Syllabus for EDL-660

HUMAN RESOURCES ADMINISTRATION

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Human Resources Administration examines the role of the human resource administrator in the field of educational leadership. Key administrative oversight functions such as employee acquisition and retention, work functions, workforce development, benefits and compensation, and employee relations are reviewed and analyzed. This course looks into the challenge of workplace and workforce diversity as well as best practices and future trends in human resource administration within the educational leadership field. (ISLLC 2, 5, and 6; NJDOE 2, 5, and 6)

COURSE OBJECTIVES

After completing this course, you should be able to:

  1. Evaluate the strategic importance of HR to organizational effectiveness.
  2. Synthesize the trends facing the field of human resource administration.
  3. Explain the need for a diverse talent acquisition program.
  4. Evaluate the scope of work to ensure clear expectations are set forth for affected employees.
  5. Assess best practices of HR leadership.
  6. Discuss how to best synthesize the techniques of developing and managing workforce development and employee relations programs within an organization.
  7. Explain the laws and regulations applicable to the administration of HR.
  8. Evaluate methods for developing and managing employee compensation programs.
  9. Analyze the development and management of employee benefit programs.
  10. Explain the steps needed to meet challenges to employee health and welfare.
  11. Assess the proper use of performance modification and employee discipline.
  12. Discuss the components of union/management relations.

COURSE MATERIALS

You will need the following materials to do the work of the course. The required textbook is available from the College's textbook supplier, MBS Direct.

Required Textbooks

  1. Mathis, Robert L., & Jackson, John H. (2011). Human resource management (13th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage South-Western.

    ISBN-13: 978-0-538-45315-8

  1. Rebore, Ronald W. (2011). Human resources administration in education: A management approach (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Allyn and Bacon.

ISBN-13: 978-0-13-700481-3

  1. MASK Model Document provided by Jeff Stevens, PhD: MASK Model

Supplementary Text

  1. American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

ISBN-13: 978-1-4338-0561-5

Reference Web Sites

  1. American Society for Training and Development
  2. Society for Human Resource Management

Electronic Portfolio Registration

As a capstone experience in the Educational Leadership program, you will prepare an electronic portfolio that demonstrates your incremental achievement of the program standards. Each course in the program helps you to identify artifacts to place in your portfolio on completion of the course. To this end, you are required to purchase an electronic portfolio registration code upon your entry into the Master of Arts in Educational Leadership program. Basic directions for purchasing access to and using your electronic portfolio are posted within the Educational Leadership Students Organization (online community).

COURSE STRUCTURE

Human Resources Administration is a three-credit online graduate course, consisting of nine (9) modules. Modules include an overview, topics, learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.

  1. Module 1: The Nature of Human Resources Management and Administration

  1. Module 2: Acquiring Human Resources Talent

  1. Module 3: Talent Management and Development

  1. Module 4: Performance Management and Employee Appraisal

  1. Module 5: Total Rewards and Compensation

  1. Module 6: Managing Employee Benefits

  1. Module 7: Risk Management and Worker Protection

  1. Module 8: Balancing Employer and Employee Rights

  1. Module 9: Union/Management Relations

ASSESSMENT METHODS

For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete written assignments, and prepare three papers: a term research paper and abstract (executive summary), a midterm scenario paper, and a final scenario paper. See below for more details.

Consult the course Calendar for assignment due dates.

Discussion Forums

Each week in the course has at least one online discussion forum.

Online discussions provide an opportunity for you to share your findings on a topic or question with your classmates. During this aspect of the course, you respond to prompts that assist you in developing your ideas, you share those ideas with your classmates, and you comment on their posts. Discussion forum interactions promote development of a community of learners, critical thinking, and exploratory learning.

Please participate in online discussions as you would in constructive face-to-face discussions. You are expected to post well-reasoned and thoughtful reflections for each item, making reference, as appropriate, to your readings. You are also expected to reply to your classmates' posts in a respectful, professional, and courteous manner. You may, of course, post questions asking for clarification or further elucidation on a topic.

Click link for an Evaluation Rubric.

Written Assignments

You are required to complete nine (9) written assignments. The written assignments are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules.  

The Human Resources Administration course has nine (9) writing assignments. Each writing assignment consists of one or two questions. For each question you are asked to submit a paper of one to two (1–2) pages (250–500 words). The writing assignments require you to write well-reasoned and thoughtful papers, making reference, as appropriate, to the readings and other sources of information. You are required to use APA format for your work and for all references.

Click link for an Evaluation Rubric.

Term Research Paper

A term research final paper written on a subject related to human resources administration constitutes a principal artifact for your portfolio.

You should follow accepted research approaches, citations (APA), and discussion processes. The final product should be a well-organized report of 10–12 pages (2500–3000 words), plus an abstract (executive summary) of no more than one page (250 words).

Click link for an Evaluation Rubric.

Please note that you will be asked to submit several interim documents periodically to your mentor before the final paper is submitted. All deliveries are listed below.

  1. List of potential topics
  2. Final topic
  3. How and why topic was selected
  4. Primary and secondary sources
  5. Paper hypothesis and initial working bibliography
  6. Research design, assumptions, and limitations
  7. Outline and significance of topic
  8. Initial literature review
  9. Design of measurement tools and final literature review
  10. Final paper with abstract

You will find a description of each of these steps as well as the method of delivering each step within the modules. See the course Calendar for when to submit each document.

You are required to use APA format in organizing your paper and for any citations.

Midterm Scenario

The Midterm Scenario Paper constitutes a principal artifact for your portfolio and counts 20% toward your final grade.

You are asked to prepare and submit a paper of three to five pages (750–1250 words) in which you respond to a scenario. Please be sure that you address all parts of the situation you are being asked to respond to. Be sure to give appropriate credit (in APA style) to any sources of information you consult.

Full instructions for completing the midterm scenario assessment are found in Module 4.

Click link for an Evaluation Rubric.

Final Scenario

The Final Scenario Paper constitutes a principal artifact for your portfolio and counts 20% toward your final grade.

You are asked to prepare and submit a paper of three to five pages (750–1250 words) in which you respond to a scenario. Please be sure that you address all parts of the situation you are being asked to respond to. Be sure to give appropriate credit (in APA style) to any sources of information you consult.

Full instructions for completing the final scenario assessment are found in Module 9.

Click link for an Evaluation Rubric.

Portfolio Artifacts and Reflective Narrative

The principal artifacts for this course are the midterm scenario, final scenario, and term research final paper. Accompanying the artifact is a reflective narrative that describes the process and how the artifact meets specific standards and prepares you for school leadership.

Place your artifacts in the Artifacts area of your e-folio. You can also link your artifacts (designated as "Work") to ISLLC standards listed in the Resources area of the e-folio. Keep your work in "draft" or "ready for feedback" status for now.

GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

  1. Discussions forums (12)—15%
  2. Written assignments (9)—20%
  3. Midterm Scenario Paper—20%
  4. Final Scenario Paper—20%
  5. Term Research Paper—25%

All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:

A

=

93–100

B–

=

80–82

A–

=

90–92

C+

=

78–79

B+

=

88–89

C

=

73–77

B

=

83–87

F

=

Below 73

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or higher on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., assignments, discussion postings, projects, etc.). Graduate students must maintain a B average overall to remain in good academic standing.

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

First Steps to Success

To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

  1. Read carefully the entire Syllabus, making sure that all aspects of the course are clear to you and that you have all the materials required for the course.

  1. Take the time to read the entire Online Student Handbook. The Handbook answers many questions about how to proceed through the course and how to get the most from your educational experience at Thomas Edison State College.

  1. Familiarize yourself with the learning management systems environment—how to navigate it and what the various course areas contain. If you know what to expect as you navigate the course, you can better pace yourself and complete the work on time.

  1. If you are not familiar with Web-based learning be sure to review the processes for posting responses online and submitting activities before class begins.

Study Tips

Consider the following study tips for success:

  1. To stay on track throughout the course, begin each week by consulting the course Calendar. The Calendar provides an overview of the course and indicates due dates for submitting assignments and posting discussions.

  1. Check Announcements regularly for new course information.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Students at Thomas Edison State College are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.

Academic Dishonesty

Thomas Edison State College expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the College insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty takes the following forms:

  1. Cheating
  1. Plagiarizing (including copying and pasting from the Internet without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources)
  1. Fabricating information or citations
  2. Facilitating acts of dishonesty by others
  3. Unauthorized access to examinations or the use of unauthorized materials during exam administration
  4. Submitting the work of another person or work previously used without informing the mentor
  5. Tampering with the academic work of other students

Academic dishonesty will result in disciplinary action and possible dismissal from the College. Students who submit papers that are found to be plagiarized will receive an F on the plagiarized activity, may receive a grade of F for the course, and may face dismissal from the College.

A student who is charged with academic dishonesty will be given oral or written notice of the charge. If a mentor or College official believes the infraction is serious enough to warrant referral of the case to the academic dean, or if the mentor awards a final grade of F in the course because of the infraction, the student and the mentor will be afforded formal due process.

If a student is found cheating or using unauthorized materials on an examination, he or she will automatically receive a grade of F on that examination. Students who believe they have been falsely accused of academic dishonesty should seek redress through informal discussions with the mentor, through the office of the dean, or through an executive officer of Thomas Edison State College.

Plagiarism

Using someone else's work as your own is plagiarism. Although it may seem like simple dishonesty, plagiarism is against the law. Thomas Edison State College takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing will be severely penalized. If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > "Citing Sources.")

Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else's. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.

Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.

Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.

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