01/04

Guidelines for Comprehensive Examination

EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATION

MAE in Learning and Behavior Disorders P-12

MAE in Moderate and Severe Disabilities P-12

In compliance with the requirements of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, the Exceptional Education (EXED) Program area requires candidates for a graduate degree to pass a comprehensive examination over graduate course work, following the EXED Program policy requirements listed below.

Purpose and philosophy:

The faculty’s philosophy about the nature of graduate education in general and of the specific program is based on the practitioner model.  Students in the program are exposed to and perform research-based practice following the applied intervention model.  The questions on the comprehensive examination allow the candidate to demonstrate his/her ability to analyze and synthesize information.

The comprehensive examination’s educational goals and outcomes are taken directly from course syllabi and critical indicators, each of which is based on corresponding CEC Standards, INTASC Dispositions, and Kentucky Teacher Standards.

Preparing for and writing the comprehensive examination should be the culminating activity where the candidate demonstrates his/her ability to analyze, synthesize, and apply previous experiences.

               Qualifications:

               Students must meet the following requirements before they are permitted to attempt the comprehensive examination:

A.     Gain admission to candidacy (Filed and received an approved copy of the Form D with the Graduate College)

B.     Be enrolled in the final term of coursework

C.     Have applied for and received written approval from the Associate Dean of Academic Programs, College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, to write the exam

             Application and Eligibility:

Each candidate for the written comprehensive examinations must make application to the Associate Dean for Academic Programs to participate in the written comprehensive examination.  Evidence must be provided showing that the candidate has (1) met the requirements stated above; (2) furnished an accurate listing of the courses completed toward the MAE degree; and (3) enrolled in or have completed the last semester of enrollment in the individual’s MAE program.                                                                                                                                   

               Exam schedule: The comprehensive examination is administered mid-semester, three times per year in a group setting.  Exceptions to this policy will be made only for reasons of religion or extreme personal emergencies.  A request for an alternate date must be submitted in writing to the faculty who will forward the alternate date request to the Associate Dean for Academic Programs for approval.

               Application process and deadline:

1.       During registration for the last semester of coursework, the student checks the schedule bulletin for the date of the comprehensive exam and the deadline for the receipt of the application.

2.       The student requests a copy of the application packet from the Office Associate for Special Instructional Programs (jamie.stephens@wku.edu, (270) 745-4607, TPH 364).

3.       The student completes the application and submits the copy to the Office of the Associate Dean (retta.poe@wku.edu)

                  Dr. Retta E. Poe, Associate Dean for Academic Programs

                   College of Education and Behavioral Sciences

                   Western Kentucky University

                     Bowling Green, KY 42101

4.       After Dr. Poe approves the application, copies are sent to the Office Associate for Special Instructional Programs who notifies each student that he/she has been approved to write the comprehensive exam.  A list of approved students is then provided to EXED graduate faculty who post information online regarding the format and requirements of the examination.

               Nature of comprehensive examination: Summer, 2003 the graduate faculty teaching in the online programs designed the two-part written comprehensive examination.  Aligned with the ten course curriculum and reflective of program content and experiences, the first part requires the student to apply and synthesize the research base acquired from all of the courses in the program.  The second part consists of four questions drawn from modules within specific courses.  The student may respond to any three of the four questions.  Since the questions have been constructed to measure the student’s ability to apply and synthesize previous learning, the questions will be the same for each administration of the examination. All candidates at a given administration receive the same questions. Candidates are allowed three hours to write their answers.  All materials necessary to complete the examinations are provided.  Students may bring only a pen/pencil to the examination.

Exam location: The Office Associate for Special Instructional Programs reserves the necessary room/s with tables and chairs. 

               Exam procedures: The exam is scheduled from 9:00 to 12:00 on a Saturday. Tardy students will be allowed to write.  Students are to bring the exit Program Portfolio to the examination for graduate faculty to evaluate during the examination.  Other than the Portfolio, students may only bring pen/pencil to the examination.  All other materials necessary will be provided.  No food and/or beverages are allowed in the room. Candidates will be allowed to leave the room during the exam for restroom break as no breaks are provided. Students must turn off cell phones, pagers, wristwatch alarms, etc., during the examination.

               Students with disabilities who require accommodations for taking the comprehensive exam must contact the Office for Student Disability Services, Room 445 Potter Hall. The OFSDS telephone number is (270) 745-5004 V/TDD. Students should not request accommodations from the Associate Dean for Academic Programs without a letter from the Office for Student Disability Services.

               Exam Preparation: Directions for preparing for the examination will be posted online by the graduate faculty member for each course.

               Exam administration: Two EXED graduate faculty members will administer the comprehensive exams taking turns between the two tasks of proctoring the exam and scoring the exit Program Portfolio.

              Exam security: When the exams are returned from the printer, they will be maintained in a locked file by an EXED graduate faculty member.  The Office Associate will file the scored examinations in each student’s folder.  All folders are maintained for five years in a locked file drawer.

              Cheating: The EXED MAE programs are online; honor code statements are a part of each syllabus and each submitted piece of student work.  The student has been informed from the date of enrollment in the first course in the program that plagiarism and other forms of cheating are unacceptable by the faculty and the university; that students who do not produce original work at all times are subject to dismissal from the program.  The following information from the University Handbook is referenced on each syllabus:

“Plagiarism - To represent ideas or interpretations taken from another source as one’s own is plagiarism. Plagiarism is a serious offense. The academic work of students must be their own. Students must give the author(s) credit for any source material used. To lift content directly from a source without giving credit is a flagrant act. To present a borrowed passage after having changed a few words, even if the source is cited, is also plagiarism.

Cheating - No student shall receive or give assistance not authorized by the instructor in taking an examination or in the preparation of an essay, laboratory report, problem assignment, or other project that is submitted for purposes of grade determination.

Disposition of Offenses - Students who commit any act of academic dishonesty may receive from the instructor a failing grade in that portion of the course work in which the act is detected or a failing grade in the course without possibility of withdrawal. The faculty member may also present the case to the University Disciplinary Committee through the Office of the Dean of Student Life for disciplinary sanctions. Students who believe a faculty member has dealt unfairly with them in a situation involving alleged academic dishonesty may seek relief through the Student Complaint Procedure. “

               The comprehensive exam is such a natural extension of the coursework and requires such original application that it would be very difficult for a student to plagiarize another student’s during the time allotted for writing.  Should, however, it become obvious that a student has breached the honor code either during or after the writing of the examination, the student is subject to dismissal from the program.

              Exam scoring:  The scoring rubrics are based on a three point scale (Rewrite = 0; Pass  = 1; Pass with Distinction = 2 )  and were developed at the time of the exam revision.  Only EXED graduate faculty teaching courses in the MAE programs will read and score the exams.  If there is a significant difference in scoring, an independent evaluator who has not taught the course may be asked to provide a third “read.”   Each question is scored individually, with scores ranging from 0 to 2. If a student scores a 0, that question must be rewritten.  Although students are not directly penalized for capitalization, punctuation and spelling errors, each question is weighted to indicate the professional level of the language.

               Notification of exam results:  As soon as the comprehensive exams are scored, the graduate faculty supply the Office Associate the names of those individuals who have passed or who need to rewrite a question.  The Office Associate sends the appropriate letter to the students and completes the paperwork required by the Graduate College.  The letter either congratulates the students or informs them of the procedure they need to follow to rewrite.  Students do not see the rater forms but are provided feedback to help them on the second write.

               This process is usually completed within two weeks.

               Repeating the exam following failing performance: When the student fails any part of the comprehensive examination, he/she must apply for the following semester’s administration of the exam to rewrite only those questions failed.  Faculty will direct the student to resources for study in the area of deficiency and provide a copy of the scoring rubric for the failed questions to prepare for the rewrite.  If the student fails to write a satisfactory answer to a comprehensive examination question, the student may apply to be allowed to write an answer to a different question that addresses the same material or content

               Ongoing review of the comprehensive examination: The appropriateness of both the questions and the curriculum is reviewed by graduate faculty each semester during the scoring of the comprehensive examination.  The first review indicated that the questions were a one-to-one extension of program content and that the course sequence is effective in preparing students.  Should the review have indicated otherwise, the curriculum, the questions, or both would be adjusted.