chrisy":77nnow5f said:
In the States can you teach on an Associates Degree?
I saw a programme where a Private school were using Teachers with Associate Degrees, and one with just a High School diploma, I wondered how they would be qualified to teach. I had to do a four year course, and attain a B'ed before I was allowed to teach.
Morning Crissy!
As a former college/university teacher and/or a behavioral psychologist, I have some insight. When I had my Master's, I taught 2 undergraduate and 1 graduate course at a University in Illinois. These positions were "Invited Lecturer in Counseling" (I was a Psychologist at a State Psychiatric Hospital at the time). When I got my Ph.D., I had several gigs at colleges and universities as side jobs.
Now... Two year community colleges will hire a Master's level instructor. Four year and graduate universities rarely will hire anyone without a Ph.D. (or Equivalent).
Exceptions: If someone has licensed technical degree, such as an R.N., O.T., P.T., Certified Welder, Licensed Master Plumber, Electrician, etc., these credentials will usually qualify them to teach in 2 or 4 year vocational or technical programs without a university degree.
More Exceptions: If someone has significant business expertise or status, the college or university degree can be waived. Examples: Bill Gates or Steven Jobs (college dropouts) to teach computer science. A highly qualified business manager (or similar) can be allowed to teach if they have a track record of successful business acumen.
A lot depends on the status and such of the college or university. As another poster has said, a "Private" institution can do pretty much what they want to. A State Supported "Land Grant" institution is usually controlled by the State Board of Education's "rules" (However, ALL facilities must adher to State Standards for education to be "Accredited"). Then there are those questionable "Online" type "Universities" (aka "degree mills") that either offer "degrees" for only "work experience" and/or "pay" for a degree of your choice. On the other hand, there are qualified and respected Universities that also offer online courses and credits (however, those usually require courses in residence at the University in addition as well as being officially enrolled in a degree program at that University).
The bottomline "kicker" is that IF a school is
not "Accredited" by one of the National agencies, then one's course work may not be transferable to an "Accredited" institution.
And, as another poster indicated, there have been exceptions to 4 year or graduate degrees where an "emergency" exists at a school (usually a K-12 school) an otherwise "qualified" person is allowed to temporarily (or pending completion of a degree) to teach at a K-12 school, public or private.
Bill
