Two New Degrees to Help Start a Local Teaching Career | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    WASHINGTON, N.C.     Beaufort County Community College will introduce two degree programs to help future teachers begin their college education right here in Beaufort County. This fall, BCCC will offer an Associate in Arts Teacher Prep and an Associate in Science Teacher Prep. Since teaching requires a bachelor's degree, students will complete their program at a university of their choice.


    Beaufort County Schools is the top employer in Beaufort County; and the Washington County Board of Education, the Hyde County Board of Education and the Tyrrell County Board of Education are the second largest employers in their respective counties. This not only means that students who want to live and work locally can find great career opportunities through this new program, but that these school systems are always looking for new talent who are interested in purposeful and engaging work.

    "We are excited about the new opportunities these programs will offer to our students," said Lisa Hill, Dean of Arts and Sciences. "The field of education is an extremely rewarding career opportunity with many options available to new teachers. Education also offers many opportunities for advancement, so students can keep adding credentials and degrees to continue to move forward."

    Students will complete their first two years at Beaufort and then transfer to a university of their choice to complete their remaining two years. This opportunity will save them both time and money. Depending on the university, students can save between $10,000-$14,000 in just tuition in fees by attending Beaufort during their first two years. This does not include money saved by continuing to live at home or money earned by continuing to work existing part-time jobs while attending classes. On-campus classes, as well as online classes, will be available to students.

    Like many other careers that require a bachelor's degree, interested students would previously have had to relocate or face long commutes, options that are not within reach of many residents of BCCC's four-county service area. These two new programs bring the opportunity to work as a teacher to more people in Beaufort, Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington Counties.

    "We are very excited about the opportunity to partner with our local schools to create a 'grow our own' pipeline of high-quality educators that are needed in eastern North Carolina," said Hill.

    Incoming students should contact the Admissions Office at 252-940-6237 or email to sign up.

• Attila Nemecz
• Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator
• Beaufort County Community College
• 5337 U.S. Highway 264 East
• Washington, N.C. 27889
• Ph: 252-940-6387
• Cell: 252-940-8672
• attila.nemecz@beaufortccc.edu