Fredrikson School of Education – Graduate Education Academic Information
Academic Information
The Fredrikson School of Education, nationally accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), currently offers five Master of Education (M.Ed.) programs and two Education Specialist (Ed.S.) programs, all approved by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). These programs offer convenient, affordable degrees for educators pursuing advanced degrees, non-educators seeking initial certification, and people pursuing careers in adult and higher education. Information about these programs can be accessed with the following link:
https://www.usiouxfalls.edu/academics/graduate
Plan of Study/Degree Plan
All students accepted into a graduate education degree program at the University of Sioux Falls are provided a plan of study or degree plan. M.Ed. in Teaching students follow a cohort model plan posted on the M.Ed. in Teaching webpage (see link above). In all other graduate programs, a degree plan is developed cooperatively between the student and graduate advisor. This plan is an important tool for use in registration and for use in auditing degree completion. If there is a need to modify the plan of study, students should contact their advisor. The primary advisor for M.Ed. students is Dr. Kama Konda-Varilek, Senior Director of Graduate & Continuing Studies; the primary advisor for Ed.S. students is Dr. Jared Berg, Coordinator of Ed.S. Programs.
For most graduate education programs, courses are condensed over the summer term in addition to having classes during the fall and spring terms. Graduate students do not observe Interim (January), but rather start sometime after the New Year's Holiday in January. Check the Course Offerings listing found on the Registrar's web pages for specific course schedule information to know when classes are in session.
Attendance
Faithful and consistent course attendance is expected at the University of Sioux Falls. Such attendance is important for both the integrity of the course and for the benefit of the student. Lack of attendance and engagement may have a significant negative impact on the student’s grade. The student is responsible for also regularly checking the course page in My.USF, prior to the beginning of a course as well as during the course. Should illness or emergency prevent attendance either in an on-campus session or in an online session or activity, students are responsible for notifying the instructor, if at all possible, prior to the class session or activity. The responsibility for monitoring student attendance is assigned directly to the instructor of the course.
The student is responsible for notifying the university concerning any course(s) that he/she is no longer attending, as well as intent to leave the university. Discontinuing participation or notifying an instructor does not constitute an official course or university withdrawal.
Writing and Research
Graduate students must apply writing skills appropriate for graduate-level work. When using information from sources to support writing, students should use APA style to appropriately document sources. When quoting or paraphrasing someone else’s words or ideas, the writer needs to include in-text citations, as well as provide a reference page. Not doing so constitutes plagiarism. Students can refer to the Owl Purdue Online Writing Lab for additional explanation and examples:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
Graduate APA Style Overview provided by Dr. Jared Berg