53B-18-901 - Distance Education Doctorate Program.
53B-18-901. Distance Education Doctorate Program.
(1) The Legislature finds that:
(a) many Utah public education administrators are nearing the end of their careers andwill retire early in the 21st Century;
(b) Utah public schools have many mid-career faculty that could become the next waveof administrators if they were prepared with a doctorate in education degree that emphasizedcurriculum and instruction;
(c) each of Utah's community colleges have several faculty that need a terminal degreeand further knowledge in curriculum development and state-of-the-art instructional methodology,and these individuals, being mid-career, find it difficult to relocate to a college campus for atraditional program; and
(d) the state and its students will be better served if faculty and administrators are moreknowledgeable about the development of curriculum and the latest instructional methodologybased on documented research.
(2) Therefore, Utah State University shall establish a Distance Education DoctorateProgram to accommodate public education administrators and community college faculty andadministration.
(3) The program shall include the following components:
(a) the offering of courses for a doctorate degree in education over the UEN-EDNETsystem established under Title 53B, Chapter 17, Part 1, Educational Telecommunications;
(b) structuring of the program to make it identical to a regular campus program in rigorand course work; and
(c) providing a support system from at least the following five departments at theuniversity:
(i) Elementary Education;
(ii) Secondary Education;
(iii) Business Information Systems and Education;
(iv) Industrial Technology; and
(v) Agricultural Systems Technology and Education.
(4) The university shall augment the program with off-campus summer courses, withthose courses eventually being offered over the UEN-EDNET system.
(5) The Legislature shall provide an annual appropriation to fund the program establishedunder this part.
Enacted by Chapter 329, 2001 General Session