Courses will be offered this fall at Tusculum College's Knoxville Regional Center in a new bachelor's degree program that leads to professional K-6 teacher licensure.

The new program will provide participants the opportunity to earn a bachelor of arts degree in education and professional K-6 teacher licensure on a schedule designed to accommodate the many responsibilities and time demands of working adults.

An informational meeting about the program will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 14, at the college's Knoxville Regional Center. Courses in the program are projected to begin in October.

The bachelor of arts degree program, which will be offered initially at Tusculum's Knoxville Regional Center, is similar to the K-6 teacher education licensure program offered for traditional-age college students on Tusculum's main campus in Greeneville. However, the new program will be delivered using the accelerated format utilized in the existing degree programs offered to working adults through Tusculum's Graduate and Professional Studies program, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

Designed to be convenient for adult students, the new program allows participants to complete the required 67 semester in the professional education teacher licensure sequence in 18 months. The program involves 16 courses in the major and professional education - 13 in the classroom and three in student teaching.

Sharing the same innovative framework as Tusculum's other successful programs for working adults, students in the new program will take one course at a time in a collaborative atmosphere open to adult learning styles. Classes will meet twice a week with the same cohort of students moving intact through the curriculum. Supportive learning teams will also be created in each cohort group.

Teaching in the program are qualified instructors who are current in the field of education and experts in the practical application of concepts. Many are now teaching or have recently taught in public schools. A member of the education faculty also serves as an advisor for students in a dual academic advising model, which also provides for guidance through the program from a full-time academic advisor.

Students who may lack the general education credits required for the program may earn them through Tusculum's Gateway program, testing, or a prior learning portfolio. The Gateway program provides students an opportunity to take courses in such disciplines as English, science, mathematics, computer literacy, social science, health, and the humanities to meet the general education requirements in the accelerated schedule format.

Individuals who have already completed a bachelor's degree who wish to add the teaching licensure to that degree may do so through this program, but must meet all applicable requirements regarding admission to the program, required coursework, and admission to student teaching.

Students will meet for the classroom coursework in the Knoxville Regional Center, a state-of-the-art facility, featuring seminar-style classrooms, space for learning team meetings, a computer lab, a library with computers available for student use, available instructional technology, ample parking, and a snack/kitchen area.

The Knoxville Regional Center is located minutes from Interstate 40 at the intersection of Pellissippi Parkway and Lovell Road. It houses the Graduate and Professional Studies office that coordinates its degree programs at the center and 12 other sites from Sevierville to Chattanooga. The Graduate and Professional Studies office on the Greeneville campus coordinates the degree programs at sites from Morristown to the Tri-Cities in Northeast Tennessee.

In addition to the new bachelor of arts degree program in education, Tusculum's Graduate and Professional Studies offers a bachelor of science degree program in organizational management with optional concentrations in human resource management and marketing. The program also offers a master's degree in organizational management and a master's degree in education with three concentration options - K-12, organizational training and development, and human resource development.

For more information about the new degree program, please contact the Knoxville Regional Center at (865) 693-1177 or 1-800-729-0116.