Drexel University pauses admission into undergraduate education program

In her nearly four years at Drexel University, elementary education major Naomi Yoon says she has worked in four Philadelphia public school classrooms, helping about 150 students.

But she worries that experiences like hers could be in jeopardy at Drexel. The university has temporarily paused admission into its in-person undergraduate education program, while the school takes time to review other paths more students are taking to get their teacher certification.

The school cites low enrollment numbers in the undergraduate major. There were just seven new first-time, full-time entrants to the program this fall, lower than in recent years, said Niki Gianakaris, a university spokesperson.

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But Yoon, a senior who is student teaching at Samuel Powel School in West Philadelphia, and some fellow classmates and alumni say that even one undergraduate has a significant impact on the local community amid an ongoing teacher shortage that is particularly acute in Philadelphia.

“Keeping the education major for just one undergraduate means 150 children that have quality student teachers and classrooms,” Yoon said in a YouTube video, making her case for why the major should continue.

Students have created a website Save the Drexel Education Major and alumni testimonials on YouTube.

“My undergraduate experience at Drexel has prepared me for my teaching in countless ways,” Melina Galias, a 2026 graduate who teaches English and American history at Paul Robeson High School in Philadelphia, said on the video. “I feel comfortable taking the lead in my class, working with students, family and staff because of the work I’ve had in my education courses.”

Students are planning to hold a rally Dec. 5 on campus at 33rd and Market streets, Yoon said.

Drexel is instituting the pause while it “reviews and reimagines how it prepares educators,” Gianakaris said. Students currently enrolled in the program will be permitted to remain and finish their degrees, with full support, she said.

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The lower enrollment in the program “reflects a national shift in how students pursue teacher certification — with more choosing faster, more flexible, and postbaccalaureate routes,” Gianakaris said.

A 2025 analysis by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education showed a decline in bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from 2003-04 to 2022-23, but also a nearly three-fold increase in students obtaining teacher certification through alternative routes over a decade.

Gianakaris acknowledged the demand for well-prepared teachers remains, which is why the university wants to rethink how it delivers that education, she said.

The review will look at combining related majors and expanding online, postbaccalaureate and other certification routes, Gianakaris said.

Drexel’s other teacher certification programs are not affected by the pause, including its DragonsTeach program for undergraduates in STEM majors, master’s degrees with certification in teaching and special education and postbaccalaureate certification in more than a dozen areas, she said. The university’s accelerated teacher certification program in partnership with the Philadelphia School District also remains unaffected, she said.

The move to rethink the school’s approach to educating aspiring teachers follows an academic restructuring at Drexel in which the school of education became part of the College of Arts and Sciences.

It also comes as some other colleges are eliminating or reconstituting underenrolled majors. Pennsylvania State University last month announced recommendations to drop or reconstitute 47 majors; Syracuse University earlier this year said it planned to eliminate 93 programs with low or no enrollment.

Timothy Boyle, principal of Science Leadership Academy Middle School in West Philadelphia, gets all of his student teachers from Drexel — and many of them go on to teach in the district.

Given the lack of education graduates and programs in Pennsylvania, “we don’t need one less program,” even if it’s not getting the return on investment that Drexel might want, Boyle said.

“This is a five-alarm fire, and shutting down any kind of pathway — traditional, alternative — seems like the opposite of how we’re supposed to meet the moment,” said Boyle, whose school is blocks from Drexel’s campus. (Drexel built and retained ownership of the building that houses SLAMS and Powel Elementary, another district school. It rents the buildings to the Philadelphia School District for $12 per year.)

Drexel’s education students are good for the city and good for the district, said Boyle, describing the program’s students as a diverse corps. “That helps me as a school with predominantly white teachers,” he said. “I’m getting folks in front of my kids who are from diverse backgrounds, and I’m putting diverse candidates into the teacher pool.”

Drexel alumnus John McNichol, who said he and his wife have donated more than $200,000 to Drexel’s School of Education, told Drexel President Antonio Merlo in an email earlier this year that he was “extremely distressed” to hear of the pause.

“Such an act, in our opinion, charts the wrong course and would result in shipwrecking Drexel’s image, both locally and nationally,” he wrote.

McNichol and his wife sponsored 17 students for their co-ops at schools, allowing them “to have a significant impact on more than 400 … students and their families living in low socioeconomic neighborhoods,” he wrote. One of the students was recognized by Philadelphia School District Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. as teacher of the month last winter, he wrote.

The couple also created an early childhood education lab and awards program at the university.

“At a time of acute regional teacher shortages, these programs are not optional extras,” he wrote to Merlo, “they are essential public infrastructure for preparing, certifying, and retaining teachers for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the broader region.”

McNichol said he never got a response from Merlo.

“I was frankly disappointed and surprised,” he said.

Sam Ramos, 20, a junior elementary education major, currently is working her co-op program at Powel. She’ll also get another six months of student teaching next year, she said.

“I really love it,” she said. “It makes me feel like the tuition is really worth it because I’m able to get this experiential learning and really apply the knowledge in the classroom. I feel like I’m doing so much and learning so much that I feel well prepared for the future.”

She said the small size of the program should be considered a plus.

“Just because it’s small doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a big impact,” Ramos said.

Yoon, who is from Northern Virginia, said she enrolled at Drexel because of its education program and the extensive classroom teaching experience that students get.

Undergraduate education majors “really connect Drexel to the community,” she said.

She hopes to work in the Philadelphia district after she graduates, she said.

“I really honestly fell in love with West Philadelphia,” she said. “I love the neighborhood. I love the kids.”