Virginia Tech School of Education, responding to national demand, has developed an online graduate certificate in special education administration. 

The number of students in the United States enrolled in special education programs has increased by 30 percent in the last decade, according to the National Education Association.

The nine-credit program (three courses) focuses on the contemporary, administrative and legal, and regulatory aspects of special education and is designed to prepare professionals for a career in special education administration. The certificate will also provide a foundation or a refresher for current and aspiring licensed administrators and teachers in special education.

Interested students may apply for the program through the Virginia Tech Graduate School as a non-degree seeking Commonwealth Campus student. This status permits students to take up to 12 graduate credit hours. Students may begin to take courses during the 2015 summer semester.  

“Positions in special education administration are competitive: the knowledge and skills students gain from our graduate certificate program give them a leg-up over other applicants,” said Carol Cash, clinical assistant professor at Virginia Tech and program director for the special education administration certificate.

“If you have a background in special education but need to catch up with current practices, our graduate certificate program will give you the skills and knowledge you need to face the challenges of contemporary school leadership,” said Ted Price, an assistant professor of education.

“Our graduate certificate program provides educational professionals with the skills they need to become leaders in special education, or – in the case of experienced special education administrators – update their knowledge base to keep up with challenging contemporary issues,” Cash said.

Virginia Tech Online offers a number of distance-learning programs including graduate degrees and certificates in diverse fields that include food safety and biosecurity, political science, electrical engineering, information technology, and more. 

“Virginia Tech’s online graduate programs help students learn new skills to either advance themselves in their current career or to make a career change,” said Provost Mark McNamee. “Our programs identify linkages to the relevant profession and industry and strive to create active and meaningful learning for students that carries over into the workplace.”

To learn more, visit the program’s website.

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.

Written by Rebecca Robertson of Richmond, Virginia, a junior majoring in public relations in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.
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