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Admission Policies

Admission Process

On April 1, all application documents should be received in the Office of Graduate Admissions to begin the annual admission cycle. Review of completed applications will begin on April 1. The CCL program has a rolling admissions process and will continue to review applications until the fall cohort is filled with qualified candidates. Notification of admissions will begin by July 1.

Candidates must have a master’s degree, experience in a higher educational institution (with a preference for three to five years in a community college), and demonstrated skills in communication and writing consistent with doctoral study.

The application for admission includes the following:

• Completed application and non-refundable application fee.
• An official transcript showing completion of a Master’s degree from an accredited institution. Completion of a bachelor’s degree must be verified.
• Three letters of recommendation.
• Professional resume.
• Personal statement describing the applicant’s expectations of the program and core beliefs regarding the role of leaders within the community college.
• A writing assignment involving a critical commentary on an article related to the community college.
• A faculty interview.

The final phase of the admission process is an interview that provides an opportunity for applicants to meet the faculty to make certain that the program is compatible with their goals.

Admission to the CCL doctoral program is highly competitive. The faculty is committed to ensuring diversity according to gender, physical ability, and ethnicity.

Transfer Credits

Transfer credit for 9 credit of post-master’s graduate course work from regionally accredited colleges and universities must be approved by the program director. Evaluation is done on a case by case basis. Official transcripts and the course syllabus are both required in order to proceed with the evaluation.

Time Limit

The CCL doctoral degree must be obtained within 6 years from admission to the program. Within this timeframe, the student is expected to make regular and consistent progress, which is subject to periodic review.

The CCL Curriculum

The Program is three years in length including an integrated dissertation process. Coursework is offered over the initial two years and six months of the Program. Students participate in coursework throughout the academic year (which are three semesters in length) as well as two summer sessions. Two courses are completed each semester.

The summer coursework is two weeks in length and takes place after the first year and after the second year. Guided study over the internet supports coursework. After completion of coursework, a dissertation clinic with faculty consultation is provided to facilitate the completion of both the course work and dissertation within three years.

Course Descriptions (65 credits)

CCL600 Introductory Seminar on the Community College System The course is designed to introduce the student to and/or provide the opportunity to reflect upon higher education as: the location of your educational experiences; the environment in which you participate in professional practice; an organizational entity; the subject of scholarly research; and an economic, social, cultural, and political institution within American society. The course acquaints graduate students with the study of the community college higher education system as an interdisciplinary field of study that bridges practice, theory, and empirical and other forms of research. 1 semester hour

CCL601 History & Philosophy of Community College Education This course is designed as an introductory overview of the historical antecedents and development of Community Colleges and an overview and analysis of the philosophical and theoretical foundations. 3 semester hours

CCL602 Socio-cultural Context of the Community College This course examines community colleges as complex socio-cultural settings affected by political, sociological and historical contexts. Students will integrate theoretical readings with fieldwork to analyze dynamics that influence work—programs, management, administration, mission and vision set by the Board for the college—within the institutional settings of community colleges, within families, and within communities. 3 semester hours

CCL603 Globalization and the Community College In this course, students will examine globalization, its many facets, complexities, paradoxes, and controversies, especially as these affect the mission and work of the community college. The impact of globalization on the current and future lives of community college students—on workplace mobility and the consequent instability of labor markets—will be emphasized. Students will demonstrate their personal understanding of how economic, socio-political and cultural forces of globalization might influence local communities, nation-states, multicultural and transnational societies, agencies, and organizations. 3 semester hours

CCL604 Community Development through Partnerships Participants will learn to design, monitor, and evaluate participatory community development projects framed within the mission of the community college. Special emphasis is placed on the relationship between organizing and capacity building and the sustainable development of communities. Field based projects focus on the development of partnerships among all levels of government and the private sector, including for-profit and non-profit organizations. 3 semester hours

CCL605 Organizational Theory and the Community College Examines the organization of community colleges and other institutions relative to advances in system theory, with a special emphasis on the role of leaders in these institutions. Emphasis is on integrating theory and concepts from the behavioral and social sciences as a basis for understanding human behavior within organizations. Factors that influence the structure, design, operation, and performance of individuals in complex organizations will be explored. Students will apply varied theoretical frameworks to their own experiences of organization within the community college. 3 semester hours

CCL610 Paradigms of Research: Multiple Ways of Knowing In this course, students explore multiple theories of knowledge and research and their enactments in diverse community college contexts. Students investigate the nature and language of epistemological claims as they are created and legitimized through scientific, philosophical, historical, cultural, and personal renditions of knowledge. Students examine the implications of specific paradigms of knowledge for critiquing, conceptualizing, conducting, interpreting, and using research in their immediate settings. Critical reflections on the intersections of knowledge, power, identity and context are emphasized throughout the course. 3 semester hours

CCL615 Research: Dissertation Concept Paper An intensive immersion workshop in which students review the research elements of the dissertation process and develop concept paper describing the project, its guiding questions, directions for the development of a literature review, and the significance of the project for practice. This concept will be a working draft of their dissertation proposal to be completed in subsequent semesters. 6 semester hours

CCL620 Literature Review Seminar This course introduces elements of a critical review of literature and other resources related to doctoral research. Emphasis will be placed on critique and comparative analysis of the literature, discernment of gaps in existing research, and identifying conceptual and theoretical frameworks grounded in the work of others. 3 semester hours

CCL621 Adult Development and Learning for the Community College Reviews current theory and advanced research on adult development and learning and critically examines claims for distinctive forms of adult cognition. Analyzes cultural and social influences on adult learning and the place of adult learning in the lifespan. Examines the special learning needs of persons with disabilities and Universal Design, which addresses the needs of all learners with equity.3 semester hours

CCL622 Human Resource Development for the Community College This course provides a comprehensive overview of human resource development from its historical evolution to current methods, trends, and issues. A number of HRD functions—including training, staff development, personnel management, and the development of the college and its programs and services—will be explored. Participants will examine both the theory and practice of designing, implementing, evaluating, and managing effective HR divisions within an organization, as well as the ways HR relates to other departments within the college. 3 semester hours

CCL623 Politics, Policy, and Law: Community College Issues In this course, students will examine Illinois community colleges in relation to the Community College Act, as well as general community college issues in relation to current legal, political, and economic factors that affect the American community college. Students will critically examine the basic assumptions and social forces that influence current educational policy making efforts with an emphasis on their legal, economic, and political underpinnings. 3 semester hours

CCL625 Research: Methodology This course reviews and critiques different systems of inquiry, methods and techniques available for educational researchers and practitioners, especially for those involved in the community college leadership. The argumentative discourse of “quality” and “quantity” opens space for debate and connects a variety of research designs and approaches. Students have opportunities to select appropriate research methodologies for their projects and to prepare preliminary drafts of the research methodology section of their dissertation. 3 semester hours

CCL626 Community College Leadership and Governance The course is designed to actively investigate the roles of leaders and leadership within the contemporary community college setting. Attention will be given to concepts and practices endemic to administration, models for governance, administrative structure and operations, decision-making and leadership. This course is intended to provide the student with theoretical and practical background on issues related to community college leadership, institutional effectiveness, and quality management. 3 semester hours

CCL627 Community College Finance This course is designed to provide non-financial managers and prospective community college leaders with a working knowledge of budget planning and management techniques and practices related to community college finance. Students are exposed to the art of building budgets, from the fundamentals of budget building to how budgets are influenced, finalized, and monitored. 3 semester hours

CCL628 Strategic Planning and Management in the Community College This courses focuses on the theory and practice of strategic planning and strategic management in higher education. The course will cover various models and approaches to designing and conducting strategic planning. Students will be exposed to and practice using tools for strategic planning including its phases of planning, implementation, and evaluation. The course will emphasize a "big picture" systems perspective for implementation rather than merely long term planning. 3 semester hours

CCL630 Research: Advanced Data Collection and Analysis Reviews data collected in relation to a dissertation in progress and provides a forum for critique of preliminary analysis and further refinement of collection and analysis procedures. 3 semester hours

CCL631 Accountability, Evaluation, and Outcome Assessment This course provides an overview of the need to demonstrate the administrative and academic effectiveness of community colleges and their programs. Various tools, techniques, and approaches for assessment and evaluation are examined for the distinctive areas within the institution: student outcomes, program and departmental evaluations, program certification and institutional assessment and accreditation. Students explore formal systematic and structured assessments and evaluations used to obtain performance information and data to measure the activities, characteristics, effectiveness, and efficiency of programs, departments and the institution as a whole. 3 semester hours

CCL632 Student Affairs and Services in the Community College The course provides an overview to the student affairs and student services in the community college by examining the history, purposes, organization of the department. Student affairs functions are explored with special emphasis on admissions and registration, financial aid, records, counseling and advising, and the student activity programs. Enrollment management issues and concerns are examined along with data collection and reporting requirements for college admission, retention, progression, and promotion processes. 3 semester hours

CCL633 Technology in the Community College Explores current technologies serving both programs and infrastructure—PeopleSoft and Banner, interactive video, online courseware, multimedia, and computerized instruction—in the context of best practices in Community Colleges. This course, grounded in each college’s Facility Master Plan, will evaluate the uses of technology as well as its costs and how these costs are realized within the college’s budget. 3 semester hours

CCL699 Research: Dissertation Clinic Reviews and strengthens students’ work by assessing research in progress, including methodology, literature review, data collection and analysis, and conclusions. 4 semester hours