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Running head: THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
The consequences of going corporate: Branding and
professionalization in U.S. Adult Education Master’s Programs
Laura Gogia
May, 2013
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
2
Abstract
As society commoditizes knowledge, institutions of higher education have begun assuming
business strategies, philosophies, and practices to survive in what has become an increasingly
competitive market. Branding, which involves sending a clear, simple, consistent message to a
targeted audience with the intention of acquiring their allegiance, is one of the marketing
practices frequently assumed by universities and university programs. As a field, adult education
historically resists attempts at standardization, professionalization, and other practices consistent
with branding. By studying the websites of adult education master’s programs located at nine
U.S. public universities, I show that these programs are nevertheless engaging in program
branding. They target and then package their curricula for specific professional sectors within
the field of adult education, showing notable favoritism towards the sectors of human resource
development and higher education administration. While these sector-based branding practices
are consistent with the pragmatic focus of today’s knowledge society, they may contribute to the
cultural drift within the field of adult education, which will ultimately retard the field’s progress
towards professionalization. Thoughtful consideration should take place before adult education
programs engage in branding their programs.
Keywords: branding, adult education, higher education, professionalization, best practices
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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List of Tables and Figures
Tables
1. Summary of the 2008 CPAE Standards for Graduate Programs in Adult Education……….8
2. Study inclusion criteria……………………………………………………………………….12
3. Demographic information ……………………………………………………………………13
4. Overview of study findings…………………………………………………………………..15
5. Requirements and options for completion of a master’s degree in adult education…………18
6. Face-to-Face or online: Course format options………………………………………………19
7. Examples of track and professional sector matching…………………………………………20
8. Michigan State University: Course offerings formatted for program-level separation………25
9. Northern Illinois University: Course offerings formatted for within-program separation…...27
10. Availability of adult literacy courses………………………………………………………...28
Figures
1. Cleveland State University: A structural counterexample……………………………………21
2. University of South Florida: Separating students at the departmental level……………….…22
3. The University of Georgia: Separating students at the program level………………………..23
4. Pennsylvania State University: Separating students at the program level……………………24
5. Northern Illinois University: Separating students within the program through tracks……….26
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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Introduction
Contemporary society has been called a “knowledge society” because our increasingly
global economy depends on knowledge- and skill-based services (Kasworm, 2011). Since
institutions of higher education are one source of knowledge, the change is significantly affecting
university practices. It has been credited with the new emphasis on student-centered education,
outcome-based education, accountability, and quality assurance (Ivan, 2011). But not everyone
feels change is universally good; in this new world, knowledge is a marketable commodity and
as such may be appreciated for its utility rather than for itself (Kasworm, 2011). As a society
and as individuals, we demand knowledge that is practical, pragmatic, and directly applicable to
our professions (Natale & Doran, 2012). Within this framework of commoditization, institutions
of higher education are increasingly adopting business terminology, practices, and philosophies
(Natale & Doran, 2012). Of the many examples of business practices found in contemporary
higher education, the adoption of branding and best practices are arguably two of the most
pervasive (Natale & Doran, 2012; Robbins, 2009).
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a “name, term, sign, symbol or
design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller…and
to differentiate them from those of other sellers” (Lake, 2013, para. 1). While hundreds of
books, articles, and blogs offer practical advice on branding within any professional or personal
context, the common themes of this advice consist of: (a) delivering a clear message, (b)
connecting with a target audience, (c) demonstrating consistency and credibility, and (d)
motivating the target to obtain the product or service (Lake, 2013). When a university employs
branding, it does so to send a clear message of what the university is and “what it stands for
[sic].” (Waerass & Solbakk, 2009, p. 449). Differentiation from other university programs is
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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essential, and in the intangible world of education, this most often translates into demonstrations
of the graduates’ experience and career marketability (Gupta & Singh, 2010; Natale & Doran,
2012). Although university branding has become a worldwide practice, critics have ethical
concerns about transforming students into consumers (Natale & Doran, 2012). Moreover, some
argue that there is limited data to support branding as a successful practice and call for the
development of better tools for the evaluation of branding within the educational context
(Chapleo, 2010).
The concept of “best practices,” a corporate buzz-phrase linked to equally buzz-worthy
terms like “accountability” and “evidence-based,” can be traced to Frederick Winslow Taylor,
the father of scientific management (Robbins, 2009). As early as 1911, Taylor sought to identify
practices leading to maximum prosperity, making the argument that businesses should
standardize to the most efficient practices and eliminate others (Robbins, 2009). While
complying with best practices is a common objective for businesses, universities, and other
public and private organizations, some critics argue that many best practices are
undersubstantiated and may not be best practices at all. Others argue that best practices are only
“better practices” and that the emphasis on a single right answer leads to unnecessary and
detrimental conformity amongst programs and individuals who are not contextually similar at all
(Axson, 2010).
While the terms “branding” and “best practice” have filtered into the adult education
literature as frameworks for discussing the practice of adult education (see Burrows & Baker,
2009), they are not generally used when discussing university-based professional development
for adult educators. Instead adult educators discuss the professionalization of the field, a related
concept defined as (1) producing a recognizably distinct service, (2) developing a specialized and
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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standardized knowledge base required to produce the service, and (3) controlling the market for
the service (Larson, 1977). Among other things professionalization requires standardization and
specialization of training which lends itself to the use of branding and compliance with best
practices (Cervero, 1992).
The debate regarding professionalization in the field of adult education began in the mid-
twentieth century and continues to figure prominently in the adult education literature (Kaswork,
Rose, & Ross-Gordon, 2010). Not all adult educators want the field to achieve standardization
and professionalization. John Ohliger, an adult educator and activist in the late twentieth
century, saw professionalization as a means of taming the field. Similar to critics of best
practices, Ohlinger was concerned that professionalization would impact learner freedom,
choice, and independence (Grace et al., 2009). In contrast, others consider the debate over
professionalization a non-issue, arguing that professionalism is a “function of pervasive social,
political, and economic forces inherent to Anglo-American capitalist societies” (Cervero, 1992,
p. 46). These scholars argue that as long as university-based adult education programs continue
to train and provide certification for adult educators, the field will inexorably trend towards
professionalization (Cervero, 1992).
Literature Review
The Road to Professionalization
The first university graduate programs in adult education were created in the 1930s,
partially as a result to pressure from the New Deal government; they needed a skilled cohort of
workforce educators that could train or re-train a relatively unskilled American labor force
(Cervero, 1992). By the 1960s, Houle (1964) identified 16 university adult education programs,
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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a number that escalated to the hundreds by the 1970s before stabilizing in the mid-100s for the
last few decades (Welton, 2010).
National-level professional organizations reflect further attempts to organize and
professionalize the field; the Adult Education Association of the U.S.A. (AEA) was created in
1951 by the merger of the Carnegie Foundation-supported American Association for Adult
Education and the Department of Adult Education of the National Education Association. It, in
turn, merged with the National Association of Public School Adult Educators in 1982 to become
the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE; “American Education
Association/American Association for Adult and Continuing Education Records,” n.d., para. 2).
By the 1980s, creating “best practices” as a form of benchmarking had become popular in
higher education (Robbins, 2009). In response to the trend a division of the AACE, the
Commission of Professors for Adult Education (CPAE), developed the first Standards for
Graduate Programs in Adult Education in 1986 (“Commission of Professors of Adult Education
Records,” n.d., para. 2; Solstrom, 2012). These recommendations consisted of nine “core topical
areas” that the CPAE considered essential for doctoral studies programs in adult education.
Revisions were made to the Standards in 2008 and the updated list can be found in Table 1. This
list is the first and only benchmark available for measuring, comparing, and evaluating the
content of adult education graduate programs (Solstrom, 2011).
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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Table 1
Summary of the 2008 CPAE Standards for Graduate Programs in Adult Education.
2008 CPAE Standards for Graduate Programs in Adult Education
• Advanced study of adult learning
• Historical, philosophical foundations of adult education
• Study of leadership, including theories or organizational leadership,
administration and change
• Analysis/study of the changing role of technology in adult education
• Study of issues of policy in relation to adult education
• Analysis of globalization and international issues or perspectives in adult
education
• In-depth analysis of social, political, and economic forces that have shaped the
foundations and discourse within adult education
• Advanced specialty courses relevant to unique program and faculty strengths
• Appropriate depth of qualitative or quantitative research methodology
coursework to support dissertation research and ability to use existing
literature
Note. This list was adapted from Sonstrom, 2011.
The Limited Impact of “Best Practices”
Few researchers have attempted to identify what adult education programs teach and how
they function. Those that have done so tend to focus on the program content of doctoral
programs. Murk and Ross (1988) reviewed 32 course syllabi across 24 North American
universities and found that doctoral coursework in adult education typically fell into three major
categories: adult development theory, adult learning theory, and instructional methodologies.
DelGesso (1995), Harrison (1995), Milton et al. (2003), and Sonstrom et al., (2012) found
evidence of significant variability in the compliance of doctoral programs with the CPAE
Standards. The most recent study, Sonstrom et al., (2012) found that only two of 37 programs
met all nine recommendations. Overall mean compliance was 66%, with a range of 22% to 92%
compliance at the level of individual recommendations. While the Standards for Graduate
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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Programs in Adult Education has been available for over a decade, it appears to have had limited
impact on how adult education programs function.
Challenges for Professionalization
Of all the barriers to standardization in the adult education field, the diversity and
decentralized working conditions of adult educators may be the most important (Cervero, 1992;
Knox & Fleming, 2010; Merriam & Brockett, 2007; Sonstrom, 2012). As Bierema (2010) states,
the term “adult educator” can mean:
“…literary teacher, continuing education instructor, continuing professional educator,
labor educator, nonprofit staff, instructional designer, human resource developer, K-12
educator, corporate trainer, higher education administrator, extension agent, prison
educator, organization development consultant, college professor, career development
counselor, community activist, health educator, public official, or something else.” (p.
135)
The decentralization of adult educators means that they are often subject to and identify with the
policies, cultures, and motivations of the larger organization for which they work. In other
words, they identify as members of an industry, correctional facility, university, public health
entity, or nonprofit organization rather than adult educators (Knox & Fleming, 2010). Cultural
drift occurs across the field of adult education as members identify with different professional
sectors, developing sector-dependent terminology, theoretical frameworks, and instructional
techniques. Some adult educators working in certain sectors might even consider themselves
oppositional to other adult educators; literacy educators with a Freirian philosophical framework
for example may refuse to identify with workforce trainers who attempt to improve worker
efficiency and compliance. Such divisions lead to difficulty in achieving field standardization,
shared vision, and common goals (Knox & Fleming, 2010).
Research Purpose
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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The purpose of this study is to explore the branding practices, if any, of adult education
programs, specifically those offering master’s degrees and situated in large, public, research-
oriented American universities. Unlike previous research in the field, this is not meant to be a
comprehensive content analysis or evaluation for compliance with the CPAE Standards for
Graduate Programs in Adult Education. Instead, this report aims to answer the following
questions:
Do adult education programs brand themselves and, if so, how?
What is the purpose of adult education master’s programs and how is that purpose
communicated to perspective students?
How are adult education master’s programs targeting audiences, if at all? Who are these
audiences?
What are the current trends in the structure and content of adult education master’s
programs?
Methodology
Participants
Unlike previous researchers who strove to study all adult education graduate programs
(Hancock, 1995; Sonstrom et al., 2012), my purpose in establishing a list of adult education
programs was to identify programs that (a) actively contribute to the professional adult education
community and (b) possess profiles and resources similar to those of my home university,
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Purposeful sampling was performed with the intent
to continue sampling until appropriate data saturation was achieved. I used the 2012 American
Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) 61st Annual Conference Program
Guide and Exhibitor Directory and the 2012 Human Resource Development Directory of
Academic Programs in the United States to identify faculty or programs promoting active
scholarship in adult education (American Association for Adult and Continuing Education, 2012;
Roberts, 2012). I achieved a database of 108 potential program sites through these two sources.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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After removing the non-academic institutions (e.g., private adult education consulting
groups) and non-domestic universities from my database, I surveyed the websites of the
remaining 91 colleges and universities for evidence of master’s degree-bearing adult education
programs. Some adult education programs offered only certificates or doctorates in adult
education. Some presenters at the AAACE conference represented educational administration
and policy departments from universities that did not have adult education programs. Still others
were present at the AAACE to address issues of human resource or adult development and
represented schools of business, social work, or psychology rather than school of education-
based adult education programs. Of the 91 domestic universities represented at the AAACE
conference and in the Directory of Human Resource Development Directory of Academic
Programs, only 41 (45%) offer master’s programs in adult education.
The initial survey of the 91 university websites led to an internal sampling process that
culminated in the development of study inclusion criteria. The criteria, meant to identify
universities with similar demographics and resources to VCU, are summarized in Table 2. In
addition to criteria concerning university funding sources, research-orientation, and adult
education programming, I limited the participation of statewide university systems to one
university for each system. This decision was related to my concerns that system-wide policies
or resource-sharing might skew findings. In reality, this criterion affected only the Texas-based
university system as other university systems were limited by the other criteria.
Of the 41 programs, seven (17%) met all of the criteria: University of Georgia (Athens),
Michigan State University, University of South Florida (Tampa), Northern Illinois University,
Indiana University (Bloomington), Pennsylvania State University (University Park), and
University of Connecticut. Although the purpose of the study was to evaluate schools with
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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similar demographics to VCU, I opted to study two additional universities that did not meet the
Carnegie Research Classification criteria: Texas State University (San Marcos) and Cleveland
State University. My purpose in doing so was to evaluate whether adult education programs
located at research-oriented schools were distinctively different from those that were not. The
selection of these two programs was not random; their colleges of education appeared
structurally similar to the VCU School of Education. Data saturation was evident with the
sample size of nine programs.
Table 2
Study Inclusion Criteria
Public, non-profit universities located in the United States of America
Program titles suggesting a broad program of study, for example “Adult Learning”
or “Adult Education” rather than “Workforce Development” or “Adult Literacy”
“Very high” or “High” research Carnegie classification
Only one representative from a state-wide university system
The universities sampled for this study are large universities located in the northeast,
southern, and central United States. Some but not all are land grant colleges, most are located in
mid-sized urban settings, and all of them are large enough in area and population to considerably
impact the culture and economy of their home cities. All offer baccalaureate, master’s, doctoral,
and professional degrees in hundreds of different programs. Almost half of the programs are
affiliated with prominent members of the adult education field, including Sharan Merriam
(University of Georgia), John Dirkx (Michigan State University), Libby Tisdale and Ed Taylor
(Pennsylvania State University), and Lisa Baumgartner (Northern Illinois University).
Additional demographic information about the programs can be found in Table 3.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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Table 3
Demographic information for the adult education master’s programs included in the study.
University Master’s
Program
Name
Student
Population
Carnegie
Research
Classificationa
Number of
Colleges in
University
Number of
Departments in
College/School
of Education
Relevant US News
and World Report
Rankings, 2013 b,c
The University
of Georgia
(Athens)d
Adult
Education
34,475 Very High 18 9 #43 - Graduate
Programs, Education
Michigan State
Universitye
Higher, Adult
and Lifelong
Learning
48,906 Very High 17 4 #15 – Graduate
Programs, Education
Indiana
University
(Bloomington)f
Adult
Education
42,347 Very High 15 5 #19—Graduate
Programs, Education
Northern
Illinois
Universityg
Adult and
Higher
Education
22,990 High 7 6 #4—Online Graduate
Programs, Education
Pennsylvania
State University
(University
Park)h
Adult
Education
21,416 Very High 17 4 #28 (tie)—Graduate
Programs, Education
University of
South Florida
(Tampa)i
Adult
Education
41,047 Very High 15 8 #81—Graduate
Programs, Education
University of
Connecticutj
Adult
Learning
30,256 Very High 14 5 #28 (tie)—Graduate
Programs, Education
Texas State
University (San
Marcos)k
Adult
Education
34,225 No Research
Designation
(Basic)
9 3 #177—Graduate
Programs, Education
Cleveland State
Universityl
Adult
Learning and
Development
16,000 No Research
Designation
(Basic)
8 5 #161—Graduate
Programs, Education
a Carnegie Classifications for Research can be found at “Institution lookup,” n.d.
b US News and World Report 2013 rankings for graduate programs can be found at “Best education programs,” 2013.
c US News and World Report 2013 rankings for online graduate education programs can be found at “Best online graduate programs in
education,” 2013. d
“About UGA,” n.d. e “About MSU,” n.d.
f “About IU,” 2013.
g “About NIU,” 2013.
h “Welcome to Penn State’s fact book,” n.d.
i “About USF,” 2013.
j “About UConn,” n.d.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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k “About Texas State,” n.d. l “Cleveland State University: About us,” 2013.
Procedures for Evaluation
This study utilizes a comparative case study design meant to capture the essence of adult
education master’s programs offered through public universities in the United States. Using
constant comparative methodology, I reviewed the websites of nine university programs at the
university, college, departmental, and program levels. Since adult education program websites
frequently fail to advertise online program options, the distance or online learning department
webpages were also reviewed for each university. There is precedent for using university
websites to gather information about adult education programs; Sonstrom used university
websites to compile a comprehensive list of adult education doctoral programs in 2011.
Quantitative data regarding program requirements, program format, and course offerings
were entered into Excel spreadsheets. Descriptive statistics were generated but a review of the
results suggested that the statistics alone did not capture the essence of these nine programs.
Further data collection was performed using constant comparative methodology. Emerging
themes were identified and coding was performed by both university program and emergent
theme.
Findings
Three themes emerged consistently from every program. The master’s degree programs:
(a) state their mission clearly, (b) explicitly target audiences, and (c) package curriculum in ways
that are consistent with their target audience and mission. These practices are consistent with the
practice of branding. Table 4 provides an overview of the findings.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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Table 4
Overview of Study Findings.
Branding in Adult Education Master’s Programs
The Mission
• Define purpose as providing professional development for practitioners
• Use language consistent with constructivism and transformative and experiential
learning
The Audience
• Target students from specific professional sectors
• Reduce barriers to participation
The Structure
• Present curriculum in profession-specific packages
• Track students through the profession-specific curriculum
• Ensure consistent image by aligning program curriculum with department
orientation
The Mission
Adult education master’s program missions are stated in clear, unmistakable language;
master’s programs in adult education provide practitioners with continuing professional
development. Most programs include the terms “practitioner” or “practitioner-oriented” in their
statement. Of the nine programs reviewed only those at University of Georgia and University of
Connecticut imply any emphasis on research within their purpose statements by describing their
graduates as “scholar-practitioners and researchers” (“Adult Education, Learning and
Organization Development,” n.d., para. 1; “Adult Learning: Philosophy and mission,” n.d.,
para.1).
All mission statements are couched in the language of constructivism, transformative
learning, and other verbiage consistent with adult learning theory. The program purpose
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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statement at University of Connecticut explains that learning occurs within the context of
experience and “interactions between individuals and their environments” (“Adult Learning:
Philosophy and mission,” n.d., para.1). Cleveland State University stresses the importance of
learning to assist adult learners “as they cope with the effects of an ever changing world” (“Adult
Learning and Development program overview,” n.d., para. 1). “Conscious, systematic,
purposeful learning” is emphasized in the University of Georgia’s Adult Education program
(“Adult Education, Learning and Organization Development,” n.d., para. 1). Program mission
statements consistently use phrases that support mindfulness, resilience, and flexibility of
thought among adults.
The Audience
Target students from specific professional sectors.
Although mission statements clearly orient programs towards practitioners, most
programs go further in the explicit identification of their desired student population.
Occasionally programs narrow their message to the point of targeting only one professional
sector even though their program name suggests a broad base of learners. Michigan State
University, for example, designed its Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Learning (HALE) program for
students aiming for careers in higher education administration. The message is clear; their
purpose statement describes HALE master’s students as “…seeking to build careers in
community colleges, four-year college, and adult learning agencies” (“HALE: Higher, Adult,
Lifelong Education,” 2011, para. 2). Consistent with this message, the program offers
coursework entirely focused on administration, policy, and organizational learning (see Table 7).
Finally, its location in the Department of Educational Administration is also consistent with the
program’s message of mission, targeted audience, and content.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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Other programs are less narrow in their targeted audience but just as specific when
discussing ideal student populations. For its Adult Education master’s program, Texas State
University (San Marcos) targets “practitioners who work or will work as teachers, program
developers and evaluators, or administrators” (“Mission”, n.d., para. 1). The Adult Learning
program at University of Connecticut lists the professional achievements of recent graduates, all
of whom have careers in business, nonprofit organizations, or educational administration (“Adult
Learning: Careers in adult learning,” n.d.). Regardless of who is targeted, all programs directly
communicate how graduates apply their training in the professional world.
Reduce barriers to participation.
All nine universities reduce barriers to participation in their programs in ways meaningful
for their targeted audience. For most, this means providing degree completion options and
convenient program formats for part-time students who are practitioners but not necessarily
confident scholars. Universities offer reasonable degree completion timeframes and experiential
learning rather than elaborate or extensive academic ventures. Of the programs reviewed, only
the Adult Education master’s program at Pennsylvania State University requires a written thesis
for degree completion. For all other programs writing a thesis is optional if offered at all, and the
non-thesis option is very visible for perspective students who might be intimidated by the writing
process. Table 5 provides a list of degree completion requirements for all of the university
master’s programs studied.
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Table 5
Requirements and options for completion of a master’s degree in adult education.
a “Master’s degree in Adult and Higher Education,” 2013.
b “Course advice,” 2011.
c “Academic programs – Adult Education, Learning and Organization Development,” n.d.
d “M.A. Plan of study,” n.d.
e “Degrees and programs: Adult Education,” 2013.
f “Courses-Master of Education in Adult Education,” n.d.
g “M.A. in Adult Education,” 2009. h “Program overview college core,” 2011.
i “Degree outline,” n.d.
Providing convenient formats is another way universities attract busy practitioners to
their programs. Of the nine programs surveyed, only three require students to spend any time on
campus in face-to-face classroom settings. These three programs seek to offset the
inconvenience of traditional classroom participation by offering evening and weekend classes or
intensive week-long sessions. Of the programs that have online course offerings, only Northern
Illinois University has a hybrid program requiring students to take both online and face-to-face
classes to complete their degree. Pennsylvania State University and University of Illinois
(Bloomington) only offer online degrees in adult education. As this report was being prepared
the University of Georgia announced the closure of its face-to-face Adult Education M.Ed.
University Course Hours
(Required)
Capstone
Project
Thesis Portfolio
Northern Illinois Universitya 36 Yes No No
Michigan State Universityb
30 Yes No No
University of Georgiac 33 Yes No Yes
University of Connecticutd 24-30 No Optional No
Indiana University
(Bloomington)e
36 No Optional No
Pennsylvania State University
(University Park)f
33 No Yes No
University of South Florida
(Tampa)g
36 Yes No No
Cleveland State Universityh 35-36 Optional Optional Optional
Texas State University (San
Marcos)i
39-42 Yes Optional No
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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program. It plans to offer the degree through online coursework only. The course format
options offered by the nine universities are outlined in Table 6.
Table 6
Face-to-Face or online: Course format options.
Face-To-Face Format Only Online Format Available
University of Connecticut a Northern Illinois Universityc
Texas State University (San Marcos)b Michigan State Universityd
Pennsylvania State University (University
Park)e
The University of Georgia(Athens)f
University of South Florida (Tampa)g
Indiana University (Bloomington)h
Cleveland State Universityi
a “M.A. Plan of study,” n.d.
b “Study anywhere,” n.d.
c “Online and blended courses,” 2013.
d “Admissions information for perspective students,” 2013.
e “Courses-Master of Education in Adult Education,” n.d.
f “COE degree programs,” n.d.
g “Fully online programs,” n.d. h “Degrees and programs: Adult Education,” 2013.
i “Graduate programs: Master degree programs,” 2010.
The Structure
Present curriculum in profession-specific packages.
Most adult education master’s programs make an effort to package and label curriculum
so that students can match the coursework to their professional sector of interest. Examples of
clearly named curriculum tracks can be found in Table 7. The Adult Learning and Development
master’s program at Cleveland State University offers a counter example to the other programs.
Its structure is unusual because it has nine “focuses” within the program. The content of the
focuses overlap and some of them are unmatched to specific professions. Students at Cleveland
State University can focus their studies in “Multicultural Diversity” or “Technology,” for
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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example (“Program overview college core,” 2011). While courses related to multicultural
diversity and technology are common themes in adult education master’s programs, most
universities make courses on these topics available to all students instead of creating specific
tracks devoted to them. Cleveland State University’s Adult Learning and Development master’s
program is illustrated in Figure 1.
Table 7
Examples of track and professional sector matching
Track Names
Work and Learninga
Higher Education/Student Affairsb
Adult ESLa
Community Development, International,
and Popular Educationb
Continuing and Community Educationb
Adult Continuing Educationb
Human Resource Developmentb
Adult Literacyc
a “Degree outline,” n.d. b “Master’s degrees in Adult and Higher Education,” 2013. c “Courses – Master in Education in Adult Education,” n.d.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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Figure 1
Cleveland State University: A structural counterexample.
Note. Adapted from “Adult Learning and Development – Master’s of Education in Adult Learning and Development,” 2011.
Track students through the profession-specific curriculum.
The eight universities that package curriculum for specific professional audiences
separate students from different professional sectors at one of three different levels: (a) the
department, (b) the program, or (c) within the program through tracks, areas of emphasis, or
focuses.
Some universities separate adult education students at the departmental level, practically
guaranteeing that students from different professional sectors will not intermingle. These
programs have different core curricula and little or no crossover in electives. Departmental
Cleveland State University
College of Education
Counseling, Administration, Supervision, and Adult Learning
Department
Other Programs
Adult Learning and
Development Program
Ad
ult L
iteracy
Co
mm
un
ity H
ealth
Cu
lture
Co
mm
un
ication
an
d H
ealthcare
Hig
her E
du
cation
Man
agem
ent an
d
Train
ing
Mu
lticultu
ral D
iversity
No
np
rofit
Man
agem
ent
Stu
den
t Serv
ices
Tech
no
logy
Other Departments
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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separation happens most frequently for community health educators, who might even be
funneled into colleges other than the College of Education. Some schools also separate adult
literacy from the other professional fields of adult education, funneling literacy educators into
curriculum and instruction departments while the rest remain in administration and policy
departments. Figure 2 demonstrates how a university, in this case University of South Florida,
separates adult literacy students from other types of adult education students. This instructional
divide between adult literacy and workforce and higher education will be discussed in more
detail in a later section of the findings.
Figure 2
University of South Florida: Separating students at the departmental level.
Note. Adapted from “Departments” 2009.
Several universities separate professional sectors at the level of programs. Program-level
packaging frequently involves separating human resources or higher education administration
from adult development and learning, as demonstrated by the University of Georgia and
University of South Florida
College of Education
Department of Adult, Career and Higher Education
Adult Education Other
Programs
Other Departments
Department of Childhood Education and Literacy Studies
Literacy Studies - Adolescent and Adult
Literacy Focus
Other Programs
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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Pennsylvania State University in Figures 3 and 4, respectively. The separated programs still
maintain their focus on administration, policy, and organizational learning since they are still
housed in administrative-oriented departments. Like students separated from each other at the
department level, students separated at the program level have different core curriculum and
elective course lists, but classes are much more likely to be cross-listed. When students from
different professional sectors are separated at the program level, they are much less likely to
require tracks within the programs. Students still take “core” and “elective” coursework but all
of the electives are geared towards the same professional sector. The coursework of University
of Michigan’s Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education Program, provided in Table 8, offers a
good example of this strategy.
Figure 3
University of Georgia: Separating students at the program level.
Note. “Academic programs – Adult Education, Learning and Organization Development Program,” n.d.
University of Georgia
College of Education
Department of Lifelong Education, Administration, and
Policy (LEAP)
Adult Education, Learning and Organization Development
Program
Educational Administration
and Policy Program
Educational Leadership Program
Human Resource and Organization Development
Program
Qualitative Research Program
Other Departments
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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Figure 4
Pennsylvania State University: Separating students at the program level.
Note. “Department of Learning and Performance Systems,” 2013.
Pennsylvania State University
College of Education
Other Departments
Department of Learning and Performance
Systems
Adult Education
Learning, Design, and Technology
Workforce Education and Development
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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Table 8
Michigan State University: Course offerings formatted for program-level separation. No tracks are
required because students from each professional sector are enrolled in different programs.
Coursework for MA in Higher, Adult, Lifelong Education at Michigan State University
Core Courses (6 credit hours):
EAD 840 Inquiry in Postsecondary Education
EAD 868 Pro-seminar in Higher and Adult Education
Electives (24 credit hours):
EAD 802 Building a Learning Organization
EAD 805 Administration in Higher Education
EAD 822 Approaches to Education Research (or its equivalent)
EAD 860 Concept of a Learning Society
EAD 861 Adult Learning
EAD 863 Training and Professional Development
EAD 864 Adult and Career Development
EAD 866 Teaching in Postsecondary Education
EAD 870 Foundations of Postsecondary Education
EAD 871 Collegiate Contexts for Teaching and Learning
EAD 876 Budgeting and Finance in Higher Education
EAD 877 Program Planning and Evaluation in Postsecondary Contexts
EAD 890 Independent Study
EAD 894 Field Experience Note. Adapted from “Curriculum,” 2011.
Universities that do not aggressively separate students at the program level separate them
through tracks within their adult education programs. In these cases, all students complete a core
curriculum before they are separated into two to four profession-specific tracks. The core usually
includes classes on adult development and learning, instructional design, and basic research
design. Some universities also include coursework related to technology-based learning and
multiculturalism in their core curriculum. Figure 5 illustrates the within-program tracking at
Northern Illinois University. It is followed by Table 9, which demonstrates how courses are
offered in a within-program tracking system.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
26
Figure 5
Northern Illinois University: Separation of students within the program through tracks.
Note: “Adult and Higher Education,” 2013.
Northern Illinois University
College of Education
Other Departments
Counseling, Adult, and Higher Education
Other Programs
Adult and Higher
Education Program
Adult Continuing Education
Community Development, International, and Popular Education
Human Resource
Development
Higher Education-
Student Affairs
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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Table 9
Northern Illinois University: Course offerings formatted for within-program separation.
Coursework for M.S.Ed in Adult and Higher Education
Core Courses
CAHA 500, Nature of Adult and Higher Education
CAHA 501, Adult Learning: Maturity through Old Age
CAHA 502, Educating Culturally Diverse Adults
Research Course (often ETR 520, Introduction to Educational Research)
CAHA 699, Thesis or Comprehensive Exam or Capstone Project
Electives
Area of Emphasis #1:
Adult Continuing
Education
CAHA 530,
Instructional Theory
and Practice in
Teaching Adults
CAHA 533, Learning
How to Learn: Applied
Theory for Adults
CAHA 540,
Curriculum/Program
Dev in Adult
Continuing Ed
CAHA 545,
Planning/Promoting
Non-Credit Adult
Continuing Ed
CAHA 570,
Organization/Administr
ation of Adult
Continuing Ed
CAHA 575, Policy
Studies in Adult
Continuing Education
CAHA 586, Internship
Experiences
Area of Emphasis #2:
Community
Development,
International, and
Popular Education
CAHA 575, Policy
Studies in Adult
Continuing Education
CAHA 581,
Community Project
Dev and Adult
Education
CAHA 586, Internship
Experiences
CAHA 722, Adult and
Higher Education in
Social Context
CAHA 760,
International Adult
Education
CAHA 761, Adult
Learning in Social
Movements
Area of Emphasis #3:
Human Resource
Development
CAHA 533, Learning
How to Learn: Applied
Theory for Adult
CAHA 586, Internship
Experiences
CAHE 561, Human
Resource Development
CAHE 715, Strategic
Human Resource
Development
CAHA 716, Adult
Learning in the
Workplace
CAHA 770,
Leadership in Adult
Continuing Education
Area of Emphasis #4:
Higher
Education/Student
Affairs
CAHA 555, Seminar in
the Community
College
CAHA 586, Internship
Experiences
CAHE 509, Culture of
the College Student
CAHE 522, Student
Development:
Programs, Issues and
Practices
CAHE 572,
Assessment Methods in
Higher Education
CAHE 701, Personnel
Services in Higher
Education
CAHE 702, Student
Development:
Theory/Practice
CAHE 770, The
Administration of
Higher Education
Note. Adapted from “Master’s degrees in Higher and Adult Education,” 2013.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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Ensure consistent image by aligning program curriculum with department
orientation.
Seven of the nine adult education programs studied are housed in departments that
possess an administration and policy focus. The exceptions to the rule are Pennsylvania State
University and Indiana University (Bloomington), online-only programs that are located in
departments made up of online-only degree programs. The administration and policy focus
works for programs heavily geared towards human resources and higher education, but becomes
problematic when discussing adult literacy, a field much more aligned with curriculum and
instruction.
In fact, adult literacy plays a limited role in the most of adult education programs studied.
Four of the programs offer no coursework in adult literacy while two offer a single elective
course and three offer literacy-related tracks. Table 10 shows how different universities provide
coursework in adult literacy courses. As discussed earlier, some choose to separate adult literacy
students from other adult education students at the departmental level.
Table 10
Availability of adult literacy courses.
University Adult literacy course(s)
available in the Adult
Education Program
Adult literacy courses offered
elsewhere (degree offered)
Northern Illinois University None
a Department of Literacy
Education (Certificate)b
Michigan State University Nonec
None
Indiana University
(Bloomington)
Noned
Department of Literacy,
Language and Culture (Ed.S.)e
University of Connecticut Nonef
None
University of South Florida
(Tampa)
1 Elective
(Adult Basic Education)g
Department of Childhood
Education & Literacy Studies
(Ed.S)h
University of Georgia 1 Elective
(Teaching Reading to Low
No
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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Literate Adults)i
Pennsylvania State University
(University Park)
Track Availablej
(Adult Literacy)
N/A
Texas State University (San
Marcos)
Track Availablek
(Adult ESL)
N/A
Cleveland State University Track Availablel
(Adult Literacy)
N/A
a“Adult and Higher Education,” 2013. b”Certificates of graduate studies,” 2013. c”Welcome,” 2011. d”Departments-Instructional Systems Technology.” 2013. e”Degrees and programs: Literacy, Culture, and Language Education,” 2013. f”Department of Educational Leadership,” n.d. g”Departments,” 2009. h”Ed.S. program of study,” 2013. i“Academic programs – Adult Education, Learning and Organization Development Program,” n.d. j “Department of Learning and Performance Systems,” 2013. k ”Welcome to the Department of Counseling, Leadership, Adult Education, & School Psychology,” n.d. l“Adult Learning and Development – Master’s of Education in Adult Learning and Development,” 2011.
Discussion
The Branding of Adult Education Programs
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a “name, term, sign, symbol or
design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller…and
to differentiate them from those of other sellers” (Lake, 2013, para.1). The practice of branding
requires the producer to: (a) deliver a clear message, (b) connect with a target audience, (c)
demonstrate consistency and credibility, and (d) motivate the target to purchase the product or
service (Lake, 2013). The purpose of this comparative case study was to discern whether or not
adult education masters programs brand themselves and if so, what messages are being delivered
via the program websites. There has been no research done in this area; the few studies that have
been done across the adult education field focus on compliance with the CPAE Standards for
Graduate Programs in Adult Education rather than how programs project and organize
themselves.
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Based on these findings, all nine adult education master’s programs seek to brand
themselves. First, they all deliver the clear message that their purpose is to provide practitioners
with continuing professional development. This message is consistent with the history of adult
education programs; since the first programs were opened in the 1930s, they have generally
served adult educators who study while continuing to work in the field (Merriam & Brocket,
2007). Moreover, all programs use terminology consistent with constructivism and
transformative and experiential learning, adding credibility to the messages by grounding them
language familiar to adult educators.
Second, all of the master’s programs target perspective students from specific
professional sectors. Program overviews explicitly list the professional sectors of interest to the
programs. The profession-specific themes are then carried through the organization of the
programs. Universities package curriculum under program and track names that are easily
recognizable to students from different professional sectors. Programs are housed in
departments that make sense based on the administrative or instructional leanings of the
program. Sometimes this means separating adult literacy from other adult education professions;
workforce and higher education administration students study within administrative-oriented
departments while adult literacy students remain in curriculum-oriented departments. With a
few exceptions, most university programs maintain a consistent program identity, from the
purpose statement to their targeted audiences to the way the program is structured.
Third, all master’s programs do their best to motivate perspective students to apply to the
programs. They reduce barriers to participation by offering flexible course formats and a variety
of degree completion options. Practitioners who might be intimidated by the idea of writing
theses rarely have to worry about doing so. Part-time student status is practically assumed.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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Moreover, programs understand that most perspective students pursue graduate degrees for the
purposes of professional advancement. Most programs offer detailed, explicit, and specific
examples of how enrollment might positively affect career paths.
The findings not only suggest that programs brand themselves but that there are trends in
who programs wish to attract. Probably related to factors like regional market share, faculty
strengths, program history, and broader university agendas, each program has a slightly different
target audience. Nevertheless, a distinct orientation towards administration, policy, workforce,
and organizational learning is present in most of the programs studied. My findings are
consistent with previous research which also placed most adult education programs within
departments devoted to administration and leadership (Merriam & Brockett, 2007; Sonstrom,
2011). The presence of adult literacy within adult education programs is limited, sometimes
because these courses are offered in curriculum-oriented departments and sometimes because
they seem to be missing from universities altogether.
Study Limitations
This study has several limitations. First, there is no comprehensive list of adult education
master’s programs readily available. Besieged by dwindling relevance and budget cuts, the
traditional source of such information, Peterson’s graduate programs in business, education,
health, information studies, law &social work is becoming less reliable (Sanstrom, 2011). When
one researcher randomly selected 83 adult education programs from a Peterson’s guide, she
found that 14 had been closed for more than a year and seven more had never existed at all
(Harrison, 1995). Thus researchers rely on individual university websites, professional
organization listserves, and snowballing techniques to develop comprehensive lists of adult
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
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education programs (Harrison, 1995; Sanstrom, 2011). While Sanstrom (2011) provides a recent
list of doctoral programs, there is no equivalent for master’s programs. I approached this
dilemma with the philosophy that I was not attempting to create a comprehensive list, but rather
a list from which I could obtain a purposeful sample of a yet-to-be-determined number of
programs. Sampling bias might have been introduced by using the American Association for
Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) 61st Annual Conference Program Guide and the 2012
Human Resource Development Directory of Academic Programs in the United States as my
initial sources of programs. Specifically, I have concerns that I might have missed programs
with strong adult literacy presence because I did not include a source specific to adult literacy in
my initial search. Despite my concerns, the oversight did not seem to affect the outcome. The
nine universities handle adult literacy in diverse ways. Pennsylvania State University is the
home of an Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy (“Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy,”
2013). Several of the other universities also have strong adolescent and adult literacy offerings
but they are located within programs separate from the adult education program.
Moreover, although I developed criteria to help choose schools similar to VCU for this
study, I included two schools that did not meet my criteria: Texas State University (San Marcos)
and Cleveland State University. I did so because I wanted to see whether my criteria
significantly affected my resultant view of adult education programs. By including two non-
criteria schools, I could gauge what was happening outside my self-constructed box. I
discovered that there were many similarities between my “in-criteria” and “out-of-criteria”
schools, particularly in their messages and target audiences. Cleveland State University, with its
nine overlapping tracks, also offered an interesting counterexample of program structure. This
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
33
practice is not consistent with effective branding, and it would be interesting to study the benefits
and drawbacks of this program structure in comparison to the others.
The second limitation of my research relates to my complete dependence on university
websites for data. A university website is a form of discourse, a way for the university to
interact with prospective applicants, current students, alumni, faculty and staff, researchers,
community members and donors (Sumner, 2011). They play a special role in the student
recruitment process; studies of perspective graduate students show that a program’s website
content, organization, and architecture are very important in influencing their opinions of the
programs (Sumner, 2011).
There are few studies related to the transparency of university websites (Sonstrom, 2011).
Although university websites were the primary source of data for Sonstrom (2011), the
researcher found them inconsistent and unreliable, requiring her to contact 41% of the doctoral
programs she was studying for additional information. Having navigated 91 different university
websites in the course of this study, I agree with Sanstrom (2011) with some reservations. In
general, I found that master’s programs were described in much more detail than doctoral
programs. While master’s program information included application procedures, course
descriptions, and degree completion requirements, most websites only described the purpose of
the doctoral program and then required the reader to contact faculty directly. I concluded that
the difference in information quality might be related to the highly individualized nature of
doctoral studies as compared to master’s level studies. Nevertheless, this study would be
stronger if I had had the resources to contact each program directly to confirm the conclusions I
drew from the websites. This was, unfortunately, outside the scope of this independent study. If
this study were to continue, contacting faculty and administrators from each program would not
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
34
only allow for memberchecking but also for further insights into why certain organizational
decisions were being made.
Conclusions
I began this research as a doctoral student in the Virginia Commonwealth University
Urban Service Leadership /Adult Education program. I have since switched to a different
graduate program within the School of Education. While I enjoyed success within the VCU
Adult Education program, I had many unanswered questions about the field of adult education,
adult education training, and my current and future position in both of them. I realize now that
much of my dissatisfaction with the program was related to my previous educational experience
in a rigorously professionalized field; given my assumptional framework, I had difficulty
accepting a less professionalized field that functioned without stringent or obvious benchmarks,
branding, or best practices. Thus I started this journey as a quest for familiar educational
structures, something to make me comfortable within my own doctoral program. I chose to focus
on large, public research-oriented universities like my own, hoping to find answers that I could
apply to my own experience. Because of my personal framework, the research was initiated with
the assumption that branding is not only strategic but helpful to current students looking for
vocational identity and to the perspective student making decisions regarding potential
matriculation.
Even after bracketing my pre-existing preference for branded, highly structured
education, it appears to me that many adult education programs engage in branding practices. In
a knowledge society, students are consumers seeking efficiently packaged curriculum designed
to enhance their careers. Even branding critics concede that it may be impossible to avoid
branding in today’s commoditized educational climate (Natale & Doran, 2012). I am left to
THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOING CORPORATE
35
wonder, however, if branding is in the best interest of the adult education field as a whole.
Despite Cervero’s (1992) statements to the contrary, the standardization, benchmarking, and
professionalization of the adult education field remains uncertain (Kasworm et al., 2010).
Professional standards have been set by the American Association of Adult and Continuing
Education but compliance is variable at best (Sonstrom, 2011). One of the barriers to
professionalization is the ongoing cultural drift that results from adult educators identifying more
with their separate professional sectors than the umbrella profession of “adult educator”
(Bierema, 2010). Using professional-sector separation to brand programs and target audiences
only encourages cultural drift, undermining attempts to create a unified vocational identity
among adult educators.
What I have presented in this report is a list of current practices among university adult
education practices. While they are not technically “best practices,” the connection between
these practices and the popular practice of branding may tempt some to see this as a list of best
practices, to be applied to all or most adult education programs. It is important to remember,
however, that the practices I describe developed organically as adult education programs
evaluated their positions within regional and national markets. These practices are not the result
of top-down dictates from the adult education professional leadership. They were not designed
with the intent to generalize beyond individual programs. Therefore, I caution against the
unquestioned use of best practice (or even current practice) lists, particularly in this relatively
unstandardized field. It can limit creativity and innovation, both of which are desperately needed
in higher education today.
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