Support the 9th Semester Student Teacher Candidates

It has been brought to the attention of the Education students at Illinois College that the proposed ninth semester tuition waiver has been rejected. Please see the URLs at the bottom of this page to view the minutes from the Teacher Preparation Committee meeting discussing the waiver as well as the original newsletter all Education students received last semester detailing the proposed waiver for those that are unfamiliar with it, or for those that would like to be refreshed on the issue.

This is devastating news to many Education students because of the many problems we have faced in trying to reach all of the requirements set by the state and by Illinois College. For many of us, a ninth semester is absolutely necessary in order to receive the proper endorsements while still meeting major/general education requirements. However, under normal circumstances, grants and scholarships do not extend beyond eight semesters, and so it is nearly impossible for some to graduate on time without dropping parts of their majors, minors, and/or only receiving one endorsement and still receive the liberal arts education we came here to get.

It is for this reason that we would like to request the help of the Illinois College community in fighting for accommodations to be made for the students affected by this issue.

We will be proposing a tuition discountnot a free semesterhighlighting why it is necessary for a lot of students to take nine semesters, how the discount (whether it be in the form of a waiver, discount, or scholarship) would be beneficial, the problems we have come across while trying to reach our goals as teachers, etc.

We will also be writing our own individual letters detailing our own experiences with the education department, why it is necessary for us to take a ninth semester, and also why we need tuition assistance.

It would be very beneficial if we could get as many people as possible to support this endeavor. We need to move very quickly because this affects many seniors who were assured they would receive a waiver this coming fall semester. This also affects current freshmen, sophomores and juniors who are dependent upon financial assistance from the college for a ninth semester. If you would like to get involved, please contact the following people for more information:

Nadima Zegar
[email protected]

Mika Doyle
e-mail: [email protected]

Cindy Arnold
e-mail: [email protected]

Please include your personal experiences, comments, and concerns in the comments section provided in the petition. Please maintain a professional and courteous manner in your responses, as we will use this petition in a formal presentation to the administration.

Attached:
Teacher Prep Committee Minutes from Wednesday, November 10, 2004
http://www2.ic.edu/9thsemester/tpcmin.htm

Education Department Newsletter from December 8, 2004
http://www2.ic.edu/9thsemester/newsletter.htm


Thank you for your time and consideration.