Miami University

Scholarship cuts costs in half for educators

11/30/2005

Starting in January, Miami University will offer a new scholarship to Ohio's K-12 educators that will lower their tuition and fees for professional development and/or earning a graduate-level degree by 50 percent.

The Teacher Education Access at Miami (TEAM) scholarship recognizes the important contributions Ohio’s teachers and school administrators provide to the citizens of Ohio, said Miami Provost Jeffrey Herbst. “Individual educators clearly will benefit, but so will the communities they live in. Study after study says that education is the key to keeping Ohio economically viable. These scholarships also reflect Miami’s commitment to our region and to the state of Ohio,” he said.

Miami’s faculty have traditionally played a major role in classroom innovation and reform, said Sally Lloyd, interim dean of the School of Education and Allied Professions, who explained that the scholarship program will enhance the university’s ability to make a difference in how students learn.

“We anticipate that Ohio educators, many of whom are already well aware of the quality of Miami’s programs for teachers and administrators, will increasingly turn to us for career development,” said Lloyd.

This past year, an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 teachers and/or administrators paid for courses at Miami’s Oxford, Hamilton or Middletown campuses (additional educators took part in free workshops where participants’ fees are paid via grants). The TEAM scholarship will reduce the cost of a three-credit summer school graduate course this summer from $1,214 to $607 on the Oxford campus and from $1,113 to $506 on the regional campuses.

Eligibility requirements for the TEAM scholarship program will be simple, as will be the application process, according to Lloyd. Any educator who meets the following requirements will be automatically eligible for a TEAM scholarship:

• Full-time teacher or administrator in an Ohio school district or school (public, private or charter).
• Holds a provisional or professional license or holds a standard certificate issued by the state of Ohio.
• Resident of the state of Ohio.
• Course(s), degree program, or continuing education workshop(s) to be taken are part of the educator's approved professional development plan.

For additional information, call the dean’s office at 513-529-6317 or go to www.muohio.edu/eap/team_scholarship for a downloadable application and other information.