CURRICULUM

The entire IAL program will be organized around three broad themes: (1) Budgeting, Finance & Sports Administration Skills, (2) Colleges, Sport & Society, and (3) Leadership Development. What follows here is a description of the core competencies developed in each theme and the courses making up the academic curriculum. Also outlined in this section are which of the core competencies are covered by each of the courses.

The curriculum is guided by the principle that each course will develop one or more of the core competencies identified by our national advisory board members, and that all courses will strive for a balanced and representative presentation of issues pertaining to different sports, different types of colleges/universities, different regions of the country, and students and leaders from diverse backgrounds.

In addition to the academic coursework (12 courses, 36 credits), students will also complete 9 credits of career rotations/internships, and 3 credits in the development of a professional learning portfolio.

Core Competencies Developed Through the IAL Curriculum

BUDGETING, FINANCE & SPORTS ADMINISTRATION SKILLS (BF&S)

1. Budget and financial management skills in public and private institutions, including specifics within intercollegiate athletics departments.
2. Development activities, alumni relations, and understanding the role of the media in shaping community relations.
3. Event production and facilities management, including capital planning.
4. Marketing, advertising and sports information services.
5. Modern and emerging technology systems and their applications in administering intercollegiate athletic functions.

COLLEGES, SPORT & SOCIETY (CS&S)

1. Student-athlete welfare development. Academic support, training and conditioning, athletic training/medical and other services provided to foster the student-athlete experience.
2. Legal issues including NCAA rules, compliance and important dimensions of higher education law.
3. Different organizational structures of colleges, universities, intercollegiate athletic offices, athletic leagues, and the NCAA and its divisions.
4. Sociological dimensions of race, gender and sport within higher education with the examination of associated policies and outcomes.
5. Moral implications of athletics within context of colleges' and universities' educational missions; purposes of higher education in democratic society and role of sport in that discussion.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT (LD)

1. Management approaches extrapolated from case studies presented by and discussed with prominent administrators and leaders in intercollegiate athletics. Application of organization mission, philosophical foundations, analysis of conditions, and understanding of decision impacts.
2. Awareness of primary work responsibilities and functions in a broad array of areas within a collegiate athletic department gained through supervised internships and career rotations. Coordination of units within the athletic department and the integration of the department with the broader institution, athletic conferences and other organizations.
3. Leadership and management of human resources. Conflict resolution, hiring practices, evaluation of employees, crisis and change management, and contract negotiations.
4. Methods of assessment and evaluation with a focus on strategic planning and decision-making, accountability systems and assessment-driven decision-making.
5. Leader-oriented methods of inquiry, including developing basic research designs and proposals, and involving research results in leadership decision-making.
6. Leadership ethics.

Statement on Learning Objectives and Assessment for the Intercollegiate Athletic Leadership Program

The IAL Program builds on the existing intellectual and programmatic strengths of the Graduate Program in Higher Education's (GPHE) current M.Ed. program, while incorporating other leadership and curricular strands from several of the University of Washington's nationally prominent faculty from other schools and colleges.

Students will take courses designed to develop core competencies members of the IAL Professional Advisory Board believe are essential for success in today's complex intercollegiate athletic settings. In creating the overall curriculum, the IAL faculty also consulted the published standards that were developed by the Sport Management Program Review Council (SMPRC) with the consensus of scholars and practitioners in the sport management field. SMPRC is an independent entity jointly created by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) for the purpose of reviewing sport management programs. Within each of the courses, content is further organized around specific learning objectives and assessment methods (e.g., tests, quizzes, papers, projects, presentations, etc.) for determining student mastery of those objectives and the overall core competencies.

Throughout the program, students will demonstrate their learning through development and submission of a professional learning portfolio. This portfolio will provide concrete evidence of students' mastery of each of the core competencies. This will be accomplished through the presentation of key assignments, projects, and other materials—derived from each of the courses students will have taken—that are the students' best representations of their learning for those courses. Also included in the portfolio will be students' responses to a comprehensive examination of the material learned in courses throughout the program. At the end of the program students sit for the comprehensive exam and submit the professional learning portfolio.

The core faculty of the program will review students' complete portfolios, grade them and provide concrete feedback to each student. A successful review of the portfolio will constitute the final requirement for graduation from the program.