Undergraduate Teacher Education Program (UTEP) Receives Innovative Initiative Award
Published: April 13, 2021
On February 12, the Illinois Council on Continuing Higher Education (ICCHE) awarded Greenville College the Innovative Initiative Award for the college's Undergraduate Teacher Education Program (UTEP) with Lewis and Clark Community College and Kaskaskia College. Dr. Vickie Cook , Dean of the School of Education and Dr. Dave Holden , Dean of the School of Professional Studies accepted the award for Greenville College.
Competing against over 20 Illinois colleges and universities, the ICCHE awarded GC's UTEP partnership for its unique design. UTEP allows working adults to begin their degree program at a community college nearby (KC or LCCC) and then complete their bachelor's degree in Elementary Education at Greenville College by attending courses offered in the late afternoon or evenings at the community college partner campuses. Required field experiences and student teaching are also offered in the surrounding communities, allowing students to knit the program into their busy lives.
This initiative is innovative in its approach to bringing teacher education degrees to individuals who may otherwise not have access to a four-year program. Most of the individuals in this program are working parents who maintain a 3.0 or higher grade point average, have a desire to become public school teachers, but who have responsibilities that prohibit them from pursuing a traditional approach to higher education in a residential or commuter program. By bringing the coursework to the community college, students are able to continue their work and home routines while completing their senior level course work and student teaching clinical experience. This program has shown sustainability over five years and continues to evolve and improve.
Associate Professor for Teacher Education at Kaskaskia College Susie Wurth says, "Students at the community college level are looking for high quality education and value. They recognize the high quality education they can receive from Greenville College based on positive comments made in the education community. The value is even more important. Unemployment levels for Kaskaskia College's five county regions are high and students are cognizant that Greenville College offers not only exceptional instruction, but meets student economic needs by offering courses on the main campus, reducing travel and cost of living away from home."
Lewis and Clark Community College was the inaugural partner in the Greenville College UTEP design. "It was clear that we shared the values of student-centered learning and evidence-based decision-making with GC. The program has evolved and changed in response to what we have learned from student learning assessment, program assessment, and best practices. The rewards have been in the form of student graduations and subsequent employment in our communities and in the colleague relationships formed through the shared responsibility for a high-quality, accredited program of teacher education," says Linda Chapman Vice President of Academic Affairs at Lewis and Clark Community College.
Many hours of hard work have gone in to building the Undergraduate Teacher Education Program partnerships. The Innovative Initiative Award is exciting for Greenville College, but pales in comparison to the thrill of seeing students complete the program and go on to fulfilling careers in teacher education. For more information about UTEP and other creative education opportunities at Greenville College go to http://www.greenville.edu/ .
