Educational Leadership Degrees Build Strong Foundations

In the field of education, there is a strong need for leaders and administrators who will be able to instill confidence in the teachers who work for them, the students who learn from them, and the parents who trust their children to them. The educational system is in flux right now and school environments are changing. Parents are holding teachers more accountable than ever for the success of their children, and governments are using standardized testing to measure the effectiveness of teachers. Good educational leaders are not those who simply hand out directions and expect that they will be followed; rather, they are those who pave the way for success through knowing the current lay of the land and leading by example. Building these critical leadership skills necessary for the modern school administrator begins with a solid educational foundation.

Many Areas of Specialization

There are a variety of degrees in Educational Leadership available, both available online, in a traditional setting and in a setting that combines both. The choice is really up to the person pursuing the degree. Educational leadership degrees can range from master's-level degrees up to the doctoral level. These degrees help interested professionals pursue positions such as assistant principal, principal, or superintendent; and help administrators enter leadership positions at the local, state and national level. The requirements for these specific positions vary from state to state, and acceptance into these programs usually requires a bachelor's degree.

Many states require teachers to receive a master's degree within a few years of starting their teaching career. Even teachers who have no designs to become administrators or policymakers can benefit from continuing their education by staying on top of the most current trends.

Leadership Skills

In educational leadership programs, participants learn a variety of skills including historical applications, qualitative applications, theories about leadership, skills in analysis of a variety of situations, communication skills both as a skilled writer and an orator, skills in problem-solving and critical analysis of situations that appear instantly, how to develop team-building qualities in a staff and, in the age in which we live, technology skills that will be critical to both job performance and curriculum development. Courses will be specific to the state in which the degree is being sought but these skills will enhance the knowledge base of each participant and help them develop the critical thinking skills needed for the administrative roles they seek.

The current state of our educational system is in flux. Now, more than ever, school districts and states are seeking qualified leaders to help their schools and their students succeed.

The Educational Leadership program DOES NOT lead to teacher or administrator certification, licensure, or endorsement in any state in the United States. These programs are designed to enhance the skills and knowledge of students who are already certified, licensed or endorsed and for students who are interested in pursuing these degrees for reasons other than obtaining teacher or administrator certification, licensure, or endorsement. Additionally, the credits earned through participating in these programs offered by Argosy University are unlikely to be transferable to any other similar program that is approved for teacher or administrator certification, licensure or endorsement in any State.

 

Scholarship Opportunities,,,Where to Look for Them?

There are many scholarship opportunities available, so never limit yourself to applying for just one. Research as many funding sources as you can, and learn which ones you may qualify for, then apply promptly.

Find at least two search engines with which you’re comfortable--use both to search for scholarship opportunities. Three good examples include http://www.collegeanswer.com/, http://www.fastweb.com/ and http://www.scholarships.com/. International students, be sure to search http://www.internationalscholarships.com/. Remember to check the schools that you are applying to. Many schools offer scholarships to students that seek them.

Use your parents/family members! Many companies offer scholarships solely to the children/relatives of employees.

If receiving lots of e-mail from a search engine bothers you, set up a scholarship-only email account. This will keep all of your scholarship information in one place, your regular inbox won’t be overflowing, and when you use your scholarship e-mail, you are more focused on searching for scholarship information.

Organize the information in a way that makes sense to you. For example, when using Fastweb, click on the “deadline” heading to sort the scholarships according to deadline.

Look where you’re going! If you are headed for a specific field, look at the leaders in that field or industry, check their websites for scholarship opportunities. For example, a pre-nursing or pre-med student should check out websites for drug manufacturers or companies that do medical research. Most companies’ websites are searchable. Try searching “scholarships.” If that doesn’t yield results, try “foundation” or “philanthropy.”

You can also check the websites of major companies for scholarship opportunities.

Look at local organizations/groups such as churches and recreational centers

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Excellent Scholarship Resources!

1. Adventures in Education: Use this quick search engine to learn about 15,000 scholarships available to a wide variety of students and college needs.

2. Broke Scholar: You don’t need to be broke to find scholarships at this search engine, home to over 850,000 scholarship award listings. Fill out a profile that provides information about you and your goals, and you can define your search to fit your specific needs.

3. Careers and Colleges: You can register for free to search through over seven billion dollars in college scholarships and grants at this online search engine. Careers and Colleges also offers a $2,000 monthly scholarship giveaway.

4. CareerOneStop: This career site provides a search engine that links to more than 5,000 scholarships, fellowships, loans and other financial aid opportunities. The search is divided by award type, residence preference, study level and affiliation restrictions.

5. College Board: Find scholarships, internships, grants and loans that match your education level, talents and background. This database contains over 2,300 sources for college funding.

6. College Data: Find scholarships that match the eligibility criteria you enter for your grade point average (GPA), gender, residency, ethnicity/heritage, religion and area of study.

7. CollegeFunds.net: Sign up to receive information about student loans, scholarships and other financial aid resources.

8. CollegeToolkit: Enter to win one of this site’s $1,000 scholarships and search through their resources to find more scholarship opportunities.

9. EdFed 2010: America’s top student loan provider also provides a search engine to find scholarships for your online or on-campus education.

10. Education Planner: Search through scholarships available to graduate and undergraduate students at this site, powered by Peterson’s.

11. FAFSA: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid maintains a search engine to find scholarships. Filling out this application for aid also can help you define your answers to many scholarship questions and may provide you with many government resources for student financial aid. You must register to use this resource.

12. FastWeb: This popular college funding resource provides information on 1.3 million scholarships worth over three billion dollars. FastWeb has been assisting students and parents for nearly fifteen years.

13. FindTuition: Register to gain access to over 1.7 million scholarships with a free scholarship search tool that allows users to search, research, target, and manage scholarship opportunities via specific college, athletic, and major targeted searches.

14. Fresch! This free scholarship search engine allows users to fill out a profile and create a custom search for scholarships.

15. Mach25: Enter a series of keywords to find all scholarships that contain those same words in the name or description. You also can fill out a personal profile to find matches for your educational needs.

16. NextStudent: This resource includes consolidated, private student, PLUS, private consolidation and Federal Stafford loans and also runs Scholarships 101, a database filled with over 5.9 million scholarships and grants from over 69,000 sources.

17. Sallie Mae: This search engine provides access to a scholarship database that contains more than three million scholarships for all types of students. You must register to gain access to this information. Sallie Mae also provides college loans.

18. Scholarship Experts: Register to receive information about the scholarships that might work for you as an online college student. Scholarship Experts has been helping parents and students find scholarships and free money since 2001.

19. Scholarship Monkey 2.0: Scholarship Monkey is a free service for students and parents wishing to obtain scholarship information for any academic pursuits. Register, fill out a profile, and gain access to over one million scholarships from over 4,000 sources.

20. Scholarships.com: Fill out a profile to find a scholarship that might fit you and your educational goals and create an application file that contains commonly requested information, save it to your computer and use it to complete future scholarship searches and applications at any Scholarship Data Standard site.

21. ScholarSite: This site is filled with detailed and up-to-date information on approximately 600,000 financial aid opportunities, with the ability to find scholarships by institution, academic discipline and more.

22. School Soup: This search engine will find scholarships that match your interests and profile by searching through $32 Billion worth of scholarships. Scholarships with the best matches are listed first.

23. Student Awards: This site contains a comprehensive database of awards offered by public and private sector and not-for-profit organizations. You also can find awards that are only available to studentawards.com members.

24. StudentScholarshipSearch: Register to search through free scholarship updates across a wide variety of requirements. The site not only focuses on national scholarships, but also includes scholarships by state and level of education. You might also visit the companion site, ScholarshipPoints to earn points for free scholarships worth up to ten thousand dollars.

25. SuperCollege: Register to search through over two million college scholarships, grants, fellowships and contests that can help you pay for your online college education.

Resource:

Online University Data

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Where can I find Scholarships?

High School Guidance Counselors – Counselor should be able to provide you with information regarding many scholarships. In addition to national scholarships, be sure to ask about local scholarship opportunities that may have a much smaller applicant pool.

College or University – Research the college’s website/catalog and financial aid office for information regarding scholarships they offer. A school may award these automatically when you are admitted or you may have to apply separately. Make sure you also contact them to ensure you are award of scholarships that may not be listed.

Online – Free scholarship search engines are the quickest way to search for scholarship opportunities. Once you provide a profile about yourself, you will be matched with scholarships you may be eligible to receive. Most of these search engines offer a large database of scholarships.

Local Business – Offer scholarships give provide students the ability to acquire funding for their college education without having to compete with a large number of applicants in nationwide programs. Check with business owners in your neighborhood to see if they have scholarship programs available.

Local Libraries – Visit the college resource section of your library. You should find a great selection of scholarship books in addition to other information related to the college application process.

Employers (Yours or Parents) – If you work, your employer may offer scholarship opportunities that you can take advantage of. Additionally, many businesses and corporations offer scholarships to employees and their children.

Public and Private Organizations – Many community service organizations, churches and national foundations offer scholarships. Some are based on financial need, but many others are based on academics, leadership, special talent, community service, or heritage. Others offer aid to students majoring in fields related to the company’s products or services. Check out every option. Do your own search and don’t forget to research those organizations with which you or your parents are affiliated.