Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Masters in Higher Education Leadership

Core Faculty
Becca Morris, EdD, Vice President for Campus Life and Director of the MHEL Program, chair
Susan Pliner, EdD, Associate Provost for Academic Faculty Affairs and Strategic Initiatives
Jenna Terrell, EdD, Director of Housing & Residential Life

The Master of Arts in Higher Education Leadership (MHEL) is designed to engage students who wish to pursue a variety of careers in higher education, with an emphasis on social justice, systemic change, and student development. The program will engage and graduate students who are well-suited to the unique nature of small, residential institutions with a focus on the liberal arts.

The MHEL is a dynamic program that prepares students to apply effective and creative leadership in ways that challenge assumptions about higher education, strengthen capacity for systemic change, and support a contemporary generation of college students. Alongside compelling internships and graduate assistantships that offer future practitioners immersion experiences and practice in a wide array of campus offices and neighboring campuses, students take courses that encourage them to analyze and critique the history and policy of higher education, identify ways in which they can act on their personal commitments as they relate to diversity, equity and inclusion, and have opportunities to investigate leadership and innovation techniques. Ultimately, graduates are ready for a wide spectrum of entry-level and middle-management positions in student affairs as well as other professional areas within colleges, universities, community colleges, and policymaking organizations.

Master in Higher Education Leadership
10 courses
Learning Objectives:

• Support a contemporary generation of college students within a rapidly changing social, cultural, political, and economic landscape.
• Analyze and critique the history and politics of higher education in ways that reflect their lived experiences, best-practices, and professional aspirations.
• Advocate for students in ways that demonstrate a thorough understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion and foster student success.
• Contribute to higher education as emerging practitioners who can act on their personal commitments, skills, and abilities.
• Demonstrate effective and creative leadership as they advocate for positive personal, inter-personal, structural, and institutional change to promote inclusive and innovative organizations and programs.

Requirements:
The MHEL requires completion of 10 courses including eight courses (4 core courses, 4 elective courses) and four half-credit assistantship or internship placements. In the spring of their second year, each student will also complete a graduate seminar reflecting on program outcomes and future career aspirations. As part of the program, each student completes a topical research project.

Course Descriptions

Core Courses

MHEL 501 Student Development, Identity, and Belonging College student development theories are often used to explain, predict, and plan for “college-aged” behavioral choices and learning needs. The American education system has not always been considered a professional career path. The professionalization of “college personnel” can be understood in terms of the evolution of the United States in general: who had access to higher education? what identities were accepted and supported, or suppressed? what type of identities were welcome at specific institutions of higher education? Answers to these questions help us understand how college student development theories may overgeneralize the experiences of “traditional-aged” college students and deserve to be critiqued from a variety of lenses and perspectives. This course will provide an overview of widely accepted theories while asking students to evaluate the applicability of these theories to a wide variety of students attending college today. In addition, the course asks students to apply the (de)constructed theories to their previous, current professional experiences while forecasting how the theories may apply to the future careers. [Prerequisite: Open to graduate students only.]

MHEL 502 Leadership and Innovation in Higher Education  Institutions of higher education exist in a rapidly changing landscape that is fraught with political, social and economic turmoil. It's leaders must drive innovation by fostering inclusive workplaces with diverse teams, cultivating organizational cultures that allow for creative ideas and evidence-based solutions and tackle significant issues on an individual, group and institutional level. This course offers a fusion of contemporary leadership concepts that can be applied in higher education contexts along with essential innovation principles necessary for undertaking higher education's most urgent concerns. Embedded within the liberal arts learning, this course is constructed with concepts, theories and models from a multitude of disciplines and is designed for emerging higher education leaders who want to strengthen their ability to generate ideas, solve problems, affect and manage change, think creatively, develop strategic plans and implement high-impact programs. (Forbes, spring semester, alternate years).  [Prerequisite: Open to graduate students only.]

MHEL 503 Problems of Practice in Higher Education  This course aims to deepen and advance the capacity of students to engage in meaningful and transformative work in higher education. It provides students opportunities to understand and effectively address contemporary problems in higher education. Students will explore a series of case studies focused on representative topics as they identify ways in which they can act on their professional and ethical commitments. Topics will include consideration of diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education. Ultimately, students will be able to identify and reflect upon practices, programs and policies that contribute to structural and/or institutional change.  [Prerequisite: Open to graduate students only.]

MHEL 504 Topics In Higher Education Research (MHEL Project)  This graduate-level course offers an exploration of higher education research, where students will critically analyze current quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research studies and conduct their own research proposal, data collection, and internal publication. Students will be exposed to a variety of methods for data collection, analysis, and interpretation, with participants and research questions focusing on advancing higher education contexts. Through hands-on exercises and projects, participants will design and execute their research projects, honing their skills in formulating research questions, selecting appropriate methodologies, and interpreting findings.  [Prerequisite: Open to graduate students only.]

Electives

MHEL 550 Independent Study

MHEL 552 Diverse Students on the College Campus  This course considers issues of college student diversity broadly defined to include race, ethnicity, culture, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and ability. Through an interdisciplinary social science lens, we will examine the following questions: How do we experience and understand diversity and difference? How do diversity and differences shape systems that affect our college campus communities? Students will explore the contours of difference and the dynamics of diversity, equity, and inclusion in domestic and global contexts. Building on standard models of multicultural competence that emphasize knowledge, awareness, and skills, students will be introduced to cultural humility, culturally specific approaches to practice, and frameworks for equity and empowerment. Additionally, this course will focus on multicultural competency development - of all students, their identities, and their experiences on the college campus. Students will benefit from the course where it examines hidden biases, use of microaggressions, campus climate, and how racism negatively impacts all students. The course will also address the decolonization of higher education.  [Prerequisite: Open to graduate students only.]

MHEL 553 History of Disability in Higher Education  This graduate level course will focus on deconstructing concepts of normalcy and deviance as social and educational mechanisms. Our goals are to think critically about science and medicine in relation to claims about human differences, and to deepen our understanding of the history of disability and ableism, especially in the context of Higher Education. We will use an intersectional lens to critically examine the ways institutions of higher education and the subsequent culture of "being educated" includes and excludes people, bodies and perspectives. We will work to answer the question, how does disability as a category of analysis inform other social categories such as class, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality? This critical examination will be embedded in a history of disability in the US and its impact on higher education environments.  [Prerequisite: Open to graduate students only.]

MHEL 555 Higher Education and the Law  This course explores the relationship between legal frameworks and higher education institutions in the United States and globally. With a heightened focus on civil rights laws, the course examines constitutional, statutory, and regulatory frameworks impacting higher education. Substantive areas of law covered include the ADA, Title IX, the First Amendment, Equal Protection, Title VI and Title VII, and analogous state laws. The course examines the impact of these laws and structures on topical areas in the higher ed sector including equitable access and admissions, speech on campus, campus safety, global education, student rights, student mental health, governance, fundraising, and other emerging/novel legal challenges. Through case studies and discussions, students will develop a nuanced understanding of how legal principles intersect with the higher education landscape, with a particular focus on the impact of the law on social justice, diversity, and the fundamental mission of higher education.  [Prerequisite: Open to graduate students.]

MHEL 556 Strategic Organizational Management and Leadership  This course examines the principles and practices of strategic leadership within institutions of higher education. Students will explore how mission, vision, and values inform decision-making, resource allocation, and organizational culture in complex institutional environments. Through case studies, applied projects, and critical reflection, students will analyze organizational structures, change management strategies, assessment practices, and supervision models. Emphasis is placed on ethical leadership, data-informed planning, and aligning operations with institutional priorities. Students will develop skills in strategic thinking, personnel management, conflict navigation, and long-term planning while considering the unique challenges facing contemporary colleges and universities. To conclude the course, students will create a comprehensive strategic initiative that integrates theory with practice and demonstrates readiness to lead effectively within dynamic higher education settings (Offered fall alternate years)  [Prerequisite: Open to graduate students.]

Assistantships and Internships

MHEL 598 Masters in Higher Education Internship I  Graduate students pursuing the Master of Arts in Higher Education Leadership will be required to participate in four internships throughout the program. These internships are important immersion experiences for students who are getting ready for a career path in higher education and include an array areas at HWS such as Residence Life, ODEI, Athletics, the Centennial Center, CTL, CCESL, Advancement, Admissions, Institutional Research, Global Education, and Career Services. Internships are worth .75 credit and graded on CR/NCR basis. All students will enroll in one internship per semester and be expected to complete 12 hours a week. Students can maintain internship placements for more than one semester if there is interest and they have permission from their supervisor. (Fall semester, year one)  [Prerequisite: Open to MHEL students only.]

MHEL 599 Masters in Higher Education Internship II  Graduate students pursuing the Master of Arts in Higher Education Leadership will be required to participate in four internships throughout the program. These internships are important immersion experiences for students who are getting ready for a career path in higher education and include an array areas at HWS such as Residence Life, ODEI, Athletics, the Centennial Center, CTL, CCESL, Advancement, Admissions, Institutional Research, Global Education, and Career Services. Internships are worth 1 credit and graded on CR/NCR basis. All students will enroll in one internship per semester and be expected to complete 12 hours a week. Students can maintain internship placements for more than one semester if there is interest and they have permission from their supervisor. (Spring semester, year one)  [Prerequisite: Open to MHEL students only.]

MHEL 601 Masters in Higher Education Project  The master's project is a graduate level integrative experience that addresses issues of educational relevance. The project will be undertaken collaboratively with the MHEL cohort and will analyze an issue in higher education from multiple perspectives. The master's project includes an investigation of the scholarly literature on an educational topic or problem as well as an applied component that actively engages graduate students in a scholarly approach to understanding and investigating a set of education-related issues. The project typically includes active engagement and investigation around a selected topic, data collection, and an application of systematic techniques of analysis and interpretation. The master's project must be presented before the end of the semester at one or more public forums (e.g., Senior Symposium, Engaged Scholarship Forum, academic conference, stakeholder's meeting).  [Prerequisite: Open to MHEL students only.]

MHEL 689 Graduate Seminar  In the spring of your second year, as part of an assistantship or internship, you will be required to attend a weekly seminar that helps you reflect on and analyze your placement experience. Career development and readiness plans will be incorporated into the seminar to help you transition to the workforce.  [Prerequisite: Open to MHEL students only.]

MHEL 698 Masters in Higher Education Internship III  Graduate students pursuing the Master of Arts in Higher Education Leadership will be required to participate in four internships throughout the program. These internships are important immersion experiences for students who are getting ready for a career path in higher education and include an array areas at HWS such as Residence Life, ODEI, Athletics, the Centennial Center, CTL, CCESL, Advancement, Admissions, Institutional Research, Global Education, and Career Services. Internships are worth 1 credit and graded on CR/NCR basis. All students will enroll in one internship per semester and be expected to complete 12 hours a week. Students can maintain internship placements for more than one semester if there is interest and they have permission from their supervisor. )Fall semester, year two)  [Prerequisite: Open to MHEL students only.]

MHEL 701 Meaningful Assessment and Storytelling in Student Affairs and Higher Education  How do we know what we "do" is working? What change in students are we looking for, and is it measurable? Why does demonstrating success matter? Unlock the power of meaningful assessment and storytelling in Student Affairs and Higher Education. This microcourse equips you to craft clear, measurable learning outcomes and develop and implement direct assessment tools like observations, portfolios, projects, rubrics, and tests of knowledge-to capture real evidence of student learning. Connect data across multiple surveys and results, and turn data into insight, helping professionals tell a compelling story of transformative growth and the impact of higher education. In the MHEL program, 700-level courses are zero credits and are skill development opportunities.  [Prerequisite: Open to graduate students.]