Big 3 degree: pursuing teacher cert afterwards?

Just curious as to what you all think about this. I am considering finishing my BA in Literature at either COSC or Excelsior and then applying to a local B&M university for grad school to pick up a M.Ed with initial teacher certification to teach either HS English or Middle Grades Language Arts.

Has anyone here ever gone that route and will the teacher cert boards (or Grad Schools of Education) generally buy into a "Big 3" degree with a collection of college credits from 6 or 7 different colleges including ~30-40 credits earned via testing (CLEP/ECE/DANTES).

So far I have maintained a 3.6 GPA on 63 semester hours, not including CLEP testing. So I don't think (assuming I maintain my GPA) that grades will be a problem.

Would I be better off investing my time and money in a traditional DL program like University of Illinois at Springfield's Online English major? UIS costs more than Excelsior or COSC, both financially and particularly in the extra time it would take me to earn a BA degree.

Can anyone help me with this?

 

I obtained a teaching license in Vermont by attending a post-bac/MEd program at the University of Vermont, which is recognized by the VT education department for teacher education. On my transcript from U. of VT is wording that recommends me for teacher licensing. My undergraduate degree in electrical engineering was earned through traditional in-person instruction.

From my experience, I would suggest you worry about whether the university you get the MEd from will admit you on the basis of a degree from the "big three". The faculty and staff at the university where you get the MEd should be familiar with licensing requirements, and not admit you if they don't think you'll be able to get a license.

 

I'm going that route now. Here's my situation:

6 hrs from junior college #1
67 hrs and AA from junior college #2
60 hrs from 4-yr B & M school
1 hr and BS from Excelsior

Applying to University of South Alabama, The Citadel, and a few others for teacher education programs.

 

As long as you have a major in English, it shouldn't be a problem at all. With "No Child Left Behind" regs firmly in place, that will be the expectation. The other expectation is, of course, a single subject credential in English.



Tom Nixon

 

The M.Ed. program that leads to both the master's degree and licensure will deliver your ability to sit for licensure. What might become in question is what you will be qualified to teach, especially if--like in California--you pursue a single-subject credential. But it is the M.Ed. that qualifies you for licensure, regardless of your undergraduate degree.

 

Thanks for your replies; I suppose the big question is whether any of the local B&M Grad Schools of Education will accept me with a BA/BS from Excelsior or COSC (I've read all the scary TESC stories here, lol!).

My state's (Georgia) teacher certification website basically states that if an individual has either a designated major in a subject area -- English being one of the grades 7-12 areas -- OR has a specified number of hours in a subject area (I believe it is a minumum of 24 hours) that one may qualify for a certification program.

Obvioulsy, the degree and all the hours being credited toward certification purposes must be from a regionally accredited institution.

So I assume this means I can earn a degree in Literature via Excelsior or COSC and, providing I meet the minimum requirements....i.e, 24+ hours in the teaching subject area that I should qualify for admission to a grad program offering a Master's and qualifying me to apply for licensure.

 

Hockeyfan,

I'm also going that route. I'm from Georgia, too, and I also had it explained to me that I would likely be able to begin teaching on a provisional certificate while working toward my M.ED. I do believe you have to pass both the Praxis I and II, though.

Cade

 

Western Governor's University offers a certification program, too. I've heard, from others, that this program often leaves you with little direction..... I have no idea. I do know that WGU told me a likely time frame to complete certification with them was 18 months. A local university told me 9 - 12. WGU, however, does also certify you to teach science, math, english, and history, I believe.

Cade

 

Re: American Board?

Steve,

Thanks for sharing that. I was actually looking into getting another Master's Degree solely so that I could obtain a teacher's certification.

Have you taken the exam through them? Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

 

HockeyFan:

Yes this can be done and you should not have a problem with the COSC degree. (If you go there.) My wife got her degree from COSC in Individualized Studies which works well as a transition to Elem. Edu. In NC, you have to have 15 hours within the last five years in the subject matter if your degree is not in the subject matter. Lucky for her, she had these 15 hours in Elem. Edu. from Liberty U. before finishing with COSC.

Anyway, she did not have a problem being accepted to East Carolina University to do Lateral Entry Teacher coursework to get her license. She did very well on Praxis II which was a requirement to teach.

She has since gone on to Nova to complete her Masters in Elem. Edu. and at no point has she had any problem with her COSC bachelors and she has never had to explain that degree to anyone. Good Luck!!

Duff