Date of Award
2012
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Abraham S. Fischler College of Education
Advisor
Ralph J. Rich
Committee Member
Thomas J. Thompson
Committee Member
Ronald P. Kern
Keywords
American College Health Association, curriculum, curriculum alignment, document review, evaluation, evaluative matrix, graduate certificate, graduate education, health education, health promotion, higher education, hiring guidelines, job analysis, learning objectives, professional competencies, program evaluation, public health
Abstract
This applied dissertation was designed to describe the alignment or misalignment between the essential and preferred competencies at the Director-level outlined in the American College Health Association’s (ACHA) Guidelines for Hiring Health Promotion Professionals in Higher Education and the graduate-level course learning objectives in a single site case study. The study used a document review methodology with an evaluative matrix to demonstrate the connections between the ACHA Hiring Guidelines and learning objectives from the study site graduate courses. Additionally, the researcher utilized experts to describe the potential need for a concentrated program of study addressing health promotion in higher education.
Findings from this study suggest there is a need for academic preparation focused on health promotion in higher education settings and a moderate level of alignment between the ACHA Hiring Guidelines and learning objectives from the study site graduate courses. The identified gaps were not addressed by the proposed four-course graduate certificate for health promotion in higher education at the research site. Implications for several areas of practice, and recommendations for the study site and future studies were included.