Holly Kathleen Hall

Today, we are spotlighting Arkansas State University professors, Holly Kathleen Hall, Dr. Thillainatarajan Sivakumaran, and Dr. Annette Hux. They were Fall 2013 Faculty Research Grant

Recipients for their proposal, “Is the Market Saturated for Graduates in Online Educational Leadership Programs?”

We are thrilled to share their findings and thank them for participating in our Faculty Research Grant Program. Below are the abstract and introduction of the study along with a link to the full report.

Abstract

Dr. Thillainatarajan Sivakumaran

Online master’s, specialist and doctoral programs in educational leadership have grown exponentially. Most students pursue these degrees with the hope of attaining additional knowledge and to stand out in a competitive job-seeking crowd. With enrollment trends continuing to rise and more students attaining

educational leadership degrees, are these students experiencing or about to experience diminishing returns on those degree programs? Are they still able to

advance in their careers given that so many of their peers also have attained or are attaining the same degrees? The results of this study indicate as long as schools offer raises to teachers who receive a master’s degree or credit hours above a bachelor’s degree, online graduate programs in education will be in demand. While some schools report trouble in efforts to hire the right educational leaders for the job due to the difficulty in determining a candidate’s real leadership ability in skills such as resource allocation and visioning ability, by obtaining a graduate degree, teachers still have an opportunity for career advancement. These factors should continue to keep teachers enrolling in online graduate programs in education.

Dr. Annette Hux

Key Words: Online educational leadership, graduate employability, market saturation, skills

Introduction

Online degree programs continue to proliferate. Access to education is increasingly available. The combination of these factors leads to more graduates for available jobs. This is specifically becoming an issue for those graduating with online degrees in educational leadership, who are hoping the degree will help them be more attractive candidates in a crowded job marketplace. In this paper, the authors will explore what constitutes employability in higher education, the outlook for employability upon attaining an online degree in educational leadership and additional steps universities can take to successfully prepare their graduates for a competitive career arena.

Click here for the final report, “Is the Market Saturated for Graduates in Online Educational Leadership Programs?”