Online Master of Education (MEd) in Athletics / Activities Administration

This course will focus on laws, rules and regulations for sports and sporting competitions and related activities. Middle school to intercollegiate athletics and activities programs will be examined in relation to their embedded risk management, human resources, safety standards, compliance to the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title IX, student dress codes, conduct codes; plus embedded issues related to sexual harassment, hazing, drug testing and scholarship of athletic/activities program participants.

Meeting participant eligibility standards, maintaining amateurism status, institutional contracts and planning for athletics contests, and the development of student athlete and coaching manuals will be covered through practical application activities in this course. Other applications include scheduling, delegation of tasks, conflict resolution and procurement of equipment and personnel. A major, final project will be the development of a comprehensive tournament plan or major activity event/conference plan (e.g. sport competition at the district or regional/state level, conference breakouts and workshops).

This capstone course for the program will require completion of 90 hours of clinical field experiences in the form of a student internship, a program professional portfolio in electronic format and a comprehensive Athletics/Activities Administrator Coaches Manual. All three culminating projects will be required to be submitted for evaluation as a graduation requirement. Prerequisite: All other program courses (EDU509 is a final capstone course)

This course will examine the philosophical and organizational approaches to various athletic and activity programs; ranging from those starting at the middle school level to intercollegiate programs. Topics will include organizational structures, program budgeting, communications and leadership techniques. This course will also focus on organizational rules, services and membership of athletics associations such as the NCAA, the NAIA and the National Federation of State High School Activities Associations.

This course will explore all facets of the athletics/activities supervision process as it pertains to managing and maintaining facilities; evaluating coaches and support staff; supervising and managing athletic contests, including techniques of spectator management.

This course will provide athletics/activities directors with a broad understanding and better perception of current issues and common challenges they will face in the local and state educational community, as well as those evolving issues on the national and global levels. These include gender equity, emergency/crisis planning as well as issues regarding co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.

This course is designed to offer prospective school leaders a balanced approach to the study of educational administration. The course examines the theoretical foundations of school organization and explores the multidimensional roles of the school administrator as educator, leader, manager, and reflective practitioner. Course content focuses on fundamental organizational principles; leadership and decision-making; local school district culture and communication; policy and governance, human resource management; and the values and ethics of school leadership. In learning content, heavy emphasis is placed on collaboration and problem-solving using cases or vignettes. The cases and vignettes were developed to enhance the ability of students preparing for school leadership positions to encounter new situations in educational administration, assess relevant factors, and decide on effective courses of action.

This course will aid the athletics/activities administrator in building positive character and citizenship traits for participants in athletics and activities programs. Course content will focus on developing the traits of respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, integrity, sportsmanship, collaboration and fairness. In addition, issues on student motivation, cheating and characteristics of adolescent behavior will be examined.

This course will focus on how to share the vision and mission of the program with future participants and community stakeholders. The course will emphasize developing positive relations with the public, speaking in public, communicating with various public media and raising money using fund development methods. Learners will also examine how to encourage community and student involvement with the program.

This course will involve the study of department/school finance, program budgeting, profit/loss formulas, bookkeeping, bidding processing for equipment and services procurement, plus the basics of contractual agreements and compensation for officials.

This course will focus on the practical application of digital tools and mobile apps within the athletic/activities environment. Students will investigate available digital tools and mobile apps to support program administration and provide efficiency within various programs, consider available productivity tools to support program administration, gain experience using software applications to enhance functionality and skill development within athletic/activities programs, independently investigate how mobile apps can be leveraged to provide support for such programs, and develop the skills to utilize video to enhance/support the athletic/activities environment. Access to a mobile device such as a tablet or smartphone, video editing software, and an applications package such as Office 365 or Google Apps will be essential for the course.