Fairmont State University is proud to offer an online Educational Leadership Certificate beginning in the fall of 2019 to help prepare those with a Master’s degree for a leadership position in education.

The Educational Leadership certification is 18-credit hours with an additional 6-credit hours to obtain a superintendent endorsement. One of the primary purposes of the program is to increase the supply of effective and well-prepared school leaders in West Virginia public schools. 

“We are thrilled to offer a certification program supportive of working professionals that is rooted in research and best practice. Students in this program will receive quality instruction from experienced professionals who are current or retired principals, assistant superintendents, and superintendents from within our Professional Develop School partnership,” Dr. Amanda Metcalf, interim associate dean of the School of Education, Health & Human Performance said. “The Educational Leadership program is a valuable academic pathway for those aspiring to be principals or superintendents.”

The program is entirely online, designed to accommodate practicing educators with each course being three-credit hours. This will allow those participating to take two 8-week courses per semester with courses also offered during summer. Rolling admission is offered so students are able to enroll at any time.

A Saturday seminar (Leadership Lab) will be offered in conjunction with each 8-week course. Each of these sessions will feature a guest speaker(s) from the school district(s) who will provide first- hand information and experiences related to that particular course. This session may be attended in person or online via video conferencing.

“I believe the commitment demonstrated by Fairmont State University to develop a leadership program indicates the University’s desire to train future leaders for the children of West Virginia,” Dr. Frank Devono, Educational Leadership Program Coordinator said.

Admission requirements include official transcripts, 3.0 GPA, Master’s degree from an accredited institution and a valid teaching license. Upon completion, candidates will be eligible for West Virginia certification as Pre-K through 12 principals, supervisors of instruction, and superintendents.

“Through various conversations with our Professional Development School (PDS) partners, the School of Education, Health and Human performance realized an increasing need for a robust and rigorous Educational Leadership program. This was reverberated through the needs assessment, which we distributed to local county school systems,” Barbara Owens, Director of PDS/Clinical Partnerships said. “The survey response from teachers was validation of that need and we have responded with an exceptional program which will be taught by practitioners.”