The ASU Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College reported increased enrollment last semester, reversing a recent downtick, and is also planning to add two new degree programs on the Downtown campus.
Hilary Pierce, senior assistant dean of academics, said there was a drop in enrollment last year, but the enrollment rate increased by more than 10 percent in the fall compared to last year.
In addition, there will be two new programs on the Downtown campus this year. The Master of Education in Higher and Postsecondary Education program will begin on campus next semester, while the Doctorate in Education program will start during the summer.
“Graduates become fully prepared to take over classrooms as well as make a significant impact in the lives of children from the very first day of the school year,” Pierce said.
The Doctorate in Education will be a three-year program, with about 20 to 25 students per cohort, Ida Malian, professor and director of the division of educational leadership and innovation, said. The program is currently at the West campus, and has 55 to 58 students enrolled.
“We attract professionals who are currently teachers, principals, people in higher education, other community members and leaders,” Malian said.
The hallmarks of this program are the leader scholar communities, Malian said. These communities gather diverse people with similar interests into groups of four or five. Each group is led by three professors and outside community members who will help them through the doctoral process, all the way to their dissertation.
“The faculty will be from the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College for the most part,” Malian said. “They will be selected based on research, recency of research, interest in program, and the past successful history in working with doctoral students and directing dissertations.”
Molly Ott, assistant professor and higher education program coordinator, said the Master of Education program will appeal to those focused on higher education and administrative services, such as student activities, athletics and counseling.
The Tempe campus has 140 students enrolled in the 1 1/2-year Master’s program, but the Downtown campus will only admit up to 35 students. By hosting classes at night, the Master’s program hopes to appeal to people working full time, Ott said.
“When applying, prospective students don’t necessarily need full-time university experience,” Ott said. “But they need to know what they want.”
Both Ott and Malian said they believe the Downtown campus is the ideal campus for the education programs to thrive. Extending the programs from the original campuses will help integrate the schools with surrounding ASU colleges and communities.
“There are a wealth of programs downtown that are committed to leadership and so I think it’s positioned well,” Malian said.
If graduation rates begin to decline again, the teachers college has a plan to recruit prospective students by participating in general ASU events and contacting community colleges and high schools, Pierce said.
Both the Master in Education program and the Doctorate in Education program help students receive a degree to do more outside of the traditional classroom setting.
“In most experiences you think of the usual classroom teacher,” Ott said. “You don’t necessarily think of Sun Devil Fitness Complex as educational, but they influence students’ well-being. The narrow frames are from personal experiences in the classrooms. But I think education organizations and all members involved are educators and should be known as such.”
Contact the reporter at samantha.incorvaia@asu.edu
