Northwestern, NOC Enid Campuses Develop Partnership Program to Help with Teacher Shortage; Advisement Sessions Planned

March 22, 2022

There continues to be a teacher shortage in the State of Oklahoma so the Enid campuses for Northwestern Oklahoma State University and Northern Oklahoma College are partnering to do something about it.

A fast-track course of study for completion of the elementary education degree has been developed for the students at these two institutions of higher learning to meet the specific needs of our Enid area community. This program will allow Enid campus students to earn an associate’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in three and a half years, enabling them to be in the classroom and teach more quickly than they could through traditional programs.

“A student needs to enter this program at the very beginning of the coursework to benefit from the fast-track initiative,” said Dr. Christee Jenlink, associate dean of education and professor of education at Northwestern, adding that students will be taking courses simultaneously at Northwestern-Enid and NOC Enid.

“As Oklahoma is facing a teacher shortage, this program allows students to obtain their degrees faster while still receiving the same great quality education for which Northern and Northwestern are known,” said Tiffany Meacham, Enid academic adviser for elementary education at NOC.

The fast-track program will meet current standards for educator preparation so that completers have the knowledge and skills necessary to become highly effective educators who are ready to support the learning needs of Oklahoma’s students.

Jenlink noted that as a state requirement, the students will continue to complete their student teaching assignments in their final semester of school.

“We are very excited about this partnership,” said Dr. Bo Hannaford, executive vice president at Northwestern. “We feel this gives opportunities in Enid for teacher candidates to participate in innovative programs while meeting the education needs in northwest Oklahoma and the state.”

Northwestern and NOC will be having advisement sessions regarding this fast-track program at the NOC Enid campus in Montgomery Hall and in the lobby of the Zollars Building from 8 a.m. to noon on March 28-29 and April 18-19.

To learn more about this program, contact Mr. Jeremy Hise, vice president at NOC Enid, at (580) 548-2393 or jeremy.hise@noc.edu; or Dr. Josh Hawkins, assistant professor of education at Northwestern-Enid, at (580) 213-3182 or jlhawkins@nwosu.edu.

-NW-