A new cooperative program offered by Coastal Carolina University and Clemson University makes it possible for area educators to earn a Clemson Ph.D. in education at Coastal. The program will officially begin with the fall 2001 semester.

Clemson's Ph.D. program in Educational Leadership in K-12 School Administration will be offered at Coastal through a combination of on- site instruction and distance learning technology. Professors from Clemson will travel to Coastal to teach many of the courses, according to Dennis Wiseman, associate provost at Coastal.

"This program will help to meet the rising demand from area educators and administrators who wish to attain terminal degrees," said Wiseman, who also serves as special assistant to Coastal President Ronald R. Ingle for K-12 education.

"Coastal has made a significant institutional commitment to contribute to the improvement of the quality of education at all levels in our region and across our state, from kindergarten through the college level," said Ingle. "This Ph.D. program opens up a new range of opportunities for educators in the area. It will advance the already high quality of teacher preparation which Coastal provides, and it will elevate the entire climate of education in the Grand Strand-Pee Dee area."

In addition to providing faculty for the program, Clemson will be responsible for all aspects of program delivery, including scheduling classes. Coastal will designate an on-site contact person to provide information on advisement procedures, admissions requirements and tuition. Both institutions will share the responsibility of equipping and maintaining an instructional laboratory at Coastal to be used in the program.

Primarily an undergraduate institution, Coastal offers master's degree programs in education as well as cooperative graduate degrees in other disciplines with other universities in South Carolina.

For more information about the program, contact Wiseman at (843) 349-2600 or by e-mail at: dwiseman@coastal.edu.