Innovation is a way of life at Nova Southeastern University, especially in the classroom.
If you want proof of the pudding, take a look at the Masters Degree in Cross-Disciplinary Studies (MACS) program that allows both professionals with an active career in health services and individuals with no prior experience in health care to enroll in graduate courses in health science. And they can do so without leaving the comforts of home.
“Its a very unique program, one which opens the doors to a new level of learning for those who want to pursue a Masters degree,” said Dr. Susanne Mandler Marshall, Director of the MACS program at Novas Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences. “It offers students the freedom and flexibility to design to pick and choose, if you will an academic program to meet their specific academic and professional goals.”
MACS made its formal debut at Nova Southeastern, the largest independent institution of higher learning in the Southeast and the eighth largest independent institution nationally, in the fall of 2004. Initial response, Dr. Marshall said, has been “very positive.”
“We had an early bird session last summer to test the waters, to see how the concept would work,” she said. “Weve had many inquiries since the initial announcements were made about the program. People are taking to it very well, theyre very interested and we see it growing rapidly. Were meeting and talking with individuals who are interested in enrolling almost every day.”
Dr. Marshall said MACS is particularly appealing to individuals already working in the health care professions, but it also offers “a lot of options” to those who may be thinking about changing careers.
“Its really designed for mid-career professionals,” Dr. Marshall said. “There are so many options for making your own decisions on curriculum development and course selections. No sequence (of courses) is required and theres no limit as to what you can choose to study. Were partnered with the Master of Health Sciences program and MACS students share their courses, many of which are non-clinical courses. There are no restriction in MACS regarding undergraduate major fields of study and students are able to build their own personalized curriculum without having to fulfill a complex number of prerequisites.”
MACS concentration track course choices currently available include such topics as Human Sexuality and Gender, Human Factors, Politics and Economics of Health Care Systems, Violence Prevention and Intervention, Mediation Theory and Practice, and Foundations and Development of Community Relations. Others also are on the list and additional tracks and courses are likely to be added in the near future.
Because MACS is a self-designed curriculum, students can build an individualized study plan.
“They take only those courses that are an exact match for their professional needs or that are most interesting to them,” Dr. Marshall said. “Students are required to take only four core courses, but all other courses and the content of the practicum sequence are designed by the students themselves. They can choose to pursue any of the courses offered at the SHSS or at MACS partner programs at the Oceanographic Center, at the College of Allied Health and Nursing, or at the Graduate School for Computer and Information Sciences.”
External partnerships also are in place to provide students with internships at health care facilities.
Dr. Marshall serves as an academic advisor to students and helps them design an effective graduate curriculum custom-matched to their academic interests and professional needs.
“Well help in every way we can to get you on the right track,” she said. “Students enrolled in MACS are, for the most part, looking to expand their horizons whether they intend to stay with their current jobs or switch careers.”
Dr. Marshall said the original planning for MACS pre-dates her, but the concept was developed because of a growing need for such a program, especially in the health care professions.
“I wish I could say I originated the program, but it was conceived before I came to Nova Southeastern,” she smiled. “I came aboard just in time to get it off the ground and up and running.”
Dr. Marshall, who was born and raised in Salzburg, Austria and who came to the United States for college, is no stranger to innovative ideas. After completing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish at the University of Redlands in California and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Comparative Literature at the University of California, Riverside, she accepted a position as an adjunct faculty member in English and World Literature at Columbia College and Allen University in Columbia, SC. She held that position for two years before she and her husband moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where she accepted a faculty appointment in the Department of International Studies at Lake Erie College.
At LEC, Dr. Marshall became the founding director of the colleges International Center in 1998. In that position, she developed and implemented a recruitment plan for international and minority students, collaborated with social service agencies and the corporate community to meet the needs of area immigrants from Latin America and recruited and prepared students for a semester abroad. Dr. Marshall also spearheaded efforts to raise funds to support international programs and initiatives, generating more than $200,000 in grant funds from federal, state and private sources to support the Centers projects.
Also at Lake Erie College, Dr. Marshall chaired the faculty subcommittee on the Compensation Committee of the Board of Trustees, helping to develop and implement a multi-year compensation plan designed to bring college salaries to nationally competitive levels. She also represented the faculty on the Board of Trustees Committee on Enrollment and Retention; convened a chaired a faculty task force charged with review of the general education curriculum, and reviewed and redeveloped guidelines for students admission on probation as Chair of the Academic Standards Committee. She also was actively involved in college-community projects.
Dr. Marshall has been a speaker at numerous educational conferences in the United States, and, teaming with Sandra Zoratti, has published several magazine articles.
Those experiences were a major boost to Nova Southeastern University when she moved there in September 2003. And it has helped the MACS program move forward.
“The interest in health care professions is growing so fast, not only here but across the United States,” Dr. Marshall said. “MACS provides those who enroll with an opportunity to get their foot in the door for good paying jobs in such positions as counseling, research or writing for publications. Having a medical background such as nursing helps, of course, but its necessary. Studies have shown that people will make at least seven career changes in their lives.”
Health care careers are readily available in South Florida, Dr. Marshall said.
“Its a growing trend in the Fort Lauderdale area because we have an aging population whose needs for health care services expand rapidly,” she said. “There are many opportunities for people who want to look in that direction for a career.”
Students who pursue the Masters Degree in Cross-Disciplinary Studies without using transfer credits will, in almost all cases, be able to finish within five quarters. The program runs year-round and in some cases students will be able to complete the degree within one academic year.
“There is really nothing you cant do with the degree,” Dr. Marshall said. “Its self-designed structure allows you to take charge of your own graduate learning and choose to pursue those courses that have meaning to your professional aspirations. You can, for instance, use MACS to upgrade your current professional identity by taking courses that will build upon specific areas of expertise you already posses. Choosing the Culture and Society track, for example, professionals who are active in the social services professions can deepen their knowledge by selecting courses in both Family Therapy and Conflict and Analysis and Resolution.
“In addition, MACS provides the opportunity to enter a new field without having to forfeit the professional and academic experiences you have. It makes it possible for students to combine their interests in separate fields. It gives you the opportunity to build expertise in both fields at the same time.”
Dr. Marshall also emphasizes that people who do not live in South Florida or those who have a full-time job but cant give it up are eligible to and encouraged to enter the MACS program.
“There is no residency requirement,” she said. “And because the program is available online, it can be taken from anywhere down the road, across the country, around the world. The availability of all MACS courses in an online format makes the program ideal for working professionals. They can log on to their course on their own time, whenever and wherever it is convenient. The WebCT environment MACS uses makes it very easy to navigate, and you dont need specializes computer skills to be a successful distance student.”
Dr. Marshall said students who do live in South Florida may come to Fort Lauderdale to meet with program staff and instructors, and to pursue special on-campus sessions for selected courses they have chosen.
“We strongly recommend that they visit Nova Southeasterns East Campus at least once during their time as MACS students, but such a visit is not a requirement,” she said.
Select MACS courses also are taught in the traditional classroom setting at the East Campus in Fort Lauderdale and at NSU cluster sites throughout Florida and in Las Vegas, Nevada and Jamaica.
As testimony to the unique concept of MACS, student Danielle Kandell says on the programs web site: “In todays changing economy, a broad education is beneficial. The MACS program allows me to take classes that interest me and create a career path that capitalizes on my very own strengths, not on what a program says those strengths have to be.”
Dr. Marshall agrees.
“That sums it up very well,” she said. “We see MAC students as those who are making an investment in a Masters degree and, more important, an investment in their future.”
