North Central College to transition Educational Leadership Degree to online format

North Central College’s School of Education and Health Sciences and the School of Graduate and Professional Studies recently received approval from the Illinois State Board of Education to transition its Master of Education in Educational Leadership degree program to a 100 percent online delivery format. Beginning Spring 2023, the first course in the program, MEDU 500, will be presented virtually. The remaining coursework will be transitioned to online each subsequent semester.

Illinois previously required a 51 percent face-to-face delivery format for educators seeking principal endorsement. Lifting the face-to-face requirement enables North Central to reach out to a wider audience to provide services to educators across Illinois, including those working in rural areas.

“One thing the COVID pandemic taught us is that we can offer a rigorous, relevant and robust program of principal preparation through the variety of systems available for 100 percent online learning,” said Dr. Bruce A. Spitzer, chair of the department of education at North Central College. “Our program will be a unique combination of asynchronous online work coupled with scheduled virtual class meetings. Candidates will get to know one another and continue to develop those important professional relationships and cohort-based friendships just as if they were taking on campus courses.”

North Central College is committed to inspiring well-equipped, principled and responsible leaders. Through a 4.5-year, $3.2 million grant—the College’s largest private grant ever—North Central has launched character initiatives designed to have a lasting impact on educators, aspiring leaders and administrators. These initiatives focus on social, emotional and ethical competencies with an ultimate goal of nurturing and fostering cultures of character in the school systems in which they serve.

For more information about the College’s Master of Education in Educational Leadership degree program, visit https://www.northcentralcollege.edu/master-educational-leadership.