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2. Faculty Role Supports

The Department offers academic and affective support for Master of Education students throughout their program of study. Faculty members serve a number of support roles during all phases of the program.

2.1 Program Consultant

In-coming students are assigned a Faculty member to assist them in planning their program of study. The Program Consultant may or may not be the same individual later selected by the student to serve as the proposal, project, MRP, or thesis advisor. The responsibilities of the Program Consultant are as follows: 

  • To be knowledgeable about the basic content of MEd courses, offered both on and off-campus
  • To collaborate with students to plan a program of study which will satisfy the degree requirements and meet the goals and objectives
  • To become familiar with academic regulations of graduate studies and the Faculty of Education as presented in the Graduate Calendar and the Master of Education Program Guide
  • To advise students about the independent study (EDUC 5P98) and educational internship (EDUC 5P96) options available to them
  • To provide students with appropriate guidance when success at graduate level studies is in jeopardy
  • To assess students' abilities and competencies regarding future academic study and provide necessary guidance in that direction
  • To be available for individual student conferencing during all three academic terms
  • To ensure students are aware of assistantships and scholarships available within the department

Students are encouraged to contact their assigned program consultant as soon as possible upon admission to the program. 

 

2.2 MRP/Project/Thesis Advisor

 A Faculty of Education member, approved Brock faculty member, or approved adjunct/part-time member will assume the responsibility of working with the student in all aspects of the exit requirement phase of the program. Rather than being assigned an advisor, students will select their own MRP/project or thesis advisor. This selection will occur prior to the student's registration for the proposal course, EDUC 5P90 (project), or MRP (EDUC 5Q91), or Thesis (EDUC 5F95).

Any approved faculty member in the Faculty of Education may be contacted to serve as a project/thesis advisor. This includes faculty from the Department of Teacher Education, current and cross-appointed graduate and undergraduate faculty. Please refer to the 2009 Advisor Availability list for a listing of research interests of approved advisors, including part-time instructors. Students who, after making several personal requests, are unable to secure an advisor should consult the Department Chair. The Department Chair will distribute the student's request and area of research interest to all full-time members of the Faculty of Education, with special reference to faculty members who work in the student's area of research interest.

Students who register for the instructed sections of the proposal and project will not need to find an individual advisor or second reader. The course instructors guide their class through the phases of proposal and project completion. The responsibilities of the MRP/Project/Thesis advisor are as follows: 

  • To be familiar with all academic regulations of graduate studies and research, as presented in the Graduate Calendar and the Master of Education Program Guide, and with criteria for acceptable research activities
  • To be familiar with Department procedures for MRP/project and thesis completion and ensure that the student and other committee members follow the process and timelines (Refer to Appendices B and C for the detailed procedures)
  • To be available to supervise the work until such a time that all exit requirements are met
  • To plan for advisement to continue without interruption, either by scheduling into leave plans or by arranging for a different advisor when taking a sabbatical or other leave

 

2.3 Changes of Consultants and Advisors

Students have the right to change their Program Consultant and MRP/Project/Thesis Advisor at any point in the program. If they wish to do so, they should contact the Department Chair to request a change and to receive advice on how to proceed. If a student's advisor leaves Brock University before the student has completed the exit requirement, the student should contact the Department Chair for available options regarding advisement, which may include the following:

  • The existing advisor may continue to work with the student on a distance basis
  • The existing advisor may arrange for the student to work with a different advisor
  • The student may arrange for a different advisor
  • The Department Chair may arrange for a different advisor