Graduate Program
Student Learning Outcomes
Master of Science in Adult Education (M.S.)
Students who complete the continuing studies graduate program will demonstrate the following:
Adult Education Knowledge and Skills
Graduates will be well grounded in the theory, philosophy, and history of adult education including adult development, learning and motivation theory, program and instructional planning, and the history of and current issues in adult education.
They will be able to identify and assess various aspects and forces of adult life that influence adult learning, select, adapt, create and utilize a variety of appropriate teaching and learning materials, resources, methods, and technologies; and plan, develop, manage and evaluate programs that are context and audience appropriate.
Effective Communication
Graduates will express themselves clearly and effectively using oral, written and visual means in person and through digitally-mediated interfaces – and demonstrate active listening skills.
Collaborative Leadership
MSAE graduates analyze and integrate the functions of leadership as a shared responsibility in appropriate group settings. They demonstrate behaviors that promote and support collaboration towards the successful achievement of group-defined goals and objectives.
They understand that authority and responsibility are shared among all members of a work or learning group, and employ consensus decision-making to lead groups towards autonomous function.
Adult Education Research
MSAE graduates understand and can articulate the philosophies that undergird and inform research practice and are able to describe and evaluate the basic assumptions of various research traditions and their implications.
They express an informed personal perspective about what constitutes knowledge, and what methods of inquiry are consistent with that perspective. They are informed and critical consumers of research, able to identify the characteristics of ethical and well-executed studies. They demonstrate competency in developing research proposals in applied settings.
Social and Interpersonal Interaction
Graduates will exhibit sensitivity to situations involving moral, cultural, ethical and social issues. They will collaborative effectively, elicit the views of others and help to reach productive and actionable conclusions and/or consensus.
Analysis and Problem Solving
Graduates will investigate, organize and critically analyze research-based data and practice-based policy to make recommendations on issues in adult education. Individually and collaboratively, they will formulate, articulate, and defend strategies that are effective within their context and given existing and potential stakeholders.
Cultural, Social, and Ethical Competency
Graduates will recognize the international and multicultural aspects of adult education and the different traditions and value systems in play. They will identify, acknowledge, and successfully integrate cultural and contextual influences, demonstrate an understanding of the equity, ethical, and human issues in both face-to-face and distance learning while creating a positive learning environment for adults of various generations, cultures, abilities, and beliefs.