WARREN – Northern Pennsylvania Regional College (NPRC) was authorized by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to offer Act 48 continuing education credits for Pennsylvania educators.

According to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, “Act 48 of 1999 requires all Pennsylvania educators holding Pennsylvania public school certification (including Instructional I and II, Educational Specialist I and II, Administrative, Supervisory, Letters of Eligibility, and all vocational certificates) to participate in ongoing professional education. Act 48 requires that collegiate courses, continuing professional education courses (offered by intermediate units), and noncredit continuing professional education programs, activities or learning experiences be ‘related to an area of the professional educator’s assignment or certification.’”

Educators seeking college credits can enroll in any NPRC academic courses beginning this summer to help fulfill their 180 continuing education requirements every five years. The institution offers guaranteed admission to anyone with a high school diploma or equivalent, and applying to NPRC for continuing education students can be completed in just two steps. These steps are: 1) create a free account, 2) complete the application. Additionally, NPRC’s Workforce Development division can deliver an Education Team and Leadership Certification course, as well as other customized professional development training courses for local school districts to assist educators in their continuing education coursework.

NPRC’s Director of Early Entry and Instructional Logistics, Ron Pollock, shared more in depth about offerings for educators in the future at NPRC stating, “There are many classes offered by NPRC that teachers could use to satisfy their Act 48 requirements. In terms of science, we are offering a remote, hybrid section of Biology 115 – The Science of Food in Summer 2025. This course would be a great opportunity for professional development for many different teachers from K-12 as it is designed to make science concepts very relatable to something we do every day. The College also plans to add more academic programming in the future along the same lines – covering areas of interest that are highly applicable but also add depth of knowledge for students of all backgrounds.”
 
Director of Applied Studies and Instructor of Early Childhood Education, Leigh Anne Kraemer-Naser added, “As a former PreK-12 teacher, I recognize the need for high quality professional development for teachers to meet the required hours under PA Act 48. It is exciting for NPRC to fill this need with both community-based workforce development offerings and academic courses.”
 
For more information about NPRC’s Act 48 offerings, please visit the College’s website.