COD, Lewis U. announce Enhanced 2+2 Bachelor of Arts in Education agreement

College of DuPage and Lewis University have announced the details of an Enhanced

2+2 agreement for Teacher Certification that offers COD students a competitively priced, streamlined opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from Lewis University in just four years.

“This is the first program of its kind offered to College of DuPage students wanting a career in teaching,” said Dr. Jean V. Kartje, College of

DuPage Vice President of Academic Affairs. “Through this partnership, in just four years, our students will complete both their associate's degree and a bachelor's degree from Lewis University in education at a very competitive tuition rate. We are pleased to join with Lewis University to make this program available.”

Students in this program will pay COD tuition rates for their first four semesters. For semesters five to eight, Lewis will provide a discounted tuition rate that is 40 percent less than the University's published undergraduate tuition.

The College of Education at Lewis University has worked with more than 60 school districts and has numerous partnership agreements throughout the Chicago region. Programs are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and approved for entitlement by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

Dr. Jeanette Mines, Academic Associate to the Provost at Lewis University said, “We are so pleased to have reached an agreement with the College of DuPage for their education students. This will be a great benefit to them as they enter the field of teaching.”

The first four semesters of classroom and practicum-based coursework will be taught by COD instructors in Glen Ellyn. The fifth semester of advance-level instruction will be taught by Lewis University faculty on COD's campus, with semesters six and seven offered at Lewis University's Main Campus in Romeoville. The eighth semester of this program will include student teaching at Lewis University's partnering school locations near COD's Main Campus in Glen Ellyn.

This agreement is open to new and current COD students, as well as former Teacher Preparation students. Successful completion of this program will result in a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lewis University in Elementary Education, Special Education or a combined degree in Special Education/Elementary Education.

For more information about the Enhanced 2+2 Education agreement, please call COD Admissions Representative Jose Alferez at (630) 942-3146, alferezj@cod.edu, or Joan Williams, Lewis University Director of Advising/Certification Officer, College of Education, at (815) 836-5268, williajo@lewisu.edu.

For information on the COD/Lewis 3+1 Bachelor of Arts agreements in Criminal/Social Justice and Fire Service Administration, please click here.