The two-year curriculum consists of 12 courses taken in sequence, six courses each year. The courses are LOD 501, LOD 502, LOD 503, LOD 504, LOD 505, LOD 506, LOD 507, LOD 508, LOD 509, LOD 510, LOD 511, and LOD 512. Click here for short course descriptions. Each student will be assigned a Primary Faculty who will act as their guide and personal point of contact. Primary Faculty will be assigned at the beginning of each academic year and will change from Year 1 to Year 2 to provide students with greater depth of experience. Each course begins with preparatory work and culminates in an in-person, experiential-learning residency. There are six residencies each year which take place the last week of each course.
First year students receive an initial program orientation welcome packet 1 week prior to the start of course LOD 501. The packet consists of the Student and Faculty manual and required prep work for the first residency. On day 1 of course LOD 501 students participate in a required two-hour Zoom session to orientate them to the program and prepare them for the first residency. On week two of course LOD 501 students will participate in a required one hour one-on-one zoom meeting with their primary faculty to further orientate them to the program, clarify learning goals and their first written assignment, and prepare them for the residency. Each subsequent course begins with the distribution of the course syllabus, required and supplemental reading lists, and access to any additional exercises, assessments, or writing assignments for that course due by the residency. Each residency starts with an orientation to the week and each residency ends with an hour-long session to prepare them for
the next course. The first residency starts with a three-hour orientation to the program that helps students understand the flow of the two years, the interconnectedness of the residencies, and how they will be evaluated throughout.
Students’ primary faculty will provide contact details in case extra help is needed prior to any residency, and an invitation to formal, on-line weekly office hours hosted by the primary faculty in the weeks before the residency. Attendance of office hours is not a course requirement but is available for students so that they can get to know instructors before the residency, have opportunity to discuss readings, and gain clarity about assignments before submission. Beyond the weekly office hours, faculty are available for one-on-one out of class meetings via Zoom, prior to the residencies. Each course starts with program-directed, personalized assignments or assessment work. This work is to be completed prior to the residences and involves reading and writing with an occasional self-assessment instrument. LOD-505, LOD-509 and LOD-512 include comprehensive self-assessments due prior to the residencies. In addition to the books on the reading list, the Leadership Institute of Seattle provides Manuals for the students that they will utilize both in residency and out of class for maximum learning. Students have four weeks to complete the prep work prior to the one-week residency. Each course is five weeks long for a total of 30 weeks during an academic year.
The experiential learning residencies include first and second year students learning together with unique course content for students in their first and second year as well as combined components where first and second-year students learn and interact with each other. For example, the two courses running simultaneously in Residency 1 are LOD 501 for first year students and LOD 507 for second year students, each with course-specific and combined experiential sessions based on the
progression of the program. The end of the residency marks the end of each course. Students receive a course evaluation at the end of each residency.
The first residency of the academic year (course LOD 501 and LOD 507) is an extended residency that spans seven days, focuses heavily on developing a learning community, and provides a powerful start to the experiential learning journey at the heart of LIOS.
The Leadership Institute of Seattle is a competency-based program. Beyond the course evaluations at the end of each residency, the evaluation process includes eleven unique assessments of students’ cumulative knowledge, understanding of theory, and demonstrated use of skills. These include six written assignments, two orals, and three comprehensive assessments. The six written assignments are Case Study 1, Case Study 2, Case Study 3, Case Study 4, the Theory Integration Paper, and the
Masters Case Study Project Paper (MCSP). The orals are a first-year Theory Exam after Residency 6, and second-year MCSP Oral prior to 2nd year Residency 5.
The comprehensive assessments link all courses together so that once a student’s starts LOD 501 and goes through the three-hour orientation they will begin to understand how each residency builds upon the prior residency and strengthens their learnings. Assessment 1 during Residency 5 of the first year (covers LOD 501, LOD 502, LOD 503, LOD 504, Case Study 1 and Case Study 2), Assessment 2 during Residency 3 of the second year (covers LOD 505, LOD 506, LOD 507, LOD 508, Case Study 3 and Theory Integration Paper), and Assessment 3, final candidacy, during Residency 6 of the second year (covers LOD 509, LOD 510, LOD 511, LOD 512, Case Study 4 and Masters Case Study Project Paper). Assessment 1 evaluates a student’s ability to master
functional and adaptive skills as an organizational member, Assessment 2 evaluates a student’s ability as an organizational leader to produce productive groups and organizations. Finally, Assessment 3 evaluates a student’s ability to be an effective practitioner and is the final step in achievement of degree candidacy. Students also write an Autobiography (due by LOD 501) and Autobiography Update (due by LOD 507), used for self-exploration and learning purposes.