Hello OCL students.
It has come to our attention that there was a post on the OCL student Facebook page regarding the OCL dissertation requirement, and we wanted to reach out to clear up any potential confusion and misinformation.
As part of our own ongoing efforts to continuously improve Rossier programs, we work to revise courses and dissertation processes on a semester-by-semester basis, and we also undergo regular program-wide reviews and revisions to be sure that the education we offer our students is current and relevant. We are currently undergoing a program-wide review for OCL and will be revising the program; any changes we make to the program will not go into effect until a couple years from now at the very earliest and will not affect any students who are currently enrolled. In fact, we have only just begun this process, and a revision committee was just convened a couple months ago.
As part of our discussions, we have discussed how to strengthen our approach to the dissertation and the products that are produced as part of the process, including primary research, literature review, and implementation plans. We are open to the possibility of adjusting the final dissertation product to maximize its relevance for our students and their fields– much like many PhD and EdD programs across the nation have begun to do over the last 5-10 years. But, the core dissertation components – in terms of original research, literature synthesis, data analysis and interpretation, and recommendations for practice –are expected to remain in place.
We also want to address what was mentioned on Facebook regarding the primary impetus for doing this- that students are not passing. This is simply not true. There are many reasons for undergoing a program review; the first and foremost reason is to ensure we are delivering the best education possible for our students. We generally try to undergo a more comprehensive program review and revision every 4-5 years so that we can ensure we are current, relevant, and also remain on the cutting edge when it comes to delivering content for our students. We also want any assessments we use – dissertation or otherwise – to be authentic and meaningful.
We are in the very early stages of discussing potential revisions and have nothing definitive to share at this time, but we also want to let you know that part of our revision process includes seeking feedback from multiple stakeholder groups throughout the process.
Sincerely,
OCL Governance Committee