Online courses are a practical way for teachers to continue learning but Mercer County school officials say taking them through outlets not accredited by federally approved agencies isn’t the norm.

“With today’s costs, we’d be foolish to discourage people from going about it that way,” Sharpsville board President David Deforest said of teachers having the online option in fulfilling state requirements to stay certified.

Administrators at Commodore Perry, Farrell, Greenville, Reynolds, Sharpsville and West Middlesex schools said they allow teachers to take online courses.

Except for West Middlesex, administrators at the other schools as well as others at Grove City and Mercer said they were not aware of teachers who have taken courses through Canyon College, a Web-based school headquartered in Caldwell, Idaho.

The institution came under fire from West Middlesex school directors after they discovered 11 teachers took classes toward master’s degrees.

Canyon isn’t authorized to grant degrees in Pennsylvania and isn’t accredited by any agency approved by the federal government, the Pennsylvania Department of Education said.

The college’s only accreditations come from the private groups the Association for Innovation in Distance Education and the American Naturopathic Medical Association Board. The latter group only accredits Canyon’s naturopathy program.

Neither of the agencies are listed among those approved by the U.S. Secretary of Education.

Eight West Middlesex teachers were reimbursed $2,400 each for courses taken through Canyon, while payments to another three were tabled on July 28 by school directors.

Superintendent Alan Baldarelli gave teachers the nod to take the courses. A master’s degree can add over $2,000 to a teacher’s salary in the district, their contract says.

Baldarelli said he researched Canyon and met with teachers hoping to take the courses before granting approval. For several of Baldarelli’s equals in other school districts, approval of such course work also falls on their shoulders.

“We try to be very careful,” Reynolds Superintendent Maddox B. Stokes said.

Reynolds reimburses for online courses, but only if the school is listed among those recognized by PDE, Stokes said.

Teachers must provide course descriptions and other information which is reviewed by Stokes for approval. Superintendents Dr. Patricia Homer, Greenville; Michael Stahlman, Commodore Perry; and Dr. Robert Post, Grove City, said they use the same rule of thumb.

Sharon Superintendent John Sarandrea said he takes a “good look” at the courses offered by institutions teachers are looking to attend before approving the plan of study. If questions arise through that process, he said he contacts PDE.