Texas Wesleyan’s School of Education is adding new online programs for students pursuing their master’s degree, according to the school of education staff.

According to School of Education faculty, the school is moving two of the master’s programs fully into the online forum. One online program is new to Wesleyan, a Curriculum and Instruction Masters of Education with Focus on Urban Education. The Masters of Education with a Focus in Administration is transitioning from traditional learning to the online format.

Dr. Carlos Martinez, the dean of the School of Education, wrote in an email that the new programs will be coming in the fall of 2019. The programs will be offered completely online, which is appealing for students pursuing their master’s degree in Education.

“This year, the AA Committee approved a new Curriculum and Instruction Master of Education with Focus on Urban Education,” Martinez wrote. “This program will be offered completely online. The Master of Education with a Concentration in School Administration is moving to the online format.”

Dr. Lisa Dryden, a professor of Graduate Reading, has been at Wesleyan for 27 years and is excited about the new online programs. Dryden says that the transition to the online forum is a lot of work but market analysis shows that online programs are competitive and provide convenience for students.

“We want to be more competitive because so many universities have online programs,” Dryden says. “We wanted to make more convenient programs for possible students because they enjoy the convenience of online programs rather than having to drive to campus.”

Dryden says that as of now these are the only two programs in the Masters of Education programs that are going fully online. Faculty in the master’s programs will be doing training, through third party eLearning programs, to ensure a smooth transition from face to face learning to the online forum.

Dr. Elsa M. Anderson, an assistant professor of education, says the programs will be a good opportunity to try something new. Anderson is developing courses for the urban education emphasis program; she says it is challenging to modify the length of the courses.

“It can be challenging to develop and move face-to-face courses into full online delivery,” Anderson says. “However, I enjoy the opportunity to think outside the box and create content that fits into the online course forum and maintains opportunity for student engagement and critical thinking.”