Online Graduate Programs in Education Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The University of New England is regionally accredited by the New England Commission on Higher Education (NECHE), which accredits schools and colleges in the six New England states. Accreditation by the Commission indicates that the institution has been carefully evaluated and found to meet standards agreed upon by qualified educators.

Regional accreditation is the primary type of institutional accreditation recognized in the United States. Some institutions with online programs hold national accreditation because they are unwilling or unable to meet the rigorous standards of regional accreditation. You should also know that many educational institutions holding regional accreditation do not recognize credits or degrees earned at institutions that are nationally accredited. This is very important if you plan on transferring from one college or university to another part way through a degree program, or if you plan to pursue additional degrees at different colleges or universities.

The following programs are approved for certification in the State of Maine:

• CAGS AEL is approved for Building Administrator certification (040)
• MSEd – Educational Leadership is approved for Building Administrator certification (040)
• MSEd – Special Education is approved for the Teacher of Students with Disabilities 282 endorsement
• MSEd – Reading Specialist is approved for Literacy Coach Certification (092)

Your state may offer reciprocity for these certifications. None of our online graduate programs are approved for initial teacher certification.

You can complete your studies at your convenience in the comfort of your own home. No campus visits are required. You will have access to your coursework 24 hours a day, which can be completed around your busy schedule.

No. All of our courses are asynchronous – you choose when to log in and complete your coursework (while adhering to all posted deadlines and due dates, of course). In the event there is a live session, the instructor will make the video available for viewing at any time.

On average, most students spend 15-20 hours per week studying to ensure completion of one three-credit course per eight-week term. However, this can vary greatly depending on your personal and professional circumstances.

Historically we have found that students have the most success by starting out with one course per eight-week term. However, if you can show that you are able to complete the coursework competently, you may contact your student support specialist to explore enrolling in more than one course per term.

The following applies to only to our MSEd and PMC programs.

At UNE Online, a focus area is a suggested bundle of electives in a specific area of interest.

You can choose your electives from our suggested groupings in four optional focus areas (curriculum & instructional strategy, literacy K-12, special education, and educational leadership), or you can customize your degree by selecting a combination of electives that best serves your professional interests. Even if you choose an optional focus area, you are not forced to take all of the courses in that focus area; for instance, you could take four online learning courses, and one literacy course. We also allow our students to take electives from our other online graduate programs: you can find these on the Shared Interprofessional Course List page. This flexible offering allows you to customize your course plan based on your specific career goals.

While this bundle of electives will be listed on your transcript and the focus area can be emphasized on a personal resume, please note that the focus area title will not appear on your transcript or diploma.

Educational professionals spanning teachers, librarians, administrators, technology specialists, and others can find great value in our programs. To ensure your success, you can find descriptions of typical assignments below:

Assignments that involve analysis of classroom and school data: How learning is measured in a classroom or school-wide setting? You may need access to classroom assessment data, standardized test data, or commonly developed and scored assessments to answer this question. If you are working as an administrator, teacher or paraprofessional you probably already work with these sorts of data regularly.

Assignments that involve curriculum and instruction: What is the adopted curriculum of your school or district? What training goes with it? Who is responsible for choosing and reviewing it? Beyond a traditional classroom setting, other school personnel such as school counselors, librarians often have curricular responsibilities. Other topics central to your school setting might cover how instruction is evaluated or how new teachers are mentored.

Portfolios of professional work: Some courses may require that you create, utilize or reflect upon collections of your professional work. This could include lesson and unit plans, strategic plans for faculty development, presentations to colleagues, or committee work.

Our online graduate programs do not offer initial teacher certification at this time.

All MSEd options may be completed in fewer than two years. Get in touch with an enrollment counselor to discuss a schedule that will fit your needs.

Our MSEd program allows students to earn a more customizable degree by choosing half of the electives based on their areas of interest. The MSEd-EL program is designed for students looking to move into a more formal leadership role such as assistant principal or principal. The MSEd-RS program is designed specifically for students interested in becoming a certified Literacy Specialist. The MSEd-SE program is designed specifically for students interested in becoming a certified Special Education teacher.

The Master of Science in Education – Educational Leadership prepares you to become an assistant principal or principal and is approved preparation for the Building Administrator (040) endorsement in the State of Maine. The Master of Science in Education – Reading Specialist program prepares you to become a Reading Specialist or Literacy Coach in a K-12 setting, and this program is approved preparation for Literacy Specialist Certification (092) in the State of Maine. The Master of Science in Education – Special Education programs offers the 282 Endorsement for Teachers of Students with Disabilities in the State of Maine, which will correspond to the educator’s current level of teacher certification in the State of Maine (i.e. 282E-Elementary K-8 or 282S-Secondary 7-12).

If you are looking for certification or reciprocity in a different state, we encourage you to review your state’s certification requirements with our interactive map.

Upon acceptance, students may apply to transfer up to three 3-credit courses (maximum of nine credits) into the Master of Science in Education or Master of Science in Education – Educational Leadership programs.  Transfer credit cannot be accepted into the Master of Science in Education – Special Education or Reading Specialist degrees.

In order to be considered, courses must:

• Be classified as graduate level.
• Be worth 3 credits.
• Have been taken within five years of application.
• Have been completed with a grade of “B” or better.
• Be equivalent to one of the required program courses or an elective course that meets the goals of the student’s education.

To request consideration for transfer credit, a student must provide an official transcript and a course syllabus for each course. Your enrollment counselor or student support specialist can assist you with this request.

Yes, our PMC students or any PMC student from a regionally accredited institution are welcome to transfer up to four 3-credit courses (maximum of twelve credits) into our Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) program.

Transfer courses must:

• Be classified as post-master’s level.
• Be worth 3 credits.
• Have been taken within five years of application.
• Have been completed with a grade of “B” or better.
• Be equivalent to one of the required program courses or an elective course that meets the goals of the student’s education.

Transfer credit is not accepted for the Post-Master’s Certificate at this time.

The 15-credit Post-Master’s Certificate can be completed in less than one year. Get in touch with an enrollment counselor to find out the particulars of your program.

You may be able to complete your CAGS or CAGS AEL in fewer than two years. Get in touch with an enrollment counselor to find out the particulars of your program.

If you currently have your master’s degree, our 30-credit CAGS in Advanced Educational Leadership (CAGS AEL) will lead to Building Administrator (040) certification in the State of Maine. If you are looking for similar certification in a state outside of Maine, we encourage you to research your state’s certification requirements with our interactive map.

The CAGS AEL internship is a self-designed experience that consists of 150 hours (10 hours/week for 15 weeks) at a site outside of your regular work environment (i.e. with tasks entirely separate from those of your regular, day-to-day responsibilities). You are required to be overseen by an approved mentor at the site, and will continue to complete discussion posts and other coursework in the associated courses, EDU 791/792: Internship I & II, while your internship is underway.

Students should be prepared to coordinate their placement and arrange all relevant documentation before enrolling in this final course to avoid delay of their program completion.

This course is a requirement of State of Maine Building Administrator (040) Certification and our CAGS AEL program. Please note that our generalist CAGS program, which does not lead to Building Administrator (040) Certification, does not have an internship requirement.

CAGS allows students to transfer up to three 3-credit courses for a total of nine credits. This allowance provides increased flexibility and customization of this dynamic certificate.

Yes, our CAGS or CAGS AEL students or any CAGS or CAGS AEL student from a regionally accredited institution are welcome to transfer up to four 3-credit courses (maximum of twelve credits) into our Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) program.

Transfer courses must:

• Be classified as post-master’s level.
• Be worth 3 credits.
• Have been taken within five years of application.
• Have been completed with a grade of “B” or better.
• Be equivalent to one of the required program courses or an elective course that meets the goals of the student’s education.

We have an entire FAQ page dedicated to our online Ed.D. program.

An enrollment counselor is prepared to answer all of your questions and walk you through the steps necessary to apply to this program. Complete an information request to have an enrollment counselor contact you.

Course tuition for our programs can be found on the tuition costs page. The University of New England’s online Graduate Programs in Education offer online students the same outstanding education that campus-based students receive. Easy access to affordable education helps us fulfill our goal of ensuring that every individual who has the desire to further their education has the opportunity to do so.

If you graduated more than a year ago, you will need to reapply. Due to privacy policies, UNE does not keep personal student records for more than a year. However, if you graduated within a year, all you’ll need to do is fill out a continuing education application. Contact an enrollment counselor to get started.