Ed.D. Special Education

2026-2027 Graduate New Program Request

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  • View changes to the proposal by clicking the Discussion tab and selecting "Show current with markup" on the User Tracking dropdown.
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  • View the files associated with the proposal by clicking the Files tab.
  • Compare the proposal with related proposal by clicking the Proposal Lookup tab.
General Information
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  • Welcome to the University of West Georgia's curriculum management system. 

    Your PIN is required to complete this process. For help on accessing your PIN, please visit here.

    The link to the shared governance procedures provides updates on how things are routed through the committees. Please visit  UWG Shared Governance Procedures for Modifications to Academic Degrees and Programs for more information.

    If you have any questions, please email curriculog@westga.edu.

  • Desired Effective Semester*
    Scroll to the bottom and choose Fall, Spring, or Summer.
    Desired Effective Year*
  • Program Type*
  • If embedded, please list the parent program.
Routing Information
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  • Routes cannot be changed after a proposal is launched. 

    Please be sure all fields are filled out correctly prior to launch. If a routing error is made it can result in the proposal being rejected and a new proposal will be required. 

    Please refer to this document for additional information: UWG Shared Governance Procedures for Modifications to Academic Degrees and Programs.

    If there are any questions or concerns regarding the routing of your proposal please contact curriculog@westga.edu.

  • School/ Department*
  • Is this a School of Nursing or School of Communication, Film and Media course, or does it belong to the Graduate School and not an academic department?*
    Is this a College of Education Program?*
Program Information
Next
  • Program Name*
    Ed.D. Special Education
    Ed.D. Special Education
  • Degree Type*
  • Program Description*
    The Ed.D. in Special Education prepares experienced educators to assume advanced positions at the school, district, state, or higher-education levels. Designed for candidates who have completed an Education Specialist (Ed.S.) degree in Special Education, the program emphasizes strategic improvement, systems design, and ethical leadership. Graduates emerge as practitioner-scholars capable of transforming special education through research-based decision-making, inclusive leadership, and applied action research. Cohorts will be admitted twice a year, in the Spring and Summer.
  • Program Location*
  • Status*
    Select Active-Visible unless the Registrar’s Office has notified you to do otherwise.
  • How will the proposed program be delivered?*
Curriculum Information
Next

  • Select Program below, unless creating an Acalog Shared Core.

  • Type of Program*

  • PROGRAM CURRICULUM

    This section allows departments to create the curriculum schema for the program which will feed directly to the catalog. Please click here for a video demonstration on how to build your program curriculum.

    Follow these steps to propose courses to the new program curriculum. 

    Step 1 - Adding Courses to the Program

    In order to build or edit a program, you must first add all courses to be included in the program of study through the view curriculum courses tab

    • If this new program proposal includes the UWG Undergraduate General Education Curriculum, scroll to the top of this form and click on the  icon to import the "University of West Georgia General Education Requirements."
    • For courses already in the catalog, click on "Import Course" and find the courses needed. You can select multiple courses at one time. 
    •  For new courses going through a Curriculog Approval Process click on "Add Course"-- a box will open asking you for the Prefix, Course Number, and Course Title.

    NOTE: A New Course Request proposal must also be submitted along with the New Program Proposal if the course is new. 

    Step 2 - Adding Courses to the Curriculum Schema

    Next, to add cores (sections of the program of study, e.g., Requirements, Additional Information, etc.) click on  "View Curriculum Schema." Click add core and title it appropriately. When you click on "Add Courses" it will bring up the list of courses available from Step 1. Select the courses you wish to add.


  • Prospective Curriculum*
Justification and Assessment
Next
  • Rationale*
    The proposal of this new Ed.D. in Special Education program responds to a state-wide need for advanced leadership training in special education, particularly in legal compliance, program evaluation, policy development, and inclusive instructional practices. With no USG institutions offering an Ed.D. in Special Education and only two on-campus Ph.D. programs in the field (UGA and GSU), Georgia educators seeking doctoral-level training often turn to out-of-state or for-profit providers. UWG already enrolls 80% of all students pursuing an Ed.S. in Special Education in Georgia—cornering the market at the specialist level—which creates a direct and ready pipeline of candidates for the Ed.D. In addition, demand is already evident: in spring 2025, 29 Special Education AOC applicants were denied admission to the current School Improvement doctorate due to capacity limits. These denials underscore the unmet need for a specialized Ed.D. in Special Education that can serve this growing pool of highly qualified candidates. UWG’s fully online delivery will make the program accessible statewide, serving current Ed.S. graduates (including 576 enrolled students) and other education professionals seeking leadership roles. This design distinguishes it from existing programs by combining flexible online access with applied, practice-based research and leadership training.
    Max 400 characters
  • Program Learning Outcomes - Please provide PLOs in a numbered list format.*

    The following Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) have been developed based on the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Advanced Preparation Standards along with the CEC and the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) joint Administrator of Special Education Professional Leadership Standards.

    SLO 1: Doctoral candidates will analyze current policies and legal mandates to develop and evaluate compliant action plans that demonstrate adherence to IDEA and ethical principles.

    SLO 2: Doctoral candidates will employ leadership and management frameworks to assess organizational needs, implement improvement strategies, and analyze their impact.

    SLO 3: Doctoral candidates will design and conduct program evaluations, analyze instructional and service-delivery data, and recommend evidence-based improvements to strengthen special education programs.

    SLO 4: Doctoral candidates will evaluate human and fiscal resource needs, develop budgets and personnel plans, and assess the effectiveness of resource allocation.

    SLO 5: Doctoral candidates will collaborate with stakeholders, communicate effectively, and lead teams to support special education programs.

  • SACSCOC Substantive Change 

    Please review SACSCOC Substantive Change Considerations for Curriculum Changes
    Send questions to kylec@westga.edu

  • Check all that apply to this program*
  • SACSCOC Comments
    To submit new tracks/concentrations together with a new program, list them here. For instance, "New Tracks/Concentrations: name 1, name 2, name 3....

  • REQUIRED ATTACHMENTS

    ATTACH the the following required documentsl by navigating to the Proposal Toolbox and clicking  in the top right corner.

    1.) USGBOR One Step Proposal

    The one-step new academic program proposal combines elements of the previous two-stage process into "one-step" for a more accelerated review of final, new program proposals submitted by university system institutions. The one-step proposal requires institutions to provide prioritized academic programs that demonstrate a clear need (and separately demand) for the areas served by the college or university. Programs may be directly tied to state economic development efforts, other initiatives, and may follow disciplinary changes and norms. The one-step new academic program proposal requires that institutions provide evidence that the proposed degree and/or major meets various needs and does not warrant unnecessary program duplication.

    2.) Program Map and/or Program Sheet

    For advising purposes, all new programs must include program map. Please download the program map template from here, and upload.

    3.) Academic Assessment Plan/Reporting

    All new major programs must include an assessment plan. Stand-alone minors must have an assessment plan as well.  A stand-alone minor is a minor that can be earned in a program that does not offer an undergraduate degree with a major in that discipline (for example, a student can earn a minor in Africana Studies but cannot complete a bachelor's degree with a major in Africana Studies). Minors in a discipline where a corresponding major is offered, are not required to include an assessment plan.

    Please download the Academic Assessment Plan/Reporting template and attach it to this proposal.

    4.) Curriculum Map Assessment

    Please download the Curriculum and Assessment Map template and attach it to this proposal.

  • Program Map*
  • USGBOR One Step Proposal*
  • Assessment Plan*
  • Curriculum Map Assessment*

  • LAUNCH proposal by clicking  in the top left corner. DO NOT implement proposed changes before the proposal has been completely approved through the faculty governance process. 

  • FINAL TASK: After launching the proposal, you must make a decision on your proposal. Select the  icon in the Proposal Toolbox to make your decision.

  • User Tracking

    Help: Show Original: This option displays the proposal as it appeared at launch. No markup will be visible on the form. There will be no differentiation between fields that contain imported content and content that was created or selected by the originator by hand.

    Help: Show Current: This option displays the proposal as it appears currently. No markup will be visible on the form. There will be no differentiation between fields that contain imported content and content that was created or selected by the originator by hand.

    Help: Show Current with Markup: This option displays the proposal with all of its current content marked to show different editors. Text fields that include imported content are indicated by a blue highlight, and may also include additional changes within, indicated by each editor’s unique color. Fields containing selects, checkboxes, radio buttons, or widgets (such as the curriculum) provide an activity log above the field, indicating each editor’s selection and unique color.

    Comments

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      Please upload the form that you just printed and signed.

      This will be used as your signature to sign this proposal upon approval.


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