Project

Create a new revenue stream for the APU English Department by establishing an MA program that offers CCCU distinctives and rapid time-to-graduation while maintaining high scholarly quality and adhering to APU’s four cornerstones.

A Deeper Study of the Literary Arts

Project

I worked with Katie Manning to determine the financial viability of a new MA program and what our constituent base needed.

We evaluated the demographics and educational needs of students within our area of influence to determine what program format would attract the most students and lead to degree completion. We found that we had two customer bases. One is traditional age English BA students seeking additional education and career direction before finishing their university experience. This base was concerned with cost and time-to-graduation. This led to the creation of the 4+1 MA degree which allows students in their senior and junior years of the BA to earn MA credit and then complete the program.

Our second customer base, is returning students along the 210 corridor, seeking career advancement by getting extra credentials. This base is majority Hispanic and has limited time for traditional university day time clas. This group also valued lower tuition costs and a more rapid time-to-graduation. In response, we organized our course offerings in one or two day a week blocks, meeting in the late afternoon or evening. We also focused on hybrid online learning environments that allowed students flexibility in completing work and participation requirements. Finally, we created a year round set of class offerings in both 8 and 16 week blocks so that students could select the seasons and pacing that best suited their needs.

Create Curriculum: Research Methods

In order to offer our students the skills necessary for workplace advancement, I created ENGL 570: Research Methods

This class focuses on digital literacy, database use, core literature identification, and collaborative knowledge building, as well as the distinction between data, knowledge, and information. Students’ final projects all them to create a knowledge product which is tailored to their individual career path and can go into their professional portfolio.