Qualifying Case Analysis Guidelines
P-12 Leadership
(Ed.D. Traditional and Accelerated Dissertations)

I. The Qualifying Case Analysis serves the following purposes:

1. The Qualifying Case Analysis provides evidence that the candidate has mastered the knowledge that they need to be an educational leader.
2. The Qualifying Case Analysis allows students to apply the concepts, theories, and frameworks that they have learned in their coursework to realistic scenarios.
3. Successful completion of the Qualifying Case Analysis is required before students can advance to the proposal writing stage of a field-based dissertation (i.e., Program Evaluation or Decision Analysis).

II. Prerequisites to the Qualifying Case Analysis

1. Candidates may take the Qualifying Case Analysis only after they have passed the Portfolio Evaluation and completed most of their coursework.  
2. Coursework officially listed as part of the dissertation process in the student’s program of study need not be completed prior to undertaking the Qualifying Case Analysis (i.e., ED 599, ED 550, ED 540, ED 541, ED 543, ED 542, or ED 542).

III. Qualifying Case Analysis Registration Process
Candidates must register for ED 550 – Qualifying Case Analysis (0 credits) – for the Summer A session. Exception to this requirement can only be made with the approval of the Education Leadership Department Chair and the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies.
Note some candidate’s Program of Study (POS) may list ED 550 – Qualifying Case Analysis for 3 credits. If this is the case with your program of study, understand that you are not required to take additional course. Instead, we now award an additional 3 credits for completing the dissertation proposal (6 credits v. 3 credits). Please register for the Qualifying Case Analysis and dissertation proposal seminar as follows:
ED 550 – Qualifying Case Analysis – 0 Credits – Summer A
AND
ED 540 – Program Evaluation Proposal Seminar – 3 credits – Summer A
ED 593 – Ed.D. Dissertation Research – 3 credits - Summer B

OR

ED 546 – Decision Making Proposal Seminar – 3 credits – Summer A
ED 593 – Ed.D. Dissertation Research – 3 credits - Summer B

IV. Components of the Qualifying Examination

1. The qualifying examination culminates in a 60 minute, oral exam during which we ask candidates to address issues related to one or more cases.
2. During the oral exam we ask candidates to discuss the issues presented in the case(s) using multiple leadership or policy lenses/perspectives.
3. We will present the cases to the candidates about three weeks prior to the oral exam.
4. The oral examination is conducted by panel of Educational Leadership faculty members (i.e., examiners) who have been involved in teaching the courses that form the basis of the exam. Candidates do not select the examiners.

V. Candidate Planning Process

1. The oral portion of the qualifying exam will take place annually, during the third or fourth week of May.  The cases will be provided to candidates during the last week of April. Without exception students will be afforded no less than four weekends to review the cases prior to the oral examination.  Individual adjustments to this schedule may only be made with the consent of the Department Chair and the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, and will be granted only because of the most unusual and compelling exigencies (e.g., health problems certified by a physician).
2. It is the candidate’s responsibility to notify their program advisor that they are eligible for and wish to sit for the qualifying exam.
3. During the oral defense students are expected to apply the concepts, theories and perspectives that they have learned in their coursework to the cases.   Specifically, candidates will choose three perspectives from a proscribed list that accompanies each case. The following list presents possible several perspectives that might apply to a given case, and that candidates might choose to address in the oral exam:
4. legal and ethical,
5. budgeting/fiscal,
6. political and policy-development/analysis,
7. leadership and management,
8. curriculum and instruction, and
9. program evaluation/decision analysis
10. No less than two weeks before the oral exam candidates must notify the department chair which three questions they will answer.
11. Candidates will begin the oral exam by presenting briefly (no more than 10 minutes) their responses to the three questions that they have selected. 
12. Candidates must understand that although they will prepare answers to a set of questions that accompany the case, the oral exam is not simply a presentation of their prepared responses.  Instead, the examiners will ask questions dynamically, focusing on, but not limited to, the issues that candidates have prepared themselves to address. We intend the oral exam to test the bounds of a candidate’s knowledge.  
13. Each examiner will be provided with the candidate’s program of study, and will frame their questions in reference to the courses that the candidate has taken. The examiners will not hold candidate’s accountable for information presented in courses that they have not taken.
14. Candidates may bring notes to the oral exam. However, candidates should refer to their notes sparingly, so as to not disrupt the flow of conversation.  
15. Before the cases are distributed, program advisors may assist the candidate by providing general suggestions regarding how to approach the oral exam, such as preparing notes and talking points. But the faculty will not consult or advise the candidate on how to address issues specific to the case(s). Similarly, candidates should not discuss the case(s) with each other. The qualifying examination is intended to be a demonstration of the candidate’s ability to address issues that they are likely to confront in their leadership capacities.

VI. The Grading Process

1. The examiners will make the determination of whether the candidate has earned a “pass” or “fail” on the qualifying examination. In the circumstance that the examiners are not unanimous regarding the candidate’s performance, a majority vote of the examiners will determine the final grade of “pass” or “fail.”
2. If the candidate is awarded a “pass,” the examiners may still wish to provide candidate with an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of their performance.
3. If the candidate is awarded a failing grade, the examiners will provide the candidate with an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of their performance.

VI. Evaluation
In evaluating the candidate’s responses during the oral exam the examiners’ will take into consideration the following factors:

1. The clarity of the candidate’s responses.
2. The soundness of the candidate’s responses.
3. The originality of the candidate’s insights and analysis.

VII. Successful Completion of the Comprehensive Examination
Upon earning a “pass,” the student must complete and submit the Leadership Qualifying Examination Form, with all required signatures, to Brenda Grosswirth in Warner’s Department of Student Services. The form will be made available during the oral exam.