Description of Institution, College, Department
& Other Necessary Maryland Information
By Evan Baum, Master's '05 Cohort, ebaum@umd.edu
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UM Description
Key Players
College of Education
EDPL Department
What EDPL is NOT

University of Maryland Description

The University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) is the state flagship institution for the state of Maryland. While a brief description of the key players within the state and within UMCP will follow below, one should know that UMCP along with ten other state universities, two research centers, and one "system-wide learning center," are governed by the state's coordinating board--the University System of Maryland (click here to learn more about the USM and other state institutions). The University System is headed by a Chancellor, and its own Board of Regents, while each of the state institutions are headed by a President with their own respective Board structures. The University of Maryland, College Park is a seperate campus and has no functional relationship to other USM institutions such as the University of Maryland, Baltimore County or the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore. The Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) is a state commission, operating as an extension of the Maryland General Assembly and is "is the State of Maryland's higher education coordinating board responsible for establishing statewide policies for Maryland public and private colleges and universities and for-profit career schools. MHEC also administers state financial aid programs that affect students on a statewide basis" (MHEC website - click here to visit MHEC).

UMCP was founded in 1856 as Maryland Agricultural College, and in 1862, with the passage of the Morrill Land Grant Act (something you should learn about in EDPL657), the federal government began to provide support for state institutions of higher education to serve the public interest in the areas of agriculture, mechanical arts and military tactics.  Thus, from the beginning of UMCP has served the distinct purpose with the State of Maryland of performing functions (research and service specifically) for the public good.  A full timeline of the history of UMCP available here. It would also be wise to acquaint yourself with the schools (both undergraduate and graduate) that exist at UMCP, as well as the numerous centers that operate in most cases as independent entities withing a particular college (click here to do so).

This information should give you the basic information necessary to understand the University of Maryland, College Park, its place within the state of Maryland, and the basic mission (click here for the actual UMCP mission statement) of the institution. In general, much about the university can be learned from the main UMCP website.

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Key Players within Maryland, USM, & UMCP

  • Governor Robert L Ehrlich, Jr.--obviously a key figure within the state; policies have been perceived by many to adversely effect higher education, particularly in the areas of finance.(click here for Maryland's Governor's website)
  • Dr. William E. Kirwan, Chancellor, USM--the current Chancellor of the University System, former President of UMCP and Ohio State University. (click here for full bio on Kirwan). There are several Vice Chancellors for USM as well, explore the USM website to learn more about them and their respective functions.
  • Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., President, UMCP--the current UMCP President, also a tenured faculty member in the School of Engineering, and is commonly known as the "face" of the university in the public realm. More can be learned about the President, his Vice Presidents, and his respective initiatives by visiting the Office of the President website here.
  • Dr. William W. Destler, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost--Provost Destler is generally considered as the person "running the show" here at UMCP. While also a tenured faculty member in the School of Engineering, the Provost oversees each of the Deans, several additional campus offices, and is responsible for the overall academic functions of the institution (click here to learn more about the Office of the Provost).
  • Dr. Linda Clement, Vice President for Student Affairs--for many entering our program, a position like VP for SA is a dream job. At UMCP, this job belongs to Linda Clement. The Division of Student Affairs oversees most of the student services on this campus, including: the Stamp Student Union and its many departments, campus recreation, the career center, resident life, dining services, residential facilities, transportation services, judicial programs, the university health center and the university golf course (click here to learn more about the Division of Student Affairs).
  • Dr. Edna Syzmanski, Dean of the College of Education--Dean Syzmanski oversees the College of Education's academic departments both for graduate and undergraduate students, as well as many centers and institutes that exist as partners with the College (click here to learn more about the Dean and her office).
While there are numerous other key players within the State of Maryland, at the USM, and at UMCP, these are some of the names you will hear over and over and over and over again during your program, so get used to hearing them and take the time to learn a bit about what each individual does. If there are others you feel should be added to this list please e-mail me with their names at ebaum@umd.edu.

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College of Education

The College of Education (COE) within UMCP is one of 13 colleges or schools. The COE serves both graduate and undergraduate students, but it would be safe to say that much of the College's work falls in the area of graduate and professional education, despite the fact that enrollment is about 50/50 graduate/undergraduate. You can learn much more about the COE by exploring its website here.

The COE has 6 departments, each with their own specific academic function, and within each department there are specific academic programs that students can belong to. As students in the Higher Education Administration program, our department is Education Policy & Leadership (EDPL) to be described in greater detail below. You can learn more about EDPL and the other five COE departments here.

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Department of Education Policy & Leadership

The Higher Education program is housed within the Department of Education Policy & Leadership (EDPL), one of the six departments of the COE. There are four other areas of specialization within the college both at the Master's and Doctoral level, they are: Curriculum Theory & Development, Organizational Leadership & Policy Studies, International Education Policy, and Education Policy & Social Foundations. EDPL was formerly EDPA (click here for the main EDPL website).

Faculty members within EDPL, in general, belong to one areas of specialization, although several faculty members do cross over into two specializations depending upon their scholarly backgrounds. Some focus exclusively on issues of higher education and some focus on K-12, with a handful crossing over between the two. See the main EDPL website to learn more about all of the faculty members in the department.

In general, most of the classes within EDPL for students of the Higher Education program appeal exclusively to students from within the program itself, with some potential exceptions. However, many classes, particularly those that are department-wide requirements (EDPL 690 and 700), will have students coming from a variety of the five areas of specializations. See the page on classes to learn more about the different courses within EDPL.

The department has a Graduate Student Association and its own staff, and you can learn more about both from the main website above.

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What EDPL & the HEA Program ARE NOT

 Perhaps the most confusing thing for prospective (and even current) students interested in the Higher Education program is understanding what the program IS and what it NOT. This page and other pages within this overall site should give you a very clear sense of what the program is. Although such information is only the opinions of current and former students, it should be clear that the Higher Education program studies issues of higher education from a systemic and policy-driven orientation.

What the Higher Education program IS NOT is our "sister" program--College Student Personnel in the Department of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). First, the two programs are in different departments with the COE. Higher Education=EDPL & CSP=CAPS. Both programs and both departments have distinctly unique purposes, curricular requirements, sets of faculty, and so forth despite the fact that both programs are potentially appealing to a very similar set of students, especially at the Master's level.  Second, the curricular requirements for the CSP program are focused much more on counseling and on the individual student. This is not better or worse, it is simply different, and it is up to you to explore and determine which program is the best fit for you. While many, if not all students in the Higher Education and CSP programs cross over and take one or more courses in the other department, each program has its own set of faculty that are leaders and scholars within their respective areas, and these areas are both similar and different because both study similar issues within the world of higher education. The lines become even more blurred when considering both faculty and students from both programs collaborate outside of the classroom on research and in coordinating the Preview Program for both Higher Education & CSP students.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, if you have even the slightest doubt about which program is a better fit for your personal interests and professional goals, call or e-mail faculty members or current students and let us talk you through it as you progress in both the application and decision processes.

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