Western Governors University

[IrishJohn]

Some good news!

1) The final exams at Straighterline that I have to re-take are only going to cost me $10 each for the proctor fees! Kudos to SL for good customer service on this, WGU's policy isn't their fault and they handled this well. I still dislike using ProctorU and believe this is a total waste of time though...

2) "Foundations of Political Science" and "International Relations" are both available at Penn Foster and cost <$240 each! They even have payment plans of $75/month for each which helps right now. I'm just waiting on word from WGU that these 2 courses are acceptable. I'm thinking about doing the PF course instead of the TECEP or UExcel exam if I can. I'd rather just knock this out and not risk doing poorly on an exam if I can. No more do-overs!!!

[sanantone]

If I have to take an actual poli-sci course, assuming that PF won't work, than I'm thinking about just taking 1 at the graduate level so I can use it later on. After all, an undergraduate level course does nothing for me other than satisfy a prerequisite and I'll have to spend the time doing the coursework regardless of what level the course is at. If I have to go that route than yes I'll be looking to use financial aid.



Unfortunately the "career switcher program" in Virginia isn't eligible for financial aid. There are a couple of possibilities through Regent U or Shenandoah U, but they require more time and only the former is eligible for aid. The only other one I could do is at George Mason U, but the cost is approx. $10,000 from what I can tell (21 grad credits times approx. $500/cr). I'd like to get this done soon so I can get a better job. WGU fits the bill from what I can see and even though it has the potential of taking a year to finish, I might be able to decrease that time if I'm able to put more work into the program. If you know of anything else please tell me.

The reason why I decided against WGU was because it requires a traditional, full-time, unpaid internship. I can't afford to quit my job and my work schedule can't be modified to accommodate school hours. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Virginia offers Career Switcher programs outside of the traditional college system. Texas has a bunch of for-profit and even some non-profit companies running self-paced, online teacher certification programs with low upfront costs.

[IrishJohn]

The reason why I decided against WGU was because it requires a traditional, full-time, unpaid internship. I can't afford to quit my job and my work schedule can't be modified to accommodate school hours. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Virginia offers Career Switcher programs outside of the traditional college system. Texas has a bunch of for-profit and even some non-profit companies running self-paced, online teacher certification programs with low upfront costs.

Wow. You just totally rocked my whole plan - for which I thank you very much since I haven't shelled out the money for the WGU program yet. I was completely unaware that the "Demonstration Teaching" portion of their program was an unpaid internship for "12-20 weeks"! This wasn't mentioned to me when I spoke with advisors at WGU nor is it clearly stated on their website under the program description. Even the more in-depth explanation of "Demonstration Teaching" doesn't make this fact clear:

Demonstration Teaching – your student teaching practicum

In-classroom experience is invaluable to the development of a highly qualified teacher. That’s why every WGU teaching program that leads to licensure requires a student teaching component. We call it Demonstration Teaching.

The Demonstration Teaching (DT) domain is a full-time, supervised, in-classroom experience of 12-20 weeks. The exact details of your Demonstration Teaching will be determined by the school district in which you are placed to teach. Demonstration Teaching prepares you to tackle the challenges of your own classroom effectively and with confidence. It’s an ideal venue in which to integrate the academic knowledge and teaching skills developed to that point in your program.

During Demonstration Teaching, you will be hosted by an experienced teacher. You will undergo a series of at least six observations by a Clinical Supervisor. Your Clinical Supervisor and host teacher will also complete the midterm and final evaluations, and evaluate your student teaching performance based on accepted professional standards.

To be eligible to complete the Demonstration Teaching (DT) domain at WGU, you must be a valid U.S. resident currently residing in the United States. This is a requirement for placement within school districts. (Exceptions are allowed only for Department of Defense-sponsored active military personnel stationed abroad.) To learn more about the entire process for becoming a licensed teacher, click here.

For more information about Demonstration Teaching, you are invited to contact the Office of Field Placement at WGU or speak to your Enrollment Counselor.

I just confirmed what you posted here by calling WGU and asking them specifically about this and you are 100% correct. Such a long period of basically unemployment, while working FT ironically, is unacceptable and is also something I just cannot do. I'm now putting WGU on indefinite hold and exploring other options. When I receive WGU's response to my questions above I'll post them here for others but I cannot move forward with this program now.

For the moment I'm a bit frazzled over what to do now. I went and checked the Career Switcher Program requirements and it appears to be more reasonable:

In Level One, the student spends one semester taking five modules via distance education, with 6 required Saturday meetings. Field Placement requires 30 clock hours in a classroom at an area school that you will need to accommodate. In Level Two, the student has a teaching contract for one academic year. The student works with an assigned mentor and attends periodic seminars. At the end of that year, the student is recommended for full 5-year licensure, if a student completes a successful year of teaching.

I guess I'm going to have to become VERY creative in how to pay for this program if I can't find something else that will work. I'm also calling them Monday for confirmation on some things including the 30 hour period mentioned above. I can afford to do that but not "12-20 weeks".

I'm still scheduled to take the Praxis exams and VCLA starting next month, which are required for both programs, so will still move forward on those. Since I've already paid the $20 for the proctored exams at SL, I'll do that too just in case I need them for another program. Yet everything else I was planning to do for the WGU prerequisites is now on hold. Frustrating!!! banghead

[sanantone]

I'm sorry to hear that. I would tell you to look somewhere else, but all of the colleges will require a full semester of unpaid teaching. You're actually paying the school to allow you to do the internship. State-approved alternative teacher certification programs are the only options I know of that let you teach on a temporary license during a paid internship. Virginia's program is a little stricter than Texas'. Texas just requires like 15-30 hours of observation which can be done by watching videos in addition to the education coursework. Then, you just go straight to the 1-year paid internship after passing the TEXES exam (similar to Praxis).

Have you looked into applying for Teach for America? They have a limited number of grants to pay for the training part. They are picky though. I was turned down last year. I heard they mostly choose people from prestigious schools. One administrator banned Teach for America from his school because they wouldn't accept his former students who graduated from the local university. It is offensive that Teach for America won't hire the types of students they are trying to help. You know, the kids who successfully make it through an inner-city school system and attend a tier 3 or 4 public university. These are the kinds of people who would most understand the inner-city kids Teach for America tries to serve. I've heard complaints from Teach for America participants that they were completely unprepared for managing a classroom in an inner-city school. The program has a high turnover rate.

The other option would be to live off of student loans. That would be painful. Then, you would have to pray that you get hired for something immediately after the unpaid internship because you'll have to quit your current job. I work with someone who is going to do the traditional, unpaid internship. Since she's in a supervisory position, I guess she can negotiate her work hours; but, she is not going to get much sleep for a whole semester or have any time for her family.

Every state should really consider Texas' model. Most of the programs here only require $300-500 upfront. They take the other $3,000-4,000 out of your paycheck in monthly installments after you're hired as a teacher. I just thought of something else. When I applied for Teach for America, I chose the option to have my information sent to other programs. Some schools will pay for your training as long as you agree to work for them for a certain period of time. I got a bunch of emails, but none of the schools were in my area.

[IrishJohn]

I'm sorry to hear that. I would tell you to look somewhere else, but all of the colleges will require a full semester of unpaid teaching. You're actually paying the school to allow you to do the internship. State-approved alternative teacher certification programs are the only options I know of that let you teach on a temporary license during a paid internship.

That's just insane. How is a student supposed to live during that internship period???

Virginia's program is a little stricter than Texas'. Texas just requires like 15-30 hours of observation which can be done by watching videos in addition to the education coursework. Then, you just go straight to the 1-year paid internship after passing the TEXES exam (similar to Praxis).

Virginia's program doesn't sound too bad, although they should follow Texas in making payments for it easier or by somehow allowing financial aid.

Have you looked into applying for Teach for America? They have a limited number of grants to pay for the training part. They are picky though. I was turned down last year. I heard they mostly choose people from prestigious schools. One administrator banned Teach for America from his school because they wouldn't accept his former students who graduated from the local university. It is offensive that Teach for America won't hire the types of students they are trying to help. You know, the kids who successfully make it through an inner-city school system and attend a tier 3 or 4 public university. These are the kinds of people who would most understand the inner-city kids Teach for America tries to serve. I've heard complaints from Teach for America participants that they were completely unprepared for managing a classroom in an inner-city school. The program has a high turnover rate.

I thought about it but it seemed to be for younger students from what I saw. I suppose I could apply just to see what happens while working on something else. The complaints you've heard are disturbing though. I heard the other day that Virginia's governor wants to bring this program here to the Commonwealth.

The other option would be to live off of student loans. That would be painful. Then, you would have to pray that you get hired for something immediately after the unpaid internship because you'll have to quit your current job. I work with someone who is going to do the traditional, unpaid internship. Since she's in a supervisory position, I guess she can negotiate her work hours; but, she is not going to get much sleep for a whole semester or have any time for her family.

I'd rather not do this because I'd have to be very creative to get such loans and don't want to pay even more back later on.

Every state should really consider Texas' model. Most of the programs here only require $300-500 upfront. They take the other $3,000-4,000 out of your paycheck in monthly installments after you're hired as a teacher. I just thought of something else.

Agreed.

It's going to take awhile but I'll find another option. In the meantime I'll continue working on the things I know I need to complete for all options. Thanks.

[sanantone]

There might be a few career training loans left out there if you have decent credit. I think Sallie Mae and Wells Fargo still offer them. You could use it to just fund the Career Switcher Program. It might be tough getting a social studies job though. The largest school district in my county does not accept alternative teacher certifications. The second largest school district will only accept them if the person is certified in science, mathematics, ESL, special education, technology, or family and consumer sciences. Those are their high need areas. The poorer school districts accept them, but they're also focused on mostly hiring math and science teachers. Nationally, most of the shortages are in math, chemistry, and physics.

[IrishJohn]

There might be a few career training loans left out there if you have decent credit. I think Sallie Mae and Wells Fargo still offer them. You could use it to just fund the Career Switcher Program.

I'm considering this as one option. Another might be to enroll in graduate school and take out a bigger loan, say $4,000 worth, than I actually need in order to also pay for the Career Switcher Program.

It might be tough getting a social studies job though. The largest school district in my county does not accept alternative teacher certifications. The second largest school district will only accept them if the person is certified in science, mathematics, ESL, special education, technology, or family and consumer sciences. Those are their high need areas. The poorer school districts accept them, but they're also focused on mostly hiring math and science teachers. Nationally, most of the shortages are in math, chemistry, and physics.

According the "critical needs" areas of the program, social studies is one subject they are short of teachers on. I'm sure it isn't as bad as math or science, which are almost always lacking in enough teachers, but I did notice that it wasn't among them last year while it is now. I also know that we are short of teachers in this state which is why our governor is calling for expansion of Teachers for America here. Even so though, I've already been planning on hedging my bets by taking the English Praxis in addition to that for Social Studies. The program itself isn't geared towards a specific subject but is more general. I may add another endorsement later if I feel I need it. Perhaps Spanish.

[valsacar]

My wife is going to do her BA in early childhood education at WGU, so we know a bit about the process and requirements. You do realize that student teaching (demonstration teaching) is a REQUIREMENT for a teachers license, and WGUs programs (BA and MA) are designed to get you not only the degree but also the license.

[sanantone]

It's not a requirement for alternative certification programs. These programs usually require that you take a few education courses, observe a classroom for about 15-30 hours (Texas let's you do this through video), pass the Praxis or other state-required exam, and teach for a year on a temporary license while being paid. After the one-year "internship" of teaching on a temporary license, one becomes fully licensed.

[IrishJohn]

My wife is going to do her BA in early childhood education at WGU, so we know a bit about the process and requirements. You do realize that student teaching (demonstration teaching) is a REQUIREMENT for a teachers license, and WGUs programs (BA and MA) are designed to get you not only the degree but also the license.

Yes, I know this now thanks to sanantone. I didn't see this at the WGU website under the description of the program nor was I told this by their advisers. I'm in a different situation from your wife though because I already have a BA degree and only need the license to teach. As sanantone posted, some states have special programs to attract working adults from other career fields due to the teacher shortage. My home state of Virginia has this which is called the Career Switcher Program. The downside is that the cost is approx. $4,000 with no financial aid available to pay for it, but the upside is that no unpaid internship of "12-20 weeks" is required. Assuming I can get the financing in place to pay for the program and get accepted, I should start in September and receive my 1-year probational license by the end of the year. After one full year teaching I should complete the program and receive the regular teaching license. It's a good program for those who already have their bachelor's degree and of course if they have the money to pay for it.