Duquesne+University+cuts+tuition+for+future+teachers

=By Kari Andren= =//Published by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review//= =//8/18/11//= = = = = =Despite thousands of teacher furloughs across Pennsylvania, Duquesne University is intensifying its efforts to recruit students for its School of Education.= =The university will offer a 50 percent discount on tuition and fees for all freshman who enroll in the School of Education in 2012, officials said on Wednesday. Because the discount is good for all four years students are in the program, the value of the discount will grow as tuition and fees increase.= =For 2012, education majors will pay about $14,000 less than students in other fields.= =Tuition for the 2011-2012 term is $26,413, and fees amount to more than $2,800, according to the school's website.= ="For the School of Education at Duquesne, the preparation of teachers is a social justice issue," Olga Welch, dean of the School of Education, said in an interview yesterday. "At a time when other disciplines or other universities may be downsizing their focus on teacher education, because we believe it's a social justice issue ... for us, it is imperative that we invest in preparing teachers."= =Paul-James Cukanna, associate provost for enrollment management, said the university usually enrolls 75 to 80 students in each class in the School of Education, and the discount will apply to the entire freshman class in the fall.= =Officials said they realize the marketplace for teachers is daunting in Pennsylvania.= =Statewide, about 4,000 teachers were furloughed this year, including 49 Pittsburgh Public School Teachers, in part because of a $900 million cut in state aid to schools.= =Cukanna said this fall's freshman class of education majors has about 10 fewer students than average. He said the university wants to keep its enrollment up regardless of the marketplace, because not all education majors go on to teach in the classroom. Duquesne's program provides a foundation for students to go to law school or graduate school or work in other professions, he said.= ="We're not sitting back and being Pollyanna about the existing market forces," Welch said. "At the same time, we care enough about the future of children and youth (that) we're willing to continue to invest even though the market right now is a challenge."= =In North Carolina, a program that offered a free ride to education majors who committed to teaching there for four years upon graduation will draw to a close after 25 years because of state budget shortfalls. This fall's college freshman class will be the last to receive scholarships under the N.C. Teaching Fellows Program, according to news reports.= = Read more: [|Duquesne University cuts tuition for future teachers - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review] [] =

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