Online Education & Teaching Degree Programs

Pima Community College serves the greater Tucson area with a wide variety of professional programs and degrees, including online programs in teaching. Specifically, PCC offers two teaching programs online: Early Childhood Education and Teacher Education. Early Childhood Education has two tracks that can be earned online, both which result in associate degrees. Then there’s Early Childhood Studies, with one associate degree and four post-degree certificate tracks to choose from. PCC’s online program offerings have two main goals in mind. Some are designed to prepare graduates to go directly into teaching for the first time, while other programs are for those who are already licensed teachers and want additional training in a specialized area, such as the Certificate in Special Education Mild-Moderate Disabilities.

Estrella Mountain Community College provides a number of courses and degree granting programs for future teachers in Arizona. Many of these programs are designed to allow students to transfer to other postsecondary institutions in Arizona. However, the only option that’s available online is the Gifted Education Endorsement program. Consisting of six courses and 18 credit hours, this endorsement results in a Certificate of Completion and is designed to help existing teachers better meet the individual needs of their students. Two of the classes are practicums, and require hands-on experience. Before completing these final two courses, students must possess a valid IVP fingerprint clearance card.

Students interested in studying for their teaching credential online have plenty of academic tracks to choose from at Pitt Community College. For those looking to earn a degree, there’s Early Childhood Education, which consist of 66 credit hours. For those interested in a certificate, there are five Early Childhood Education certificate programs available, all of which are fully online. Finally, Pitt Community College also has an early Childhood Education Diploma program, which consists of 42 credit hours. All of Pitt Community College’s online distance learning programs are fully online, except for its Early Childhood Education degree track, which requires some face-to-face learning, such as the Early Child Capstone Practicum.

College of the Ouachitas is a public, two-year college located in Malern, Arkansas. The school offers three online programs, one of which is the Associate of Applied Science in Early Childhood Education. This program, along with many other courses offered at the College of the Ouachitas, is delivered online through the Blackboard Learn online course management system. The associate degree in Early Childhood Education prepares graduates to work with infants all the way through pre-school age. The curriculum was specifically designed to prepare students to begin employment in the child care field immediately after graduation. Therefore, this program is not ideal for those wishing to use it as a springboard to earning a bachelor’s degree at another college or university.

Northeast Mississippi Community College offers a variety of online and hybrid courses, including those available for their teaching-related programs, such as Early Childhood Education Technology or Special Education. Most of these programs are not fully online, but will have a curriculum where a number of courses are available online or in a hybrid format. Students taking online courses use Canvas as their online management system. This allows students to view grades, submit assignments, obtain course materials, and engage in online classroom activities. One of the more advantageous points about NMCC is that it is a part of the Mississippi Virtual Community College. This is a joint effort of Mississippi community colleges that allows students from one member school to take an online course from another member school.

Holmes Community College students interested in a career in education can choose from more than 10 programs, all of them leading to an associate degree. Many of these programs have hybrid curriculums; many, but not all, of the courses may be taken online. Some of these classes are offered by HCC, but some will be offered through the Mississippi Virtual Community College, which is a cooperative of 14 Mississippi post-secondary institutions. Regardless of who offers the specific class, students will utilize Canvas as the course management software. Many of these education programs can also lead to a bachelor’s degree. Therefore, prospective students must pass either the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators or have scored at least a 21 on composite ACT equivalent to be admitted into an HCC teacher education program.

Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College prides itself on its online education options. Through the Mississippi Virtual Community College Consortium, students have access to approximately 3,000 online courses, with more than 350 online courses taught by MGCCC instructors. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that aspiring teachers can choose among the following fully online education programs: Elementary Education K-8, Secondary Teacher Certificate – English, and Secondary Teacher Certificate – History. For other programs and courses, distance learning may still be found. For example, many of MGCCC’s offerings come in either a hybrid or web enhanced format. The latter refers to a traditional on-campus class with online components.

Northeast Community College offers two potential online programs in education. The first is an Associate of Arts degree in elementary education, which typically takes two years and at least 60 credit hours to complete. This program is designed for students who intend to transfer to a four year college or university and earn their bachelor’s degree in teacher education. The second is an Associate of Arts or Associate of Applied Science degree in early childhood education; both paths require at least 60 credit hours for completion. Either will prepare graduates to work in child care settings, as well as preschool and Head Start environments.

Amarillo College serves students in Amarillo, Texas and the surrounding areas and provides more than a dozen fully online programs. Included is an Associate of Arts in Teaching in Education – Secondary. This curriculum consists of 60 credit hours and is specifically designed for students who intend to transfer to a university to earn a bachelor’s degree and eventually teach at the high school level. Because students in this program intend to transfer to another school, 42 credit hours belong to general education requirements and only six credit hours related to the education major. However, 12 credit hours of the curriculum are completely open and their selection will depend on the university to which the student intends to transfer.

Vance-Granville Community College offers a variety of online learning options for students in Henderson and surrounding areas of North Carolina. With the help of the Moodle online learning management system, a number of class offerings can be completed fully online. But for those looking to begin a career in education, only hybrid programs are available; this means some of the curriculum components will be available online while others require students to attend a traditional classroom. VGCCC has several education programs available, including Early Childhood Education (both certificate and associate degree), Early Child Hood Diploma, Infant/Toddler Care (certificate) and Lateral Entry (certificate). Most of the online classes are asynchronous, although some teachers reserve the right to schedule webinars at a set time and require certain assignments to be completed by a specific deadline.