MAE program undergoes changes

Teaching teachers just got easier.

New changes in the Masters of Arts and Education program will affect the submission and review of student applications, usually submitted in the first semester of the student's senior year.

"One of the big changes has to do with our admissions," said Sam Minner, dean of the school of health sciences and education. "Applications are being accepted at any time."

In past years, applications to the MAE program only were accepted Sept. 15 for the spring semester and April 15 for the fall semester, Minner said.

With the new rolling admission program, applications will be accepted on the first of each month, September through November and February through April, said Susan LaGrassa, department chair of mathematics and computer science.

"We were trying to streamline the process," LaGrassa said. "There's nothing more frustrating than waiting four months to see if you were admitted to a program."

Students also will have the benefit of a more specialized review of their applications. Student admissions now will be handled by professors who teach in the student's intended field of education.

"If you want to be a math teacher, it's really the mathematicians that get together to review the materials," Minner said.

The admissions committee that reviewed all the applications at one time is now called upon only when a student would like to appeal an application, said Wendy Miner, department chair of education.

Another change to the program is the clear layout of specialty admissions requirements, such as the specific courses and grade point averages needed for any given field of education that a student wishes to study.

"With specialty area requirements, there was nothing ever written about what they wanted when looking for admissions," Miner said. "Now it's very clear what every area is looking for in addition to the general requirements."

By today, a page will be on the education department's Web site with links to the specialty area requirements for each major, Miner said. The link to follow will be posted on the left-side menu of www.education.truman.edu.

"This is just a million times better for students," Miner said.