With increasing costs at Universities, what are your teaching degree options?
The costs of a 4 year college degree can be a staggering realization for high school graduates wishing to enter the teaching profession. Earning $40,000 a year sounds like a great number, but not necessarily when you have $60,000 to $80,000 of debt hanging over your head after earning your bachelor’s degree and teaching certification.
However, what many young high school graduates, and individuals who have yet to enter college are learning, is that cheaper options are popping up all over. Community colleges have offered associate degree programs that are significantly less expensive than the typical 4-year program. You can earn your associate’s degree, knock off two years of exhorbitant tuition, and be well on your way toward your bachelor’s degree.
In addition, there are a few states where community colleges are starting to offer baccalaureate degree programs as well. These programs typically demand similar price per credit tuition as associate degree programs while offering degrees in teaching, nursing, health administration, and more.
“Miami Dade College (a community college) offers bachelor’s degrees in teaching and nursing and public safety management, and will soon add engineering technology, film production and others.”
- New York Times, May 2nd, 2009
Of course four-year colleges are strongly against community colleges adoption of baccalaureate options. There are various reasons for their disagreement with this advancement in community colleges such as that community colleges will not provide quality education. However, most will be able to see through this argument as an attempt to hang on to a monopoly held by over-priced universities.
So, as a person with a high school education looking to enter the field of education, cheaper options for education are on the rise and will most likely start bringing down tuition costs across the board as enrollment numbers start dwindling at the higher priced universities.
The next step for those looking at their teaching degree options is to contact as many schools as possible, make a spreadsheet of costs, pluses and minuses for each university (online or campus), and set yourself up to make the best choice both economically and for your lifestyle. Even as the economic picture looks bleak across the country, rest assured that in tough times like these you will begin seeing some of the greatest deals of your lifetime, even in education!