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UND, Whitewater Learning team up for online PD

PD-online

Offering will connect educators with graduate-level PD credits

Whitewater Learning and the University of North Dakota have teamed up to offer a set of online professional development solutions for educators.

Teachers and other licensed education professionals throughout the United States can now earn graduate-level, professional development (PD) credits for just $50 per semester credit, through the University of North Dakota and its online professional development resources partner, Minneapolis-based Whitewater Learning LLC.

The new offerings provide affordable professional development for educators, saving them time and stress by allowing them to work online at their own pace and on their own schedule. They also receive access to an extensive library of high-quality professional development courses pre-approved for credit by UND. Educators in many states can use the UND-issued PD credits to meet their state’s licensure renewal requirements. (Details at www.whitewaterlearning.org/University_of_North_Dakota [1] and http://educators.und.edu/workshop/?id=TL.WWL.STRM15. [2])

Cost of the program is $299 for a one-year, individual subscription for online coursework and program administration from Whitewater Learning, plus UND’s customary fee of $50 per semester credit.

Next page: What UND faculty are saying about the PD offerings

“This is a very practical and easy to use system for educators,” says Kim Jones, coordinator of UND’s Professional Development for Educators program. “Most teachers would rather spend their time with their students, than having to make time to go to workshops, seminars, conferences and the like, and this program frees them to spend more time in the classroom. All of the courses are on-demand, ready for use by teachers whenever they have the time.

“UND is excited to have Whitewater as a new online professional development partner,” says Jones. “This partnership expands our online professional development program and allows UND to offer more opportunities for educators nationwide.”

The University of North Dakota offers a 900-level continuing education credit for professional development offerings to educators that have completed their bachelor’s degree. These credits, referred to as graduate PD credits, are used by educators to earn continuing education clock-hours for educator license renewal. One credit is equivalent to 15 clock-hours.

Some states, such as North Dakota, require continuing education credit to be approved and transcripted (certified) by a regionally accredited institute of higher education–such as UND–for state license renewal of teachers, administrators and other licensed professions in education. And school districts in some states require continuing education credit to be approved and transcripted by an institute of higher education in order to use the professional development for lane changes resulting in wage increases.

PD credits through UND are more affordable at $50 per credit, but are generally not transferable into university degree programs. Students can also purchase access to single Whitewater courses, at $19 per clock hour. Group subscription rates are also available for school districts and individual schools that want to provide access to Whitewater content to their staff members. Individuals should check with their local state licensing board and/or human resources department for specific relicensing and lane change requirements. (Learn more at www.whitewaterlearning.org/Academic_Partners.)

Material from a press release was used in this report.