Many curriculum choices are available to the prospective student interested in working with children. The actual curriculum will depend on which of the three areas of preparation the student is interested in (teacher of children with visual impairments, orientation and mobility specialists for children or both), whether the student is interested in taking classes on campus or via the distance education program, and the background training of the prospective student. All students in the Teacher of Children with Visual Impairments or Teacher of Children with Visual Impairments and Teaching Orientation and Mobility programs must have prior certification in regular or special education.
The teacher of children with visual impairments curriculum consists of 56 credit hours. The WMU curriculum is believed to be the most comprehensive curriculum offered in teacher of children with visual impairments anywhere in the United States. Instead of one or two-hour lectures on topics such as Nemeth Code (Braille math), daily living skills, computer technology, and art and sport instruction, the WMU curriculum includes entire courses in these important areas. An on-campus sequence takes approximately four semesters to complete. The standard distance education sequence requires six semesters and requires that students attend courses on campus for one five to six-week summer session.
The orientation and mobility for children curriculum consists of 36 credit hours if the prospective student has had prior training in the area of visual rehabilitation. The on-campus sequence takes three semesters and the distance education sequence takes five semesters with one of the semesters being held on campus during the summer.
The dual curriculum consists of 63 credits. The distance education sequence requires students to attend two summer sessions on campus and takes eight semesters to complete. The on-campus sequence consists of five semesters.
