News

The Southern Illinois University (SIU) Board of Trustees, at its regularly scheduled meeting today, approved amending an existing contract with Academic Partnerships LLC to add three SIUE School of Education, Health and Human Behavior (SEHHB) online graduate programs.

In April 2018, the board approved an initial 7-year, $6.9-million contract with Academic Partnerships for targeted recruitment and outreach for online Master’s of Business Administration students for the SIUE School of Business.

The contract addendum will help the SEHHB develop and grow accelerated online master’s programs in the Department of Teaching and Learning and the Department of Educational Leadership: MSED in Curriculum and Instruction, Advanced Teaching Strategies and MSED in Educational Administration leading to Principal or Teacher Leaders endorsement.

“The School of Education, Health and Human Behavior is extremely enthusiastic about increasing our online degree opportunities for education professionals,” said SEHHB Interim Associate Dean Alison Reeves, PhD. “These new opportunities will bring our high-quality graduate programs to a greater geographic region than previously possible in our on-ground program offerings and meet the growing need for additional online options.”

Academic Partnerships will assist with marketing and recruiting prospective graduate students, optimizing course scheduling to enhance student retention and timely degree completion, and assist SIUE faculty in online technical support. 

 “Ultimately, we are here to serve communities, people in general, and students specifically who depend on our efforts to provide a great education,” said SEHHB Dean Robin Hughes, PhD. “We are fortunate in that we will be working with a great partner who also cares deeply about those communities. Together, I am confident that we will provide unique and innovative educational opportunities to this region and beyond. This is an exciting time for the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior.”

The estimated additional cost during the 7-year contract period is $1,801,424. It will be funded by 50% of the tuition and fees generated from the enrollment of new students. The actual amount paid to Academic Partnerships will be based on the number of enrolled graduate students.

Photo (L-R): SIUE School of Education Health and Human Behavior Dean Robin Hughes and Interim Associate Dean Alison Reeves.