New master of education degree program offered in Nevada area

FULTON, Mo. -- William Woods University is offering Nevada area residents the opportunity to pursue a master of education degree without quitting work. The program will begin with an orientation meeting at 5:30 p.m., Aug. 29, in the Nevada Middle School Library, 900 N Olive St., Nevada.

Prospective students are encouraged to contact the university's Graduate & Adult Studies program prior to then, but walk-ins will be accepted. Call (800) 995-3199 or contact WWU by e-mail at cgas@williamwoods.edu.

The 36-credit-hour master of education program has three tracks -- students can choose to study administration, which is intended to provide the fundamental skills necessary for effective school administration; curriculum and instruction, which is for teachers who wish to enhance their classroom skills, and athletics/activities administration, which is for anyone interested in developing and administering activities in any school or community setting.

Jaclyn Scott of Sikeston earned her master of education degree from William Woods.

"The program was great for working teachers and the collaboration with teachers from other schools was a wonderful experience," she said.

She added, "I would recommend this program to anyone. The course facilitators were very professional and the one night a week meeting was great for working people with children. The work load was reasonable and the assignments worthwhile."

Employing a model of accelerated learning developed especially for the convenience of the working adult, these educational programs are structured so that a degree can be completed in as few as 22 months.

William Woods offers degree programs that utilize a cohort model, emphasizing learning through student-directed study groups of three to five students.

"Cohort" describes a group of people who collaborate to reach a common goal. WWU's program utilizes the diversity of the individual members to broaden the learning experience of the class as a whole as they work together. The school recognizes that learning can and does take place outside of the classroom and that theoretical knowledge is only useful if applied to real-life, on-the-job situations.

Classes meet once a week in the evening for four hours. Study groups meet outside of class to prepare projects and assignments before the upcoming week.

"With the teamwork approach of using study groups and projects within the cohort model, students can draw on a greater pool of ideas, and they have the opportunity to learn quickly that the effectiveness of one person can be greatly enhanced by utilizing the other members of the group," said Sherry McCarthy, vice president and academic dean.

Because of the nature of programming --focusing effort on one course at a time -- 90 percent of all students finish their program successfully. Each course in the master of education program normally runs six weeks in length.

"William Woods University is a leader when it comes to designing quality programs for nontraditional adult students. Everything we do is specifically designed to help adults succeed in reaching their goals as efficiently as possible," said McCarthy.

In addition to the master of education, William Woods offers several other graduate and adult studies programs, including the ACCESS program of general education, an associate of arts degree in liberal studies, a bachelor of science in management, a bachelor of science in management with human resources emphasis, a B.S. in paralegal studies and a new bachelor of social work degree.

Graduate programs include a master of business administration and degrees with accounting, agribusiness, health management or human resources emphasis and a specialist of education in school administration or curriculum leadership.

William Woods can tailor any of its programs for a particular business or community. Information is available at www.WilliamWoods.edu.