The Program in Higher Education within Florida State University’s College of Education has been rated exemplary in a polling of faculty in the field at more than 100 universities.
The study was conducted by Marybelle Keim, a researcher at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. The project is a replication of one she conducted in the early 1980s. Keim surveyed a random sample of higher-education faculty and asked them to nominate programs they considered outstanding.
FSU’s Program in Higher Education was included in the top eight programs named in the study and was one of only two programs listed from universities that are not members of the Association of American Universities, said Beverly Bower, an associate professor of
educational leadership and policy studies at FSU who coordinates the program.
"It is certainly an honor to be recognized by our peers, as they are the ones who truly understand what it takes to create and maintain a quality higher-education program and recognize the most appropriate measures of success," Bower said. "It also means that our graduates have an advantage when they complete their degrees in that our
reputation gives us name recognition among potential employers. They know they can expect graduates of our program to have had the types of experiences that have prepared well them for the next step in their careers."
The results of Keim’s study will be compared to those from the 1980s study, and findings will be published as a chapter in a publication of the Council for the Advancement of Higher Education Programs. The recognition comes after the program’s ranking of 13th in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s 2007 ranking of "America’s Best
Graduate Schools."
FSU’s higher-education program offers master’s and doctoral degrees. Visit www.coe.fsu.edu for more information about this and other academic programs in the College of Education.