College is home to one of two master’s programs with an AECT endorsement

The master’s program in learning design and technology in the Wayne State University College of Education was recently endorsed by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT). It is one of two master’s and eight certificate programs in the U.S. and Bahrain to earn an endorsement from AECT. The AECT endorsement is valid for five years.

“We began this process to authenticate the quality of our program and demonstrate our ability to meet rigorous international standards in preparing our students for their careers and lives,” said Ingrid Guerra-Lopez, Ph.D., interim dean and professor of learning design and technology in the College of Education. “Because we are focused on continuous improvement, the endorsement process was also an opportunity to engage in self-reflection, identify our strengths and address areas in which we could do better.”

AECT is a professional association of instructional designers, educators and professionals who provide leadership and advise policy makers in order to sustain a continuous effort to enrich teaching and learning. The premier organization for those actively involved in the design of instruction and a systematic approach to learning, its mission is to provide international leadership by promoting scholarship and best practices in the creation, use and management of technologies for effective teaching and learning.

AECT has a long history of developing standards for academic programs in the field of educational communications and technology and reviewing them based on its criteria. While no longer an official accrediting body, AECT is a leader in promoting academic programs in the field and encouraging excellence in the education of future professionals.

Conducted by peer review, the endorsement process seeks to ensure program quality and promote improvement. An AECT endorsement validates selected programs’ design, academic rigor and application of AECT’s rigorous, internationally recognized standards, which were developed to ensure the quality of instructional design programs. The five standards include:

1. Content knowledge: Candidates demonstrate the knowledge necessary to create, use, assess and manage theoretical and practical applications of educational technologies and processes.
2. Content pedagogy: Candidates develop as reflective practitioners able to demonstrate effective implementation of educational technologies and processes based on contemporary content and pedagogy.
3. Learning environments: Candidates facilitate learning by creating, using, evaluating and managing effective learning environments.
4. Professional knowledge and skills: Candidates design, develop, implement and evaluate technology-rich learning environments within a supportive community of practice.
5. Research: Candidates explore, evaluate, synthesize and apply methods of inquiry to enhance learning and improve performance.

“Our endorsement application was successful because of the faculty’s ongoing commitment to the success of our students and our program,” said Guerra-Lopez. “I particularly want to thank Senior Lecturer and Program Coordinator Linda Jiménez and Professor Monica Tracey for their vision and leadership.”

Jiménez and Tracey were invited to serve on the AECT Endorsement Review Task Force because of their contributions to the process.  They will help revise industry and endorsement standards for AECT. 

“I am proud to work with a team that strives to meet high standards,” said Jiménez. “This endorsement illustrates that our master’s program not only prepares students to succeed in a variety of instructional design and performance improvement roles but also positions them to become leaders in our profession, the companies they work for and the communities in which they live.”

To learn more about the AECT endorsement process and view a list of other recipients, visit aect.org/apep.php.

About the Wayne State University College of Education
The College of Education is anchored by its commitment to social justice, equity and inclusive excellence, and offers degree programs in 37 areas, including teacher education, counseling, educational leadership and policy studies, educational psychology, educational research and evaluation, exercise and sport science, learning design and technology and sports administration. For more information, visit education.wayne.edu.

About Wayne State University 
Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution offering approximately 350 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to more than 26,000 students. For more information, visit wayne.edu.