MS in FCS Cohort Program Offers Opportunities for High School Teachers

The School of Family and Consumer Sciences at Eastern is a fully accredited program including a graduate program. The MS in FCS generates a great deal of interest from FCS high school teachers and Dr. Lisa Moyer, associate professor and graduate coordinator, noted: “There is a need for FCS high school teachers around the country to get their Master’s and many of them cannot get the time off from full-time teaching to receive their master’s.” After two years of planning and developing, Moyer has developed a mostly hybrid online cohort program for the school’s MS in conjunction with Dr. Linda Simpson, Interim Chair for FCS.

A cohort is a program of study in which a core group of students complete all the courses required in the curriculum together. The students begin the program together, take the same number of courses each semester, and graduate together. 

Years ago, a similar cohort was available in Schaumburg, IL. and was very successful. However, the drawback was the teachers committed to taking classes every other weekend for two years. The teachers enrolled in the new hybrid program already have an undergraduate degree in FCS, have their teaching certificate, and work full-time. With the new, mostly hybrid online version, it is much easier and the teachers are able to complete the program from the convenience of their own home.

Prior to developing the cohort program, Moyer completed a needs assessment with a target audience and asked 15 FCS high school teachers to complete a survey containing questions to determine their specific needs. The results from the survey were used to develop the program. The cohort program took two years to plan and fully develop with the first cohort beginning summer, 2014.

During the first semester of the program, students were required to attend an orientation and reception as well as complete two courses. The students came to campus for a two-week residency period in July. While on campus, they earned four credits, bonded with other teachers and the faculty, learned about the campus, and gained some familiarity with Eastern. The students who began the program this past summer will continue throughout the coming semesters taking all of the courses online to complete 6 hours per semester with 36 hours total and will finish the program in the summer of 2016. 

Moyer also feels the cohort program is a great recruitment tool. “Since they are FCS high school teachers, maybe they can recruit their students to attend Eastern for our undergraduate FCS program,” she explained.

Feedback from the students involved in the summer program has been very positive. “The students loved that they were able to earn four credits in two weeks and were busy all the time,” Moyer noted. “They wanted their time here to be productive and liked that it was.”

In the future, Simpson and Moyer would like to incorporate some children’s programming on campus. If the students have children between the ages of 5 and 12, there could be FCS-related programs such as sewing, cooking, living healthy, positive relationship skills training, etc., offered for them on campus, resulting in a certificate of completion for each. The next step for FCS is developing a Master’s in Gerontology cohort program as well. 

For more information on the FCS cohort program, visit the School of Continuing Education website, eiu.edu/adulted, or contact Lisa Moyer via email: lmmoyer@eiu.edu.