To help students enrolled in teaching degree programs lower the costs of higher education, schools are creating easier transfer opportunities. These efforts can help future degree holders avoid having to retake courses they already completed at other academic institutions.
A total of 11 colleges and universities located in Pennsylvania have signed the Early Childhood Program-to-Program Articulation, which will make transferring education credits earned at a community college to a four-year school easier. This agreement will also help prevent students from having to repeat classes in order to meet the requirements of earning a bachelors degree.
Interested individuals will have the opportunity to transfer 24 to 30 credits, which can be used towards earning a degree in early childhood education, from a two-year school to a four-year school. Any other credit transfers would be used towards general education requirements, including mathematics and language courses, and would allow the student to be considered a junior upon enrolling in the four-year school.
Thomas L. Gluck, the Education Secretary of Pennsylvania, stated that these agreements will "help to create a smoother process to support early childhood professionals as they earn the degrees and certifications necessary for careers in early childhood education."
Government statistics suggest that the employment of kindergarten, elementary, middle and secondary school teachers is expected to increase by 13 percent, and will approximately 468,600 new jobs.
