The average student completing a Master of Education program does so in two to three years. The majority are teaching in the area in which they currently serve as a classroom teacher in either a private or public school. While the program can be completed in two years, few do so as their schedules rarely permit them to go through a cohort model. Many are classroom teachers with young children of their own, while others coach a sport which makes going to class difficult while that sport is in season. Since many of the courses are now online, they can balance their work and university program responsibilities.

The following Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) are threaded throughout each graduate program with a practical emphasis placed on how each is practiced within a particular grade level or specific content at the master's degree level:  

• Build upon the existing knowledge of the foundations of education, the nature of the learner and the learning process, multicultural communities, curriculum and the methods and materials of instruction.
• Develop increased insights and competencies in the techniques of assessment, research, technology and school law.
• Deepen the understanding of one or more subject areas.
• Strengthen the skills in managing and implementing instruction. 
• Strengthen the ethical value systems.
• Strengthen problem-solving skills.
• Increase collaborative efforts. 
• Improve the ability to reflect on practice and learn from experience; 
• Enhance leadership skills.

These graduate programs have been in place since the academic year of 1991-1992. They are specific to building advanced teaching skills for teachers working in a particular grade or content-specific classroom setting. While other graduate programs are often for specific knowledge outside of the classroom setting or are holistic to education in general, the hallmark of these programs has been and continues to be to the classroom teacher.

The Professional Education program works closely with each local education agency to secure placements with veteran teachers who are designated as highly successful and willing to work with teacher education candidates in a supervisory role. Through collaboration with these school districts, our candidates are placed in a variety of classrooms where clinical teachers represent a broad range of backgrounds and experiences. In addition, many adjunct faculty members are highly experienced teachers. All of these teachers are trained in the supervision process and provide excellent constructive feedback to our candidates.

The Teacher Education Program is nationally accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). This accrediting body requires evidence based measures to ensure continuous improvement throughout our teacher education program. Through bi-annual stakeholder meetings with local school officials and educators, including the College of Arts and Sciences faculty involved in our secondary programs, program data is analyzed to determine necessary improvements within our various programs. Feedback is solicited continually throughout our program. The feedback provided through surveys of graduates of our programs, as well as students currently enrolled in our programs and administrators who hire our students, add a voice to this data analysis and allow for targeted improvements. The student organization within the Professional Education Department allows faculty to gather student input throughout their enrollment in our program. Our program has developed a Problem Based Learning approach to determine the next best steps toward improvement.