The program is designed to provide a strong theoretical knowledge base and administrative practicum that allow for careful examination of contemporary administrative practices and policies. The program is designed to provide students with a strong foundation or knowledge base and opportunities for the application of that knowledge through administrative practicums. Rather than providing a series of discrete courses with differing areas of curricular emphasis, the core curriculum is provided through in-depth, intensive seminars which integrate major curricular themes as Foundations of Administrative Practice. The same seminars incorporate students' practicum assignments as an integral part of the learning experience so that what is being learned as the program core curriculum can be applied directly to what students experience in their practicums. The Preliminary Administrative Services Credential requires 25 semester units and includes supervised practicum experience.
Most students are able to complete the program in two semesters and one summer.
The program focuses on skills for effective administration of elementary and secondary schools with particular emphasis on responsibilities of the principal. It is important to note that while students register for the courses listed below, the PASC I course of study is a coordinated, integrated learning experience rather than a set of discrete, isolated courses. The structure of the curriculum seminars, the teaming of university curriculum instructors in the seminars, the core set of program assignments and readings, all emphasize the inter-relatedness of each foundation of administrative practice studied. Indeed, rather than individual course curricula, the PASC I Program provides participants with an holistic program curriculum, not completed until the program's end. The Sonoma State University Administrative Intern Program addresses expressed needs of school districts served by the university.