Educational Leadership and Special Education Department

Thomas C. Gibbon, Ed.D., Chair, Special Education program coordinator, tcgibb@ship.edu, (717) 477-1498

David F. Bateman, Ph.D., dfbate@ship.edu, (717) 477-1460

Rhonda A. Brunner, Ed.D., Director, EdD program, rabrunner@ship.edu, (717) 477-1168

Jacquelyn Chovanes, Ph.D., jchovanes@ship.edu, (717) 477-3031

Wendy L. Kubasko, Ed.D., Educational Leadership program coordinator, wlkubasko@ship.edu,  (717) 477-1765

Anne Papalia, Ph.D., aopapalia@ship.edu, (717) 477-1345

Alan Vandrew, D.Ed., atvandrew@ship.edu, (717) 477-1590

Programs Offered

The Department of Educational Leadership and Special Education offers graduate programs leading to the Doctorate of Educational Leadership, Master of Education degree in Educational Leadership, and the Master of Education in Special Education.

The Master’s degree programs in Educational Leadership include programs leading to certification of K-12 principals and Post-Master’s degree programs leading to the certification of K-12 principals.

The Department also offers Post-Master’s degree programs leading to the Supervisory I Certificate and a Post-Master’s degree program leading to the Superintendent’s Letter of Eligibility (LOE). LOE courses comprise the content core of the Doctorate of Educational Leadership.

There are four concentrations in the Masters in Special Education programs. The Comprehensive Concentration leads to Pennsylvania certification in Special Education at the PreK-12 levels. Additionally, the other three concentrations comprise advanced study in learning disabilities, behavioral disorders, and intellectual disabilities.

Students may take courses as non-degree graduate students, but candidates should not take more than nine credit hours before being accepted for admission into one of the Department’s programs.

Students matriculating for a degree and/or certification in Educational Leadership or Special Education at Shippensburg University shall be given preference for class seats over students not enrolled in a graduate program in Educational Leadership or Special Education when the demand for a particular class exceeds the class enrollment.

Program plans are designed for each student by Department faculty as part of the admissions process. Each student should check with their advisor prior to scheduling.

In the Educational Leadership and Special Education programs, each student’s effectiveness and suitability for recommendation to PDE for school service will be given a broad-based evaluation by faculty and/or field experience supervisors. In addition to grades, final decisions regarding continuance in either program will be predicated on a combination of factors such as demonstrated clinical competence, personal interaction skills, judgment, and other relevant issues related to professionalism.

The Department reserves the right to discontinue students who, in the opinion of the majority of the program faculty, do not possess the dispositions or competence for certification.

Admission Requirements for Educational Leadership Programs

In addition to the regular requirements for admission to graduate study, the applicant for admission to the graduate program in Educational Leadership must have an Instructional or Educational Specialist certificate. The applicant must obtain an application and two reference forms from the Department of Educational Leadership and Special Education. One recommendation must be completed by a chief school officer (district superintendent or intermediate unit executive director) in the school in which the candidate is currently employed or has been most recently employed. The second reference must be either from a principal or the applicant’s immediate supervisor. In addition, a signed copy of the Memorandum of Understanding for Practicum and Mentoring must be signed by the chief school officer and submitted with the application.

After the review of the applicant’s credentials and supporting materials, a decision on admission to graduate study will be made by the Educational Leadership faculty and/or the Department chair. Admission to graduate study does not guarantee subsequent admission to candidacy for the Master’s degree.

In order to complete a program of study leading to the Master of Education degree, the student must apply for and be admitted to candidacy for the degree. Candidacy decisions will be made during each student’s first practicum.