Newsletter Archives

March 2006

Stop by and see us in our new offices: Enterprise Hall, Rooms 412 & 413. Our mail stop is the same: 1B3. Address:

Higher Education Program MS# 1B3
George Mason University
4400 University Drive
Fairfax VA 22030

DA Education Core

Comprehensive Examination : the Education Core Comprehensive Examination for Summer 2006 is scheduled for Friday, June 16, 2006. Contact Dr. Salmon by May 1, 2006, if you plan to take the examination.

Commencement May 20
Students who plan to graduate MAY OR SUMMER 06 (degrees or certificates) must file their on-line intent to graduate through PatriotWeb NO LATER than Friday, March 3, 2006. This deadline applies to all students planning to graduate in spring 2006 or summer 2006. NOT LATE INTENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED. Any student filing after this date will be required to remove their intent and re-file for graduation in fall 2006.

For May graduates:
1. Ceremonies. You are eligible, but not required, to attend both the
CAS Convocation and GMU Commencement. Convocation includes walking individually across the stage. Commencement does not. Both require cap/gown. AUGUST MAIS graduates may participate; contact Justine Fletcher at mais@gmu.edu for this information.

* Convocation: Thursday, May 18, 7pm, Center for the Arts, For
Master's and PHD students in the College of Arts and Sciences (will last 1 1/2 hours)
* Commencement: Saturday, May 21, 10am, Patriot Center (will last about 2 hours)
* tickets are required for guests
* each graduate is limited to 4 guests tickets & can be obtained by
going to the Patriot Center box office
* only Ph.D. graduates are individually recognized & photographed on stage receiving their degrees
* appropriate academic regalia is required and available at the
bookstore.

See http://www.gmu.edu/departments/ur/events/commence3.html for more details.

See also https://registrar.gmu.edu/graduation.html.

2. Regalia: The bookstore has representatives in so you can order
caps/gowns, announcements, etc. I do not have information on when this
will be available.

3. Diplomas are mailed, usually 4-6 weeks after the conferral date,
provided all coursework is complete

Dissertation Defense Announcements:

Richard L. Esterbrook
Community College Education
Dissertation Director: Dr. John Wasserman
"INTRODUCING RUSSIAN NEURO-LINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION TECHNIQUES TO ENHANCE LEARNING AND COPING SKILLS FOR HIGH-RISK STUDENTS IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES: AN INITIAL INVESTIGATION"
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
8:30 AM - 10:30 AM
George Mason University, Fairfax Campus
Enterprise Hall, Room 418

Aimee Ledewitz Weinstein
Community College Education
Dissertation Director: Dr. Christopher Thaiss
"Technology and Second Language Writing: A Study in Discussion"
Monday, March 27, 2006
3:30 PM - 5:30 PM
George Mason University, Fairfax Campus
Enterprise Hall, Room 418

Margaret W. Wood
Community College Education
Dissertation Director: Dr. David Rine
"Exploring the Risks That Affect Decision Makers Today (2001-2010)"
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
George Mason University, Fairfax Campus
Enterprise Hall, Room 418

Roger H. Hill
Community College Education
Dissertation Director: Dr. Robert Hawkes
"Memorializing Community Grief: Bedford, Virginia, and the National D-Day Memorial"
Wednesday, April 5, 2006
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
George Mason University, Fairfax Campus
Enterprise Hall, Room 418

Internship Opportunity #1 :
The Higher Education Program has begun working on several international higher education grant initiatives in South America, Africa, and Eastern Europe. The scope of the grants includes administrative and academic work for students in the Higher Education Program and at international sites.

Our program is offering internships to students who want to include this work as part of their Programs of Study. These internships may be in the HEP office, or at the host country's site. The overseas component could be for the full or part of the internship semester. Some examples of potential internship work are:
*Teaching ESL to students or faculty at an international site or at George Mason;
*Participating in a specific research project in partnership with international higher education institutions;
* Developing administrative systems and processes for newly created and evolving higher education institutions.

If you are interested in an international experience this semester, you can also participate in the University of Montenegro ’s visit to GMU between May 1 and 15 this semester. If you are interested in exploring an international internship, please send an email to Bernadette Costello bcostell@gmu.edu.

Internship Opportunity #2:
Mason's New Century College is interested in Higher Education Program students serving as Fall 06 or Spring 07 teaching assistant interns. Students can serve as TA's in some of the most interesting undergraduate courses offered at Mason. Please contact Dr. Salmon promptly if you are interested in these internship positions. They are open to MAIS and DA students.

Spring 2006 Calendar:

Last day to drop without Dean’s approval February 24**

Spring Break March 12-19

Incomplete work due to professor March 24

Last Day to defend dissertation/Sp 2006 March 31

Incomplete work grades due to registrar March 31

Final Copies of Dissertations Due to HEP May 2

Last Day of Classes May 6

Commencement May 20

**Please Note: Any student who drops a class after February 24 must have the Dean’s permission. Until that permission is granted by the Dean the student must attend class. The circumstances for dropping the class must be something that occurred after that date. For the CTCH 606 and CTCH 601 Weekend courses, students must check with the registrar’s website to determine when they can drop. These are considered special schedule courses.

The Higher Education Program follows all University and CAS scheduling regulations.

Spring 2006 HEP Courses: Room information is on Patriot Web

CTCH 601-001 CRN: 15938 (on GMU website, not in printed schedule)

The Community College, Dr. Kettlewell
Weekends: Friday 6:30pm to 10:00pm
Saturday 9:00am to 3:00pm
February 3 and 4
February 24 and 25
March 31 and April 1
May 5 and 6
Prince William Campus BRH 254

I recently was given the opportunity to go to the AACC WDI conference in January. This was the first time I’ve attended an AACC conference. I had a wonderful experience and gained a fuller understanding of workforce development issues from community college, business, and federal government perspectives.

The general sessions each day (during the morning and midday) included speakers from all segments of workforce development (Dept of Labor, National Association of Manufacturers, Disney, Price-Waterhouse-Cooper). Each presentation discussed very critical issues in the workforce development arena and provided “hard” evidence for the critical workforce development situation in the U.S. Until you hear and see the data collected, it is difficult to understand the critical needs businesses have for a skilled workforce.

In addition to the general sessions, there were 8 focus, forum, or roundtable sessions to choose from for the remainder of the day. The difficulty was being able to attend only two sessions a day. Session topics included overviews of existing community college/business partnerships, regional collaborations, how-to sessions on transforming community college programs to meet business needs, what are ATE centers, how community colleges have used federal, state and business workforce development programs, SkillsUSA, etc.

I also enjoyed being able to meet community college representatives from across the country and discuss their colleges’ involvement in workforce development. I was surprised how willing everyone was to discuss the difficulties and challenges their programs face. Living in the D.C. metro area, it’s difficult to see the impact workforce changes can have on a community. At this conference, I got a deeper understanding of the plight many community colleges and their communities are facing. This has deepened my resolve to be actively involved in community college workforce development.

Summer 06 Institute Courses

Brochures will be mailed to students.