News
Sage Launches Two New Doctoral Programs
March 21st, 2007
TROY and ALBANY, NY - The Sage Colleges have launched two new doctoral programs, in Nursing Science and Educational Leadership. The programs, which were officially approved by the New York State Education Department and the Board of Regents, bring the number of doctorates offered at Sage to three, including the doctorate in Physical Therapy.
Classified nationally as a comprehensive university, Sage's institutional breath includes more than 140 undergraduate and graduate degree programs offered through Russell Sage College for women in Troy and the coeducational Sage College of Albany and Sage Graduate School.
'These new doctorates arise from Sage's well-respected departments of Nursing and Education,' said Sage President Jeanne Neff. 'They are innovative in content and approach, designed to meet urgent contemporary leadership needs in health care and in our schools.'
Preparing Powerful Education Leaders
The national focus on educational outcomes is creating a loud call for stronger and better prepared leaders for America's schools. Sage's new Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership is designed to prepare superintendents and other senior educational leaders to be visionary, creative, ethical, and accountable leaders.
According to the New York State Board of Regents and NYSED vision statement, Growing Tomorrow's Leaders Today, 'education reform has created an urgent need for strong emphasis on development of instructional leadership skills to promote good teaching and high level learning.'
'Sage's Ed.D. program targets practicing leaders already working in the community who want to step up to the next level as administrators,' said Connell Frazer, dean of the School of Education. 'The need for well-prepared superintendents is huge, and the pressure on them is dramatic. The same is true for those who lead independent private schools. We will prepare highly trained leaders who will succeed in setting the educational tone for their schools and school districts.'
Jobs for education administrators are plentiful (administrators held approximately 442,000 jobs nationally in 2004), and the need will continue to grow, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. During the coming decade, new leaders will also be needed to replace the outgoing and retiring principals and superintendents. In 2001-'02, New York's public school systems employed 4,108 school principals and 763 school superintendents.
About Sage's Doctorate in Educational Leadership
Sage's School of Education was established soon after the founding of Russell Sage College in 1916 and was the first in the Capital Region to earn national accreditation. The new Ed.D. program was designed by education faculty with long experience in school administration, in collaboration with a regional advisory committee of superintendents and principals and with the help of national experts in the field. The program will serve current school administrators who have earned at least 60 credits at the master's level and who want to advance their careers. It may also appeal to outstanding teachers with similar credentials who want to become administrative leaders.
The 42-credit doctoral program will cater to the lifestyle of working professionals. Classes will be offered during weekends and in summer intensive institute-style classes, as well as online. Sage is accepting applications now for September 2007 enrollment.
Addressing the National Nursing Shortage
The U.S. is experiencing a continued shortage of nurses, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). One of the less-publicized effects of this growing problem is the related shortage of nursing faculty and the need for exceptionally qualified nurse executives in settings from hospitals to nursing homes, to health management organizations. Sage's new Doctor of Nursing Science (D.N.S.) in Nursing Education and Leadership will address this need head-on.
Cathleen Gilhooley Hamel (RSC '98, SGS '99) was 'thrilled to learn that Sage was developing a doctoral program in nursing.' Hamel is vice president and chief nursing officer at Saratoga Hospital, which achieved prestigious magnet status in 2004. She was one of the first students to express interest in enrolling in Sage's D.N.S. program, because she saw that criteria for magnet status may soon require doctorates for chief nurse executives, and she likes to stay ahead of the curve.
According to recent data from AACN, only 44 percent of all nursing faculty have doctorates. 'The growing expectation is that all nursing faculty should be doctorally prepared,' said Glenda Kelman, chair of Sage's Nursing Department. To compound matters, the average age of nursing faculty at retirement is 62.5 years and the average age of current doctorally-prepared faculty is 55 years; a wave of retirements is expected within the next 10 years.
About Sage's Doctorate in Nursing Science
Sage's Nursing Department has a rich 85-year history and a reputation for excellence. More than 3,500 nurses at the bachelor's and master's level have graduated and assumed leadership positions in advanced practice, education, and administration. Nearly every chief nursing officer (CNO) employed in the Capital Region is a Sage graduate.
The 42-credit D.N.S. program will cater to the needs of working professionals. Classes will be offered during weekends and in summer intensive institute-style classes, as well as online. Candidates for admission will need to have completed a master's degree in nursing. Sage is now accepting applications for September 2007 enrollment.
