Master of Arts in Teaching - Community College Instruction
College of Education
Mississippi State University
Mississippi State, Mississippi
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Mississippi State University - Master of Arts in Teaching - Community College Instruction - Overview
Master of Arts in Teaching - Community College Instruction
The Master of Arts in Teaching - Community College Instruction (MAT) distance learning program is an interdisciplinary degree designed to prepare students for careers in community college teaching with special emphases on recruiting and training minority faculty members in order to address the acute shortage of minority faculty members working within the community college system nationwide.
All courses offered in the core curriculum are taught via distance learning through online instructional delivery.
18 hours of coursework in a Teaching Specialty/Content Area are required. Most likely, such instruction is available only in a traditional, face-to-face format depending on the student's discipline of interest/expertise.
All students are required to complete teaching practicums at rural community colleges under the supervision of master teachers. A practicum includes teaching at least one 3-hour course for an entire semester and participating in other activities expected of community college teachers. Students are required to spend a minimum of 225 clock hours in community college environments, which may include but are not limited to teaching, attending meetings, participating in extracurricular activities, etc.
Focuses, Benefits, and Objectives
The MAT program has the following academic focuses:
- Economic Development & Political Leadership
- Administrative & Instructional Leadership
- Ethical Decision-Making & Policy Development
- Situational Leadership & Interpersonal Communication
- Educational Research & Design
- Finance & Budgeting
The MAT program is designed to benefit those individuals who are interested in career options such as the following:
- Educational policy-shaping on a civic or higher level
- Leadership responsibilities in academia
- Transitioning into careers in education
- Administrative/instructional advancement in community colleges and/or 4-yearr institutions
The educational objectives of the MAT are to prepare future rural community college faculty members to:
- Deal with educational, social, and economic changes
- Address and establish organizational changes within rural community colleges
- Be intelligent consumers and users of data
- Improve and implement educational programs within rural community colleges
- Incorporate the knowledge of "best practices" in teaching diverse student populations
- Appreciate and capitalize on the strength of diversity of personnel
- Seek continual improvement through reflection
- Become better decision-makers
Costs of the Program
Students enrolled in the MAT distance degree program will pay the applicable in-state per credit hour tuition rate as set by the state of Mississippi Legislature.
Textbooks are not included in the tuition rates. A student must order textbooks each semester for each course in which he or she is enrolled. Some courses may require additional materials, such as lab manuals. All textbooks are available for online purchase via the Mississippi State University's Barnes & Noble bookstore.
All courses offered in the MAT program are fully accredited through Mississippi State University by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), as well as by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
For successful completion of the program, it is recommended that students have Internet access via DSL or equivalent broadband connectivity option. Traditional dial-up Internet services do not provide adequate support to the many technologies used within the program.
Getting More Information
The Mississippi Department of Education does not formally endorse the WEL, MAT, and CCL programs in regards to providing AA (Master) or AAAA (Doctorate) licensure for K-12 teachers. If you are a K-12 teacher interested in one of the community college studies distance learning programs, please be sure to contact MDE directly regarding what is acceptable in terms of licensure. For more information, you are welcome to visit MDE here at http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/ed_licensure.
For more information about the MAT program, please visit www.distance.msstate.edu/ccs/mat.
It is highly recommended that all prospective students view the Online Student Orientation prior to admitting to any distance education program at Mississippi State University: http://aoce.msstate.edu/SRC/index.html.
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