The Lindenwood College for Individualized Education (LCIE) is specifically designed for the student with significant employment experience. Graduate students are challenged to expand their knowledge with exercises, techniques, and instruments to update and reinforce learning and enhance understanding of difficult concepts. In addition, students continue to develop their analytical and conceptual skills by enlarging their perspectives and identifying a balance between theory and practice with regard to their particular areas of study. At the completion of the program, students will be prepared to contribute to their organization’s goals by effectively administering and developing its resources.
Throughout their course of study, LCIE students will have the opportunity to develop their communication skills, demonstrate workplace responsibility, use interpersonal skills, practice working within a team, and develop an appreciation of the importance of continuing growth and education with an emphasis on values-centered thinking. Students are encouraged to engage in speculative thinking and to develop original work and/or research in their major areas of interest. This work should be analytical rather than descriptive, demonstrating a distinct, defensible, methodological and theoretical perspective.
Student Enrollment Process
Once students enroll in the LCIE program through the admissions department, a faculty advisor is assigned. Students are required to meet in person with their advisor for enrollment in their second cluster in the program, as well as for enrollment in their final cluster in the program, which serves as their exit interview. During the remainder of their time in the program, students have the option to either (1) meet in person with their advisor for enrollment, or (2) contact their advisor by email or by telephone for enrollment. This contact must occur each quarter during the student’s appropriate registration week according to academic rank. During this advisor contact time, the advisor discusses degree and enrollment options, and opens the student’s portal for online registration. Students will then register themselves for classes through their student portal. Once the initial enrollment is completed, the faculty advisor closes the student portal. If a student decides after the initial enrollment to make a schedule change or withdraw from classes, the student must contact the advisor again, who will open the student’s portal for the enrollment change. It is the responsibility of the student to schedule this contact time with the advisor and to complete the enrollment process each quarter.
The Cluster
Central to the theory and practice of adult education is the ideal of the synthesis of knowledge. LCIE seeks to achieve this goal through the construction of the cluster. Clusters are comprised of a faculty member and approximately 12 students who meet for four hours weekly during an evening or weekend. Each student is enrolled in three related subject areas, called cluster groups that are, in many cases, integrated into one seminar. The cluster provides students with an opportunity to explore basic subject areas beyond the confines of a single discipline. These cluster group meetings provide a collegial environment in which students present their work and share their learning. A major objective of this format is the development of knowledge synthesis, so LCIE students can expect their learning to be measured in a variety of ways: written and oral presentation, class discussion, research papers, group projects, and traditional testing. However, as is true of most higher-education programs, in LCIE it is up to each professor to determine how students are to be assessed and graded; therefore, tests and quizzes may be used to supplement papers and presentations as assessments of student mastery. Each cluster is limited in size to approximately 12 students. The cluster follows the quarter schedule and meets one evening a week for four hours, integrating related courses of study. Three semester hours of credit are awarded for successful completion of each course in the cluster for a total of nine semester hours per cluster.
The cluster begins with a first assignment, given to the student when he or she enrolls in the cluster. This assignment is due on the first day (evening) of class. Subsequent homework assignments are delineated in the syllabus, and, due to the accelerated nature of the LCIE program, it is expected that a student will spend, at a minimum, twenty hours per week working on these out-of-class homework assignments. This time commitment may vary, however, depending upon the student’s level of expertise in a given cluster. A student in a management cluster, for example, who has worked several years in a middle management position, and who has completed a variety of corporate sponsored management courses, may, in fact, spend less time working on assignments for this cluster.
Due to the accelerated nature of the cluster (program), the rewriting of papers or the assigning of extra credit homework to improve a grade, or grades, is not permitted.
Admission and Program Requirements
Admission to a graduate degree program in LCIE is granted to students who have undergraduate grade point averages of 3.0 or better (on a 4.0 scale). Students who do not meet that grade point or other admissions standard will be given individual consideration. Conditional degree candidacy may be granted to students who have grade point averages between 2.5 and 2.99 or whose program overviews have not yet been approved. Once accepted for full degree candidacy, graduate students must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 or run the risk of academic suspension.
Students are assigned a faculty advisor to guide them through their specific degree program. Each degree program is designed to meet both student needs and accreditation requirements. Consequently, students may not deviate from any cluster requirements. Degree programs typically consist of five core clusters, and either a directed thesis/ culminating project or a capstone course. Students may, however, take additional clusters or courses to meet individual needs once their core requirements have been met.
A student who is not seeking certification or any degree with Lindenwood University may be accepted as a “Non-Degree, Special Status” student. Students accepted with Special Status will not take more than twelve (12) credit hours of regular, graduate credit without being fully admitted. This policy does not apply to Cooperative (Workshop) Credit. Students accepted with Special Status will not be eligible for financial aid or student loans as they are not fully admitted to the university. Payment arrangements must be made with the Business Office prior to attending class.
Graduation Requirements
To receive a master’s degree from LCIE, students have two educational alternatives depending on the major. Students must meet either of the following requirements:
- Complete a 45-hour degree program that includes four 9-semester hour clusters, three semester hours of research methods, and a six semester-hour directed thesis/ culminating project. Or
- Complete a 48-hour degree program that typically includes five, nine credit hour clusters and a three credit hour capstone course.
In addition all students must meet the following requirements:
- Have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 overall and in the courses required for the degree.
- Complete the objectives set forth in the program overview.
- Demonstrate graduate level writing and speaking as evaluated by the faculty advisor and instructor each term.
- Complete all practicum, apprenticeship, and residency requirements connected with the degree program, as specified by the program overview.
*Contents have been revised as of the publication of the September 2014 catalog addendum.
Preparing for Graduation
Students are responsible for tracking their own academic progress and eligibility for graduation. Specifically, each student must track his/her own progress through a degree program by maintaining a checklist of all requirements, including major and minor requirements, general education requirements, free electives, sufficient number of 30000+ level courses, and total number of credit hours completed. The academic advisor will confirm that all degree requirements have been met; however, the student is ultimately responsible for tracking his/her own progress through the program and meeting all requirements for graduation. The major advisor has the authority to approve academic work within the major; however, only the Provost and the Registrar have the authority to certify that all requirements for graduation have been fulfilled and post a notification of degree completion on a student’s transcript.
In addition to tracking their own progress through academic programs, students must submit an Application for Degree. The application must be signed by the student and the student’s academic advisor and be submitted to the Office of Academic Services. Failure to submit an application by the appropriate deadline may postpone the posting of the student’s degree.
The application deadlines are as follows:
Students graduating in Must apply by
March Dec 30 of previous year
May Dec 30 of previous year
June Dec 30 of previous year
August February 28 of the same year
September March 30 of the same year
October May 30 of the same year
December May 30 of the same year
Graduate Degree Time Limit
A graduate student is expected to complete a graduate program within five (5) years of the date of entry.
Receiving a Second Graduate Degree in LCIE
Many students, after receiving the first graduate degree in LCIE, will decide to enroll in a second graduate degree. When this occurs, students may be able to transfer nine credit hours from the first graduate degree toward the second graduate degree. Consequently, the second graduate degree requires the completion of thirty-nine credit hours. The program director for the second degree must approve the transfer of credit and will assist in creating the program overview for the second degree.