Both programs use the cohort model, in which all students take the same courses at the same time in lockstep fashion. The newer outreach program is administered by Dr. Richard Lee Haley, distance education program director of the Educational Administration and Leadership Program at NC State. His program delivers two sets of much-needed master's degree classes in school administration to educators in rural counties surrounding Raleigh. N.C. The need for school administrators in North Carolina is every bit as great as the highly publicized need for teachers, Haley says, because of the retirement of administrators and the influx of newcomers to the state. NC State College of Education faculty travel to the rural counties to administer classes.
Students take two classes per semester.
Classes begin in late afternoon and extend into the evening. After four semesters of class work, students serve a year-long internship. The three-year program culminates with the mandated state licensing exam and conferral of the master's degree in school administration. The Internet also plays a role in the NC State distance education programs. The master of school administration program already offers an online course, while the doctoral program will add a Web-based course in its next cohort.