Contact: Margaret Kovar
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Facing busy schedules, many people struggle to find time for anything beyond the careful balance of work and family. But living in a digital age makes higher education more attainable for those seeking an elementary education degree from Mississippi State.
"Without Mississippi State's distance education program, it would have been impossible for me to further my education," said Kim Stone, a Booneville School District teacher.
Stone was part of the first group to participate when the university offered the full-time online option for elementary education majors, which she credits for helping her achieve her goals.
"Only two years after graduating from the program, I am currently in what I once called my 'future dream job,'" she said.
Like Stone, many others today are trying to balance work and family obligations with earning a degree. A collaboration between the curriculum, instruction and special education department and the Division of Academic Outreach and Continuing Education, the College of Education's online distance education program provides a good fit for both traditional and non-traditional students, such as Stone.
"We wanted to provide potential students the option to attend Mississippi State University even if they didn't have direct access to a physical campus," said Courtney Vines, instructor and recruiter in the department of curriculum, instruction and special education.
Participants receive a bachelor's degree in elementary education, with an emphasis in either early childhood or middle school education. Much like traditional teacher education programs, participants must complete field experience requirements, including methods classes and student teaching internships.
The 92 students currently enrolled keep in touch with the program's instructors and advisors over the telephone, through e-mail and by Skyping. While offered as a completely online degree program, the courses actually can be completed either in part or in whole online. Students may take 12 to 15 credit hours a semester.
"The instructors and professors in the distance education program are flexible and strive to fit the needs of the students," Vines said.
Students must meet the requirements of the College of Education's teacher education program. To be eligible, they must have all of their core classes already completed, as well as a minimum 2.75 grade point average. Other requirements include two letters of recommendation, verification of 40 hours of work experience with children, Praxis I or ACT scores submitted and a completes background check.
For those unsure about a bachelor's degree because of the cost, Mississippi provides three separate incentive options for educators: the critical needs teacher scholarship program, the William F. Winter scholar loan program and the Mississippi teacher fellowship program.
The Mississippi Teacher Center also identifies critical shortage areas in several subject areas across numerous areas of the state: special education; mathematics; science, including biology, chemistry and physics; and foreign language, including French, German and Spanish.
For more information about the distance education program, contact Vines at 662-325-7128 or go to www.distance.msstate.edu/elem.
For more information about Mississippi State, go to www.msstate.edu.