Leading in Post-secondary Contexts
Program Overview
This program is designed to serve as an effective leadership preparation and development program that will provide a valuable evidence-based foundation interwoven with relevant and current pragmatics of leading and managing for success within dynamic and unpredictable post-secondary contexts.
Program Details
This program provides essential background for formal and informal academic and/or non-academic leaders who are aspiring or current leaders, managers or administrators within a post-secondary institution. This program provides requisite curriculum content, research, and practical applications related to leading people, leading change, achieving financial competencies, and perspicacious and sagacious in problem solving current issues and nimbly avoiding or strategizing potential threats.
Experiential learning is learning by doing that bridges knowledge and experience through critical reflection. This program offers the following kinds of experiential learning opportunities:
- Critically evaluate the literature on leadership in post-secondary contexts
- Collaborate with peers on group work related to leadership
- Discuss the application of leadership theory into practice
This program will be of interest to aspiring and incumbent post-secondary managers/leaders, service personnel, library and technology experts, instructors and curriculum leaders who work with students, provide service, lead and/or design curriculum and earning experiences within the post-secondary sector. Post-secondary institutions may include: colleges, institutes, universities, and varied post-secondary learning organizations and academies, such as: police academies, professional accreditation organizations, private universities/colleges, polytechnics, institutes of technology or the arts, and others.
A registration package will be sent to new students after they have been admitted. Registration for the summer term will be available in late winter. Fall and Winter registration opens in the spring. Your Graduate Program Administrator will send more information about registration to you.
Fee details are available on the Faculty of Graduate Studies website.
The University of Calgary offers multiple ways to meet the cost of your education. Please refer to the Awards, Scholarships and Bursaries page to learn more about options available to students. For additional information, please contact Student Financial Support.
Please refer to Admission Requirements for Master's Programs.
Program Schedule & Course Descriptions
- Program begins each July (summer term 1)
- Outlines are normally available 1-2 weeks prior to the start of term in D2L
- 3 units per course
Term 1 - Summer
Post-secondary Policy and Governance
Governance is the formal system designed to oversee the balance between institutional autonomy and public accountability; while policies are the rules created by leaders that guide operations. Governance and policies are the framework for operations, alignment, accountability, and authority and these provide the parameters of power and authority for leaders.
Term 2 - Fall
Change and Innovation in Education
This course is designed to examine the meaning of change and innovation, the change agents and implementers, and impacts and evaluation of the change. Specifically, the ‘what’, ‘how’, and ‘where to now’ of leading change and innovation will be explored.
Term 3 - Winter
Economics and Finance in Post-secondary Contexts
This course examines the key socio-political, economic, and financial dimensions involved in the relationship between post-secondary institutions and funding agencies. Topics relate to relevant accountabilities, political trends, and implications for leaders’ and other stakeholders’ work within post-secondary education.
Term 4 - Spring
Current Issues and the Future of Post-secondary
This course is specifically designed to explore current and emergent trends and issues and will “possiblize” future crises and/or opportunities that may confront leaders in PS. Learners will be encouraged to individually and collectively critically analyze and problem solve issues in their own and peers’ contexts and to brainstorm strategies to address potential weaknesses and/or threats to PS institutional operations, quality, funding, and reputations.