NACOGDOCHES, Texas - In response to the state's need for educational leaders and challenging economic times, Stephen F. Austin State University is making selected education degree programs more accessible and affordable for nontraditional students.

The James I. Perkins College of Education is now offering three degree programs completely online and at reduced prices. The SFA programs include the Master of Education in educational leadership with principal's certification, the Master of Education in early childhood and the Bachelor of Science Head Start degree completer program.

"These programs involve existing SFA courses taught by our highly qualified faculty members," said Dr. Judy Abbott, dean of the Perkins College of Education.

"The difference is simply that we have identified these programs as especially critical for preparing future graduates for important work in the field of education. We are becoming more flexible in order to better meet the immediate education needs of today's students, many of whom are working adults with families who don't necessarily live close enough to SFA to attend traditional classes."

The Master of Education in educational leadership with principal's certification is a 30-credit-hour program and is being offered for $5,500. This price is only available to Texas residents.

The Master of Education in early childhood program requires 36 credit hours and is priced at $8,150. Because the Head Start degree is a completer program, cost varies according to the number of college hours a student already has fulfilled. The price for that program is less than $200 per credit hour.

Unique eligibility and admission criteria are required for each of the three programs, Abbott said.

"In the 21st century, there are countless ways in which to earn a degree online," Abbott said. "But SFA's reputation for offering the highest quality programming and providing the best preparation for our education graduates makes our institution stand out in the crowd.

"It's our affordability coupled with our reputation for academic excellence that makes these offerings such an extraordinary value."

The Master of Education in early childhood and Head Start degree completer programs also offer compressed course schedules, reducing the length of each required course from 15 to eight weeks. The concentrated schedule not only allows students to complete their degrees faster, but it also provides six different program entry points throughout the year as opposed to the traditional four.

"Historically, people have thought of a university as a place - a specific location where students go to receive an education," Abbott said. "What we are trying to do with these and other online degree programs at SFA is meet adult workers where they are so that they may take advantage of some of the same education and career opportunities that our traditional students enjoy."

For more information about these online education degree programs, visit sfaonline.sfasu.edu/principal, degree.sfasu.edu/now/early-childhood-education-med and degree.sfasu.edu/now/head-start-completer.