able to complete this degree program wherever they live and/or work. By crafting the program in this manner, the program increases educational opportunity across the state, region, and nationally.
The M.Ed. in CTE program also addresses strategic initiatives of the College of Education. The program coursework is unique in Arizona in that there are no other options for advanced degrees in CTE in the state. Thus, the M.Ed. in CTE program demonstrates leadership in preparing teachers and human service personnel in Arizona (CoE Strategic Plan Goal 1). Recent recruitment efforts have resulted in a changing demographic of program candidates that includes more individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (CoE Strategic Plan Goals 2 and 3 – Leading Institution for Native American/Hispanic/Latino(a) Students).
Quality of the program?
Faculty: Quality of the Faculty and Curricular Offerings
This program has only one tenure track faculty member and one non-tenure track faculty member on a contract that renews annually. These faculty members serve not only the B.S.Ed. CTE programs, but the M.Ed. in CTE programs as well. Both faculty members teach year round to support the course offerings of both programs (including winter and summer sessions). They are supplemented with adjunct faculty. In the Phoenix program only a single course is taught by full-time faculty, the capstone course CTE 495c (previously CTE 408c). In the online program adjunct faculty are also heavily relied upon.
The two full time faculty members bring to the program very different skills and professional experiences that complement each other, making it a stronger program. For instance, Dr. Michael Roberts brings the experience and skills from the construction, welding, and other vocational/trades knowledge part of the degree while Ms. Nicole Hampton contributes the business perspective and experience. Besides that, they take extreme care in selecting part-time faculty to teach in the program. Full time faculty members evaluate potential instructors based upon a combination of education and experience. Specifically, a combination of education in CTE, experience in CTE at the secondary or post-secondary level, and occupational experience in a CTE content area are essential to be able to teach in the MCTE program. Part-time faculty also need to show knowledge of current trends, issues, and philosophies in CTE and show an involvement in the field overall.
The table below indicates faculty teaching core courses:
Human Relations Core Faculty / Rank / Career and Technical Education Courses TaughtMichael Roberts / Associate Professor / CTE696 (School & Community Relations), CTE692 (Instructional Management)
Nicole (O’Grady) Hampton / Assistant Clinical Professor / CTE691 (Research in CTE), CTE692 (Instructional Management), CTE591 (History and Philosophy of CTE)
Online Core Course Designers & Primary Instructors
Career and Technical Education Online Core Course / Designer / InstructorsCTE696 School & Community Relations / M. Roberts / M. Roberts
CTE691 Research in CTE / N. Hampton / N. Hampton
CTE591 History and Philosophy of CTE / N. Hampton / N. Hampton
CTE692 Instructional Management / N. Hampton
M. Roberts / N. Hampton
M. Roberts
CTE592 Program Planning & Curriculum Development / D. Abel / D. Abel
Online Elective Courses, Designers, and Instructors
Career and Technical Education Online Elective Course / Designer / InstructorsCTE550 Grant Writing / M. Roberts / M. Roberts
CTE561 Facilities Design / M. Roberts / M. Roberts
CTE592 Program Planning & Curriculum Development / D. Abel / D. Abel
CTE576 Coordinating Coop Programs / N. Hampton / N. Hampton, D. Hume-Cheatwood
CTE500 CTE Foundations / N. Hampton / N. Hampton, P. Beltram
CTE583 Student Services in CTE / V. Croft / V. Croft
CTE595 Evaluation in CTE / V. Croft, D. Abel / V. Croft, D. Abel
CTE661 Bus/Fin Mgt / V. Croft, D. Abel / V. Croft, D. Abel
CTE670 Adult Learners / N. Hampton / N. Hampton
CTE690 Personnel Mgt / V. Croft, D. Abel / V. Croft, D. Abel
Evidence of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation