Sacramento State’s proposed independent doctorate program would offer lower tuition fees compared to private universities if approved, said Edmund Lee, department chair and professor of educational leadership and policy studies.

Slated to be open for admission in fall 2007, the program will be used as a platform to train and sharpen the skills of working professionals.

“This program seeks to increase the pool of high-level administrators?in assuming leadership responsibilities for public schools, community colleges?and larger organizations such as a school or community college district,” said Lee, who added that the proposal was sent to the chancellor’s office on Friday.

The program, which would happen simultaneously with six other California State University campuses is designed to meet the expectations outlined in Senate Bill 724, Lee said.

“Costs for the CSU independent doctorate can not exceed costs charged for University of California doctoral programs,” Lee said. “This means that fees can not be higher than, say, UC Davis’s current annual fee of $9,142 per year.”

According to the proposal, the program would also be used as a way to address the urgent need for well-prepared education leaders.

“It is envisioned that graduates will be skillful and effective leaders who are able to realize high student achievement,” Lee said. “(They) will be active in developing policy and in marshalling the human and fiscal resources necessary to improve the access and educational attainment for all students.”

The program – which would make it possible for a student to earn his or her doctorate in educational leadership and policy – would welcome its first group of applicants this spring.

Vivian Mendoza-Leal, administrative support coordinator for the Educational Administration and Policy Studies Department, said it will be a two-step application process, explaining that students will first apply to the CSU graduate school through the mentor program and then file a supplemental application for the doctorate program. Additionally, students will go through an interview process.

An applicant must possess a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree and have an overall GPA of at least a 3.0 in all upper division and graduate studies to even be considered for the program, Mendoza-Leal said.

Lee said applicants must also have graduate record examination scores that were taken no longer than five years ago.

An estimated 20 students will be admitted to the program annually for the first five years, according to the proposal.

Lee said doctorate programs do not traditionally have large classes because these courses are more labor-intensive for both faculty members and students. He added that another reason why the classes are smaller is because the applicant pool is much smaller.

An equal amount of candidates, all of whom are already involved in some form of teaching and educational leadership, will be chosen from the K-12 and community college sectors, according to the proposal.

“The reason that preference is given to these areas is because…the doctorate targets administrators in K-12 schools and community college leaders,” Mendoza-Leal said. “There is going to be a shortage at CSU and UC campuses in years to come?.the program offers us a way to meet our commitment. It also allows current CSU staff members to get their doctorate and come back as faculty members.”

The proposal, which was written over the course of a year, also lists expectations for class type and structure.

Lee said the program would be made up of three core elements: leadership, research methods and field-based studies. It will also have three main curricular themes: transformational leadership, critical policy analysis and action and informed-decision making.

According to the proposal, each student is expected to complete the 60-unit program within three years.

“Three years is short,” Lee said. “Doctoral programs for many professors commonly take much longer to complete. The issue of students going to school and working 40 plus hours a week makes it a tremendous feat to graduate in three years.”

CSU Media Relations Specialist Paul Browning said Chancellor Charles B. Reed received the proposal and that it is currently being reviewed.

Faculty Senate Chair Michael Fitzgerald said if the doctorate program is accepted, it would not only help Sac State but the entire CSU system as well.

“Being able to offer this doctorate is a big deal for the university, at least symbolically,” Fitzgerald said. “Until now, the CSU has not been allowed to offer any kind of doctorate on its own.”

Fitzgerald added that this program will be paid entirely by student fees.

“The faculty have been promised that the money used for current undergraduate and graduate classes will not subsidize this new doctorate,” Fitzgerald said. “When the Senate passed a resolution in favor of sending the proposal forward…we included the provision that we will (have) annual budget accounting to ensure that the program does, indeed, pay for itself.”