WGU BA in Teaching, takes minimum 18 months?

[bfleshman]

I graduated from TESU last year after receiving much help from this forum and am now back on here to ask a question for my Mom.

She has an applied associates degree in business admin (graduated in 2001). 

She wants to become an elementary teacher. I was telling her about WGU.

I read on this forum that the BA in Elementary Education takes a minimum of 18 months. Why is this? She would like to get it done as quickly as she can. Any input on this program is much appreciated. She is recently divorced and eager to start a new chapter.

Thanks in advance!

[natshar]

I graduated from TESU last year after receiving much help from this forum and am now back on here to ask a question for my Mom.

She has an applied associates degree in business admin (graduated in 2001). 

She wants to become an elementary teacher. I was telling her about WGU.

I read on this forum that the BA in Elementary Education takes a minimum of 18 months. Why is this? She would like to get it done as quickly as she can. Any input on this program is much appreciated. She is recently divorced and eager to start a new chapter.

Thanks in advance!

The 18 months would be the time at wgu as wgu has 6 month terms.

Term 1: all your online course work
Term 2: pre-professional work, observation, etc.
Term 3: student teaching


In order to do all of the online coursework in one 6 month term you'd either have to work really hard or have transfer credit. Your friend has an associates degree so she might have a lot of requirements done. I'd apply to wgu and see how much she needs to graduate.

[Merlin]

I graduated from TESU last year after receiving much help from this forum and am now back on here to ask a question for my Mom.

She has an applied associates degree in business admin (graduated in 2001). 

She wants to become an elementary teacher. I was telling her about WGU.

I read on this forum that the BA in Elementary Education takes a minimum of 18 months. Why is this? She would like to get it done as quickly as she can. Any input on this program is much appreciated. She is recently divorced and eager to start a new chapter.

Thanks in advance!

I've worked with a few people going through the teaching program at both the undergrad and graduate levels. From what I have seen, completing the academic work in a single term can be done with enough transfer credit and dedication, but that doesn't include the preclinical & clinical experience, observation hours, and in-classroom demonstrative teaching required for state licensure for a teaching credential. The amount of work and hours required varies by state; it also requires coordinating with a local school district and can take a long time to get set up and completed.

Finishing undergrad in less than two terms with any program is very challenging unless you transfer in a significant amount of credits. But with an existing AA, that might be good enough.

So, I'd say 12-18 months is probably a reasonable timeline, but someone could probably get it done in 6-12 months with the right kind of prior credit and assuming they can quickly coordinate with a local school district to set up the in-class work.

[dfrecore]

I would probably look into local options first - many states have free/cheap teaching credential programs, where if you come in with a Bachelor's degree, you can get the education requirements done while you're student teaching, and some will even pay you a stipend during that time.

So, have her look at doing that in your state, and then she could quickly get a BALS/BSLS from COSC and then go right into the local program.

[natshar]

I graduated from TESU last year after receiving much help from this forum and am now back on here to ask a question for my Mom.

She has an applied associates degree in business admin (graduated in 2001). 

She wants to become an elementary teacher. I was telling her about WGU.

I read on this forum that the BA in Elementary Education takes a minimum of 18 months. Why is this? She would like to get it done as quickly as she can. Any input on this program is much appreciated. She is recently divorced and eager to start a new chapter.

Thanks in advance!

I've worked with a few people going through the teaching program at both the undergrad and graduate levels. From what I have seen, completing the academic work in a single term can be done with enough transfer credit and dedication, but that doesn't include the preclinical & clinical experience, observation hours, and in-classroom demonstrative teaching required for state licensure for a teaching credential. The amount of work and hours required varies by state; it also requires coordinating with a local school district and can take a long time to get set up and completed.

Finishing undergrad in less than two terms with any program is very challenging unless you transfer in a significant amount of credits. But with an existing AA, that might be good enough.

So, I'd say 12-18 months is probably a reasonable timeline, but someone could probably get it done in 6-12 months with the right kind of prior credit and assuming they can quickly coordinate with a local school district to set up the in-class work.

If you see the post I stated above. Im pretty sure 18 months is the minimum. I believe your classes, observations and student teaching all have to be separate terms. And wgu uses a co hort model so I dont think it can speed up but I might be wrong. Still 18 months is really quick for a teaching degree. I cant think of a way to get it quicker. A lot of the post bac programs only grant a provistional license.

I guess it all depends on the state but for most states this seems like the fastest way to a full teaching certificate.

---

I would probably look into local options first - many states have free/cheap teaching credential programs, where if you come in with a Bachelor's degree, you can get the education requirements done while you're student teaching, and some will even pay you a stipend during that time.

So, have her look at doing that in your state, and then she could quickly get a BALS/BSLS from COSC and then go right into the local program.

I guess it all depends on the area and your goals. The ones I know only grant temporary licensure. They have strict requirements to make it a full teaching certificate. Like for example you have teach in certain schools for 5 years. Maybe its different for states where a teaching degree isn't needed for teaching and isn't the norm.

Plus the timing to get a bachelors degree and then do one of these programs would take longer than 18 months. Many of the programs take 18 months just for the program and that's after the time it takes to a bachelor's degree.

In my opinion wgu seems like the most efficient path to being a certified teacher.

[sanantone]

I know that the nursing program is a cohort program, so I wouldn't be surprised if there's no flexibility in speeding up the teaching programs.

In my state, you earn a provisional license after completing an alternative teacher certification program. These are usually self-paced. After that, you can teach with the provisional license. During your first year, you have a mentor, and you're paid a full teacher salary. Then, you earn a full license. It's a faster way of becoming a teacher if you already have a bachelor's degree and can't afford to do unpaid student teaching.

[natshar]

I know that the nursing program is a cohort program, so I wouldn't be surprised if there's no flexibility in speeding up the teaching programs.

In my state, you earn a provisional license after completing an alternative teacher certification program. These are usually self-paced. After that, you can teach with the provisional license. During your first year, you have a mentor, and you're paid a full teacher salary. Then, you earn a full license. It's a faster way of becoming a teacher if you already have a bachelor's degree and can't afford to do unpaid student teaching.

Interesting. That paid part could be key. That could a big deal for some people. I didn't think of that good point

But still some people might want the full licensure. Like I said the ones in my state require a lot of strict requirements that seem like a hassle and sometiems take years to go from provistional to fully licensed. Having full teaching license right away, could be better for some people.

[Tlm]

I was looking at the program myself and decided to do a BA and then do their post bac or Med program or a local one. You need to finish all of your classes before you can do your student teaching. There is not way around this so it adds extra time. Teacherready.org takes less time and the credits transfer to a masters at Walden. I am not leaning towards this.

[dfrecore]

In my state, you earn a provisional license after completing an alternative teacher certification program. These are usually self-paced. After that, you can teach with the provisional license. During your first year, you have a mentor, and you're paid a full teacher salary. Then, you earn a full license. It's a faster way of becoming a teacher if you already have a bachelor's degree and can't afford to do unpaid student teaching.

Same here.  If you already have a bachelor's degree, then it's much faster to do it this way - same if you're at like 90cr and can get the bachelor's quickly.  If you're starting from scratch, or with an AA, then it's probably faster to get the teaching degree.

And, if you're going to be a high school teacher, they MUCH prefer that you have a degree in the subject you're going to teach.  History, Math, Biology, Physics, Chem, English, Spanish, whatever - they don't want someone who dabbled and didn't go that high, they want a teacher who has a LOT of background in the subject.  And they don't want an education degree for sure.  Our local 4yr state school specifically tells people they should get a degree in the subject they're going to teach, and then get the licensure, and you can take some education courses alongside your degree (like for a minor).  But it's much more important to get the subject down - you can learn to teach, but you can't always learn a subject well.

Now, if you're going to be an elementary school teacher, then the subject is less important since you'll be teaching multiple subjects, in which case, you can opt for either path.

[sanantone]

In my state, you earn a provisional license after completing an alternative teacher certification program. These are usually self-paced. After that, you can teach with the provisional license. During your first year, you have a mentor, and you're paid a full teacher salary. Then, you earn a full license. It's a faster way of becoming a teacher if you already have a bachelor's degree and can't afford to do unpaid student teaching.

Same here.  If you already have a bachelor's degree, then it's much faster to do it this way - same if you're at like 90cr and can get the bachelor's quickly.  If you're starting from scratch, or with an AA, then it's probably faster to get the teaching degree.

And, if you're going to be a high school teacher, they MUCH prefer that you have a degree in the subject you're going to teach.  History, Math, Biology, Physics, Chem, English, Spanish, whatever - they don't want someone who dabbled and didn't go that high, they want a teacher who has a LOT of background in the subject.  And they don't want an education degree for sure.  Our local 4yr state school specifically tells people they should get a degree in the subject they're going to teach, and then get the licensure, and you can take some education courses alongside your degree (like for a minor).  But it's much more important to get the subject down - you can learn to teach, but you can't always learn a subject well.

Now, if you're going to be an elementary school teacher, then the subject is less important since you'll be teaching multiple subjects, in which case, you can opt for either path.

My state is the same. We don't have undergraduate degrees in education that lead to licensure. Elementary teachers might earn an interdisciplinary studies degree, but middle school and secondary teachers are encouraged to earn degrees in the subject they're going to teach. 

If one is planning to teach middle school or high school, keep in mind that WGU barely touches upon the subject areas. One wouldn't be prepared to be a chemistry, social studies, biology, physics, or math teacher by taking their courses, alone.