Expand your knowledge and skills to serve as an effective faculty member and administrative leader at the collegiate level. Our students have researched and written dissertations on topics such as:

• Diversity and equity
• Student access and success
• Academic leadership
• Faculty development
• Spiritual formation

Learning Outcomes

• Understand the factors influencing higher education, its purpose and its practices as viewed by administration and faculty
• Evidence in-depth knowledge of the roles, responsibilities, and governance of faculty and administration
• Demonstrate knowledge of the science of learning assessment and institutional effectiveness and best practices for institutional change and innovation
• Contribute to the advancement of administration and/or student learning effectiveness through intellectual inquiry and scholarship

Courses

• HED 715 Change and Innovation in Higher Education (3)
• HED 725 Finance and Strategic Planning (3)
• HED 732 Assessment of Student Learning (3)
• HED 748 Enrollment Management (3)
• HED 820 Applied Field Experience in Administration and Instruction (3)

“The faculty are both educators and practitioners. This focused specialization provided richer in-depth discussion of concepts and issues, so I was able to apply things learned in class and from colleagues’ differing perspectives right away. I focused my dissertation on a real-world problem facing professional test administrators and worked with the National College Testing Association (NCTA). I presented my dissertation results at NCTA’s national conference. I volunteer with the organization, serving as a committee co-chair, and I was chosen as NCTA’s Volunteer of the Year. Immaculata’s higher education program provided me with encouragement, challenges and experiences to help me grow in both confidence and ability.”

— Kathy Kollar-Valovage ’19 Ed.D.
Director, Testing Programs & Services
Commonwealth University of PA

Expand your knowledge and skills to serve as an effective faculty member or administrative leader at two-year colleges. Our students have researched and written dissertations on topics such as:

• Transportation and community college persistence
• Faculty validation of students
• Formerly incarcerated students
• Title IX
• Low-income and first-generation students
• Perceptions of white privilege among community college faculty
• Student veterans

Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate knowledge of the profile, issues, strategies, and practices of two-year institutions reflecting varied constituents
• Evidence in-depth knowledge of the roles, responsibilities, and governance of faculty and administration in community colleges
• Demonstrate knowledge of the science of learning assessment and institutional effectiveness and best practices for institutional change and innovation in community colleges
• Contribute to the advancement of administration and/or student learning effectiveness at community colleges through intellectual inquiry and scholarship

Courses

• HED 715 Change and Innovation in Higher Education (3)
• HED 725 Finance and Strategic Planning (3)
• HED 732 Assessment of Student Learning (3)
• HED 757 The American Community College (3)
• HED 820 Applied Field Experience in Community Colleges (3)

“Immaculata University’s doctoral program in higher education is uniquely organized and facilitated so that students are nurtured to become self-reliant and empowered scholars. The program gave me the tools to be a better higher education practitioner. The coursework helped me to realize the importance of diversity, inclusion and culturally responsive teaching in the classroom and that the teacher sets the tone and ensures that all students are treated equitably. As a result, my dissertation work explored how a sense of mattering among first-generation community college students affected their persisting and succeeding in college.”

—Victoria Vetro ’21 Ed.D.
Assistant Professor of English
Montgomery County Community College

This concentration equips nurses to become qualified faculty and academic leaders at the collegiate level who can teach in both the classroom and clinical settings. Our students have researched and written dissertations on topics such as:

• Nursing simulation
• Diversity health science pipeline programs
• Job satisfaction among novice nurse educators
• Altruism in nursing graduates
• Barriers in R.N. to B.S.N. education
• Anxiety in nursing students
• NCLEX first-time pass rates

You must be a registered nurse (R.N.) and hold a Master of Science in Nursing to enroll in this concentration.

Learning Outcomes

• Evidence in-depth knowledge of nurse educators’ roles and practices in higher education as faculty members and academic leaders
• Conceive evidenced-based strategies to design, implement, evaluate and improve nursing education to reflect modern theory and trends in higher education, healthcare, and nursing practice
• Design curriculum and programs in nursing education including planning for development, implementation, assessment and evaluation using 21st century delivery and assessment methodologies
• Contribute to the advancement of the science of nursing education through intellectual inquiry and creative scholarship

Courses

• HED 770 Program Development & Evaluation in Nursing Education (3)
• HED 771 Instructional Design & Curriculum Development in Nursing Education (3)
• HED 772 Learning Theory & Practice for Classroom & Clinical Nursing Education (3)
• HED 773 Advanced Scientific Inquiry in Nursing Education (3)
• HED 820 Applied Field Experience in Nursing & Health Care (3)

“The Ed.D. in higher education program with a focus in nursing education is the best of both worlds; it broadened my knowledge and understanding of higher education and enhanced my skills as a nurse educator. The program helped prepare me for opportunities in leadership, research and teaching.”

—Cristina Tansey ’21 Ed.D., R.N.
Assistant Professor