College of Education News

Effective assessments in an era of accountability

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Each aspect of a college campus contributes to the success of its students.  

Professionals in the field of student affairs in higher education (SAHE) partner with academic affairs units on different campuses to create holistic collegiate experiences that support undergraduate student success that results in degree attainment.  

Since 2015, the Division of Student Affairs (DOSA) and the SAHE Program have partnered to hold a campus wide assessment symposium which features academic work completed by SAHE students at MSU.  

“Students in our master’s program learn about the different assessment evaluation tools they can use to assess the effectiveness of campus units and how they contribute to undergraduate student success,” explained Dr. Gilbert Brown, SAHE program director.  

“The symposium helps our new professionals gain skills that are needed in the workplace, and it contributes to the office of student affairs here at MSU.”   

The assessment symposium  

Graduate students in the SAHE program present their research at the assessment symposium as part of their academic requirements.  

“Our first-year students develop an assessment protocol for trying to determine the effectiveness of a unit and our second-year students have completed their project,” Brown said.  

“When our students graduate from MSU, they’re ready to hit the ground running when they are hired by another university.” 

A second year SAHE student presenting at the 2022 assessment symposium

Skills for success

Brown knows both the ropes and the challenges that new SAHE professionals face as they enter the field.  

“We have to improve our understanding of how to use social media to make sure undergraduate students have good experiences on campus,” Brown explained.

“Universities often have limited resources, so having evidence of effectiveness is necessary to point to what is working.”

The skills SAHE students gain through the assessment symposium allow them to contribute to undergraduate student success on the MSU campus and wherever their future career takes them.     

The success of the assessment symposium points to the preparedness of the students within the program, as well as the professional collaboration that takes place at MSU.  

“The Division of Student Affairs here on campus and our academic program work well together to prepare the next generation of student affairs professionals,” Brown said. “I’m pleased with the professional partnership we have with our colleagues.”    

Explore the SAHE program

Learning the administrative side of education

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Shifting from being a teacher to an administrator can bring a lot of changes. There are also many benefits to knowing both fields, no matter which one you work in.  

The College of Education’s department of counseling, leadership and special education collaborates with local school districts to create cohorts of educators who earn their master’s in educational administration.  

“If a district can foresee that there are going to be job openings within the community, they can encourage people with good leadership skills in their district toward that role,” explained Dr. Kim Finch, director of the educational administration program. 

“Our program is also good for the classroom teacher. The coursework gives an awareness of what takes place in the office and why things may be handled the way they are.” 

The cohort model 

One of the benefits of the cohort model for educational administration is that districts can personalize the curriculum for their faculty. 

Twelve hours of the degree are earned as credit-by-assessment and are taught by the district. 

“We send them our syllabus along with our assignments. This allows them to tweak it so that it can better align with their district,” Finch explained. “Sometimes those assignments might be projects that the school board requested.”  

Students within the cohorts save money on tuition since they earn 12 credit hours through their district. 

Nixa Public Schools (NPS) currently participates in the program.  

“This partnership with MSU is mutually beneficial for our students and district alike,” said Josh Chastain, executive director of curriculum, instruction and assessment at NPS. “Students benefit financially, and our district gains dedicated, highly trained and NPS-focused administrative candidates.  

“MSU wants to support our teachers in their graduate endeavors and make sure our students are able to receive necessary professional learning.”  

Contact Dr. Kim Finch about forming a cohort 

Encouraging educators 

A master’s in educational administration allows teachers to earn a salary increase in addition to their certification to become an administrator. 

“Sometimes people who go through our program just want a master’s degree,” Finch said. “But we encourage everyone to get certified. Down the road, you may want to apply for an opening, and you will already have obtained the right classes and assessments.” 

Missouri needs more teachers and administrators right now, so Finch said it’s important to have professional development accessible to educators and future educators.   

She emphasized the necessity for building positive relationships with students in the program and highlighting the positive things happening across the field of education. 

“Education is the background for everything, whether you want to be a doctor, a banker or whatever. If we don’t have a good education system, then all other professions will be affected.” 

Explore a master’s in educational administration  

Responding to mental health trends

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According to the American Psychological Association, suicide rates rose at an alarming rate over the past two decades.  

This is a trend that Robin Farris, licensed counselor and director of Missouri State University’s Center City Counseling Clinic (CCCC), observed over the past decade. 

“We used to tell students ‘You might see suicidal issues in a semester,’” Farris said. “Now, we tell students ‘You WILL see clients with suicidal ideation every week.’”  This has increased so much that students now take a mandatory training in suicide prevention before they even start working with clients. 

The clinic is a community outreach of the department of counseling leadership and special education at MSU. 

Missouri State master’s level students obtain direct client contact experience by providing counseling sessions to adults, teens, children and couples at the clinic under the supervision of licensed instructors. 

“We are proud of our ability to assist between 80-90 people per week with their emotional struggles and mental health issues,” said Farris. “For many of our clients, it’s a service they just couldn’t afford if not for the clinic’s sliding scale policy. We won’t turn away anyone because of an inability to pay.”  

Learn more about the Center City Counseling Clinic 

Mental health concerns 

Mental health is a complex issue, specifically when considering the recent uptick in anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation 

“There is so much rapid change with technology and so much crisis with the whole world – environmentally, economically and politically,” Farris said. “So much of that stress is felt by people in their day to day without them being consciously aware of it.”  

While the recent pandemic has brought these issues to the forefront, the trend existed before quarantine and social distancing protocols.  

“People are so frantic for life, meaning and connection,” Farris said. “They don’t know which way to go, so they’re just crashing.” 

Negative stigmas around mental health care still exist, but attitudes are becoming more compassionate thanks to better education about mental health.  

“It’s not just about physical and spiritual health. There’s also mental and emotional health,” Farris said. “To be a healthy, well-rounded person, we need to be as balanced and healthy as we can across these categories.” 

Making a difference  

The Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accredits the counseling program. This gives students a leg up in their job search after graduation.  

In addition to receiving training through an accredited program, MSU students learn to navigate a variety of intense concerns that shape the role of counselors. 

Farris said the Center City Counseling Clinic is known for its warm, inclusive environment and receives positive feedback each semester in their anonymous surveys of clients. 

“I’m always proud to pass positive feedback on to students,” she said. “They may be in their early stages as counselors, but they are making a difference.” 

Access campus mental health resources 

Explore degrees in counseling  

Joan Armstrong inducted into the Marquis Who’s Who

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Joan Armstong, alumna and current staff member of Missouri State University, was recently inducted into the Marquis Who’s Who biographical registry.  

Armstong earned a Master of Science in school counseling from Missouri State in 1987. She is now the director of Project ACCESS, which offers training, resources and support services to school district personnel who serve students with autism and related developmental disabilities.  

The Marquis Who’s Who registry holds biographies of accomplished individuals and innovators from many significant fields including medicine, law and education.  

Read the full biography  

Congratulations, Ms. Armstrong!  

Gaining access to the world

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Imagine walking down a sidewalk, getting on a bus or boarding a plane.  

Now imagine accomplishing them without sight.  

Missouri State University’s orientation and mobility (O&M) program trains students how to assist individuals with visual impairments. This includes providing individuals with the tools and experience they need to navigate the world independently.  

Missouri State also offers the blindness and low vision teacher education (B&LV) program. The program ensures that teachers can provide the accommodations necessary for students with visual impairments to excel in the classroom. 

“Blindness and low vision are low incidence disabilities, so they can get pushed aside,” Dr. Shari Scott, B&LV program coordinator, said.  

“Even if you have just one person who needs Braille or access to large print, it’s worth providing that support.”  

The O&M and the B&LV programs at MSU recently received national accreditation from the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AERBVI). 

The difference access can make  

Providing visually impaired students with accommodations in the classroom is crucial to allowing them to participate in everyday life.  

Dr. Christopher Craig, deputy provost at MSU, learned this at a young age when attending the Missouri School for the Blind. He credits the school with much of his success in discovering how to navigate his environment despite his visual impairment.  

“Part of what I’ve been able to do in my life, including being deputy provost, is because I had a strong skill base for learning how to cope and communicate,” Craig said. “Every kid deserves to be taught reading by a qualified teacher.” 

The blind and low vision certification ensures that students with visual impairments can manage classroom materials like textbooks, course websites and other media that is consumed visually.  

As the skills needed for success go beyond the classroom, the orientation and mobility program covers everything from cane skills to public transportation and metro travel. 

To get an O&M certification, students spend more than 20 hours under a blindfold learning the skills they will be teaching to individuals with visual impairments.  

“Even if someone can read Braille and access the world digitally, they may not feel comfortable hopping on a plane and going to Brazil,” Scott said. “Learning orientation and mobility opens up the world.”    

Explore the O&M program  

A broader vision  

Craig began developing these programs at MSU with the hope that they would produce the specialized instructors needed to better serve people with visual impairments.  

“I started this program in Missouri because there were children with visual impairments who needed greater care. They weren’t learning Braille, communication skills or how to use assistive technologies,” Craig said.  

“There also was nothing in Missouri to help these children learn how to physically get around.”  

With proper accommodations, people with visual impairments can meet their full potential alongside their sighted peers.  

“Having a job brings self-fulfillment and self-actualization,” Scott said. “If you have a sensory deprivation, such as hard of hearing or blindness, you can benefit from a specialized instructor to help you navigate functional skills. 

“One of my former students was the first blind student to go to Columbia University in New York. The things he is doing in journalism today are totally amazing.” 

MSU is bringing these necessities to students who need them, providing opportunities for them that would otherwise be inaccessible.  

“This is bigger than just the university,” Scott said. “The K-12 kids in Missouri who don’t have instructors are front and center for us, but preparing specialized instructors goes beyond that. We are part of a global endeavor to improve accessibility.”  

About the accreditation 

While the B&LV program receives its teacher-certifying credentials from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), the AERBVI accreditation endorses the program as effective preparation.  

For the O&M program, the AERBVI is the certifying body. The accreditation allows for students in MSU’s O&M program to graduate fully licensed.  

MSU is one of just 12 universities with an accredited O&M program across the United States. 

Learn more about the accreditation