The statewide pilot elementary education distance program, a partnership between the University of Wyoming and the state’s community colleges, is set to begin this fall.

The program offers the final two years of the UW elementary education degree program during a three-year period to provide flexibility for non-traditional students who do not have access to the UW campus in Laramie or the UW/Casper College (UW/CC) Center.

The UW College of Education, with assistance from the UW Outreach School, will deliver all of the junior- and senior-level courses via online, teleconferencing or hybrid formats, with some face-to-face meetings that will be centrally located in Casper.

“What we tried to come up with was the best combination of courses, requirements and timing to fit the particular needs of site-bound students,” says Alan Buss, head of the UW Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education.

The pilot program, formally announced in November 2007, was created in response to ongoing requests by community college personnel and site-bound students in Wyoming interested in earning an education degree from UW. The UW Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education has cooperated broadly to bring the statewide program to implementation, Buss says.

The first cohort will launch this fall and graduate in spring 2011. The second cohort begins in the fall of 2009, with graduation scheduled for spring 2012. Graduates complete the same nationally-accredited and recognized program as other UW elementary education students but on a different time-line with adjusted course delivery.

The deadline to apply for the second cohort is next April 15. Packets must include a completed program application form, a copy of the student’s admission letter to UW and current copies of all post-high school academic transcripts.

For more information, visit the UW Teacher Education Program Web site at www.uwyo.edu/ted and click on the “Statewide ELEM Program Pilot” link, or call program coordinator Sharyn Polley at (307) 587-9974 or e-mail srusk@uwyo.edu.