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Continual improvement and new collaborators. During the 2010-11 academic year we were able to finalize the program structure, sequence and courses and get the program approved through the university’s curriculum process. A permanent course rotation was established and some of the EEs began to be integrated into courses. FMC3 and FME worked hard to revamp our internship model, including providing clear expectations for all intern supervisors. The addition of FMA and our research faculty members infused some needed energy into the PLC and added variety to our perspectives. FMA had been integral in helping us begin the redesign as an aesthetic endeavor, but had only been limitedly engaged as the program began being implemented. His return helped re-ground us in our ideals at a point when we had become mired in the pragmatic efforts to integrate the EEs. The research faculty members also offered alternative perspectives, especially on how to improve how the BHAG was presented and supported throughout the program.

More changes. Towards the end of the summer of 2010, I resumed coordination of the MSA program. Over the summer, DH2 had moved into a faculty position in another department and a long-time departmental colleague (DH3) became our third department head in three years. In late July, I met with DH3 and DH1, to examine several issues including advising, old program phase out, and strategies to more effectively align the core leadership courses. Based on multiple considerations, DH3 and I agreed to remove FMC3 from teaching EDL 602, leaving him on the fringes of our program. FMC3 had also moved out of state and had become much less present, furthering his marginalization. DH3 informed FMC3 of the changes, but I never had a frank discussion with FMC3 regarding the specific circumstances of his reassignment. In place of FMC3, we asked a long-time adjunct to redesign and teach both sections of EDL 602 and to focus the course on school culture.

Figure 2 . Graph of changes in position in relation to participation in the MSA during two and a half years with Dean2.

Early in fall 2010, Dean2 initiated a program prioritization initiative in response to impending budget cuts. The stated goal of the initiative was to objectively place all college programs onto a four-point scale of importance based on efficiency and value to the community and college. Programs in the top category would be eligible to receive additional resources while programs in the bottom category could be targeted for closure. Early spring 2011, Dean2 announced that in addition to the program prioritization, the college would be reorganized from five departments in to three in order to increase efficiencies and create more logical program groupings.

In February, Dean2 recommended that I and two other ELF department members be non-renewed for financial reasons. This was a demoralizing act as I had consistently exceeded all departmental criteria for reappointment, received nearly unanimous recommendations for reappointment from departmental and college committees, and had seniority over two program colleagues who had already been recommended for reappointment. One week later, hours before a college-wide meeting to discuss the college reorganization, two of us received hand-delivered letters of reappointment from the Provost. The third faculty member was also eventually recommended for reappointment after a wait of 45 days.

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Source:  OpenStax, Ncpea handbook of online instruction and programs in education leadership. OpenStax CNX. Mar 06, 2012 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11375/1.24
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