CHICAGO–(ENEWSPF)–June 25, 2015. In a unique arrangement, Roosevelt University, Harper College and three Northwest suburban school districts will work together to enhance educational opportunities in the sciences for high school teachers and students in the Northwest suburbs.
High school biology teachers from Districts 211, 214 and 220 will be able to take courses at Roosevelt’s Schaumburg Campus toward a Master of Science in Biology degree, enabling them to teach high school biology courses that will be accepted for credit at the high schools and by Harper College, according to an agreement reached earlier this month by all parties involved.
“Through this partnership, we will be preparing the region’s high school instructors to teach college-level biology and will welcome new members to our diverse graduate student body,” said Robert Seiser, associate professor of biology and director of Schaumburg academic partnerships for Roosevelt’s College of Arts and Sciences.
The first group of 12 high school teachers, who are coming from Districts 211 and 220, will begin their graduate studies at Roosevelt on June 29. Instructors who successfully complete 18 credit hours at Roosevelt and who already hold a master’s degree in a non-biology field of study will be considered eligible to teach college biology and can expect to begin teaching dual-credit biology courses in their high schools beginning in fall 2016.
The agreement officially signed by Roosevelt and member institutions that are part of the Northwest Educational Council for Student Success (NECSS) is expected to be a win-win for all parties involved.
“Thanks to Roosevelt University’s flexibility, our science teachers will be able to conveniently work on their master’s degrees in biology close to home and in the evenings,” said Lisa Small, associate superintendent for instruction at District 211. “We want our instructors to have master’s degrees in their field and this agreement will enable them to reach that goal,” she added.
With 18 hours of graduate-level training in biology at Roosevelt in addition to a master’s degree in any field, teachers from the three Northwest suburban high school districts will qualify to teach college-level biology courses and will also be halfway toward completing Roosevelt’s Master’s in Biology degree.
“This is a strategic arrangement that will increase higher education opportunities for many more young people in the Northwest suburbs,” said Maria Moten, assistant provost and dean of enrollment services at Harper College. “Roosevelt has been collaborative and accommodating in this endeavor. It is the kind of connectivity we need in order to be successful in delivering enhanced education opportunities in the Northwest suburbs,” added Moten, who anticipates enrolling more students from the three high school districts in science programs at Harper as a result of the new collaboration.
While Roosevelt’s immediate role will be to provide advanced training in biology to the region’s high school science teachers, Seiser believes there could be a long-term benefit to the University as well. “We’re looking at opportunities in the future for more undergraduate science students from Harper to attend Roosevelt and complete their bachelor’s degrees,” said Seiser, who is part of continuing discussions with NECSS to create similar, additional education opportunities in the sciences for many of the region’s high school teachers and students.
Source: www.roosevelt.edu
