Real Answers by Lyle Kovalenko and Andrea Gullickson – Ed. S. in Educational Administration, Principal

Questions Answered by: 

Lyle Kovalenko, class of 2019

Andrea Gullickson, class of 2019

Q: How long does it take to earn this from beginning to end?

A: It took two full years to complete the degree.  I started taking classes in the summer of 2017 and continued taking classes through the fall of 2017, spring of 2018, summer of 2018, fall of 2018 and spring of 2019. - Andrea

Q: Beyond tuition, what other costs should be anticipated?

A: The other costs included purchasing textbooks. - Andrea

Q: Three years of teaching experience is the minimum, but what is the recommended or typical number of years of teaching experience someone has before earning principal licensure?

A: It really depends on a person’s background. I believe everyone in my cohort had significant teaching experience and all already hold master’s degrees. For me personally, I had only the minimum experience when I enrolled, but I had extensive private-sector experience before becoming an educator. - Lyle

Q: Once this degree is complete, what additional state certification or licensure is needed, and how much does that cost? Do school districts ever help pay for this?

A: In South Dakota, the only additional requirement is one hour of suicide awareness and prevention training.  According to the Department of Education, it is $35 to update a certificate, so the charge is very minimal. - Lyle 

Three other things that I would mention that are strengths of the program:

1. Most classes are taught by professionals who are or have been, practicing administrators.
2. The required internship hours are spread over four semesters, unlike some programs that require them all to be done in one semester or one academic year.
3. The hybrid online/in-person cohort model provides for face-to-face interaction with the instructors and classmates. My network of friends in education was narrow before I began taking these classes, but now it has expanded and includes administrators and teachers in Minnesota, Iowa and all across South Dakota.  -Lyle

Learn more about Ed. S. in Educational Administration, Principal