Wow another huge change without warning:

Hello everyone,
I hope this is the correct forum category to ask this: I am looking to earn a 150 hour TEFL Certificate, which is often required in Southeast Asia or other countries, if you want to teach English and/or part of a requirement to get a Visa.
My current reasearch of available TEFL/TESOL programs has lead me to private institutions, which claim to have various accreditations like World TESOL Academy, TEFL/TESOL Certification, TheTEFLAcademy, or (the probably most accredited option) a Coursera TESOL Certificate from Arizona State University. Now, before I enroll in any of these providers I have a question:
It is my understanding that these sort of 120/150 hour TEFL/TESOL Certifications really don't have a norm and it mostly comes down to the accrediting institution. I recently finished my university studies to become a Foreign Language Teacher (English/Spanish) in Germany, but won't be a teacher officially until I complete the 2 years of practical vocational training. 

In my Bachelor's Degree Certificate it says:
[...] has completed all achievements required for the Teaching Secondary Education (Gymnasium) with the subject combination  English / Spanish in accordance with the Bachelor's degree programmе and examination regulations and with the grade x.

So, we do get a B.A. during our studies and there is a mention of focus on Teaching in the degree certificate.
Would that already be sufficient?

If not, could I ask my university to issue a statement like the following?

This is to certify that [Name] has completed 10 ECTS of TEFL-specific coursework, which is equivalent to 300 hours of academic and practical training in Teaching English as a Foreign Language.

During my university studies I acquired 10 ECTS (equivalent to 300 hours) of TEFL related coursework. This also shows in my Transcript of Records. Since there doesn't seem to be a specific norm for those 120h/150h TEFL Certificate, am I wrong to assume that I could just ask my university if they can issue such confirmation? I'd imagine that a university issued confirmation may be even as good (if not better) than one from a random TEFL/TESOL private teaching institute. 

Can anyone share their experience on this?

Thanks in advance!

Indiana Universities downsizing degree offerings

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careersa...r-AA20tprm

Ever since Coursera started offering full Master's degrees in partnership with various universities, and other MOOC platforms followed suit, I've wondered if this was a thing.

We Laughed at the 'Idea Guys' for 10 Years. Now They're Becoming the Most Valuable Founders in Tech

https://collinwallace.substack.com/p/we-...uys-for-10

Newsweek’s list of America’s Top Online Colleges for 2026

https://rankings.newsweek.com/americas-t...leges-2026

Lawmakers tried to kill California’s online community college. Now it’s growing rapidly

https://calmatters.org/education/higher-...alifornia/

In the U.S., tuition for certain types of training and at certain institutions is eligible for tax deductions and/or credits, depending on your situation.

I received a 1098-T from UMass Global, but not from University of the People. I am not sure if this is because UoPeople doesn't send them out, or if tuition there doesn't qualify because they don't participate in FAFSA. I'm thinking it's the former, because for the lower deduction levels, professional training counts, and most of those places aren't involved in FAFSA. But just thought I would check here in case anyone understands the ins and outs of this.

(I will not take anything stated here as tax advice for my individual situation. I'm just wondering about general principles, which is why I posted this to the general forum instead of the UoPeople one. Come to think of it, I didn't receive one from TESU either, but I think I can download it from the portal.)

The University of Kansas (abbreviated “KU”) catalog now includes a section for its upcoming Jayhawk Flex competency-based education modality.

The upcoming Jayhawk Flex programs are

• Master of Science in Education in Learning Design (Flex)
  
• Master of Science in Education in Secondary STEM Education (Flex) — this is for Teacher Candidates and includes a teaching practicum, likely in person at a participating school
  
• Master of Science in Human and Organization Performance Effectiveness (Flex)
  
• Master of Science in Project Management (Flex)
  

UMPI is hiring remote faculty to bring the Media and Cultural Studies concentration to the YourPace CBE modality.

The job posting identifies the major that concentration is attached to as a BA in English and Media Studies, which suggests UMPI may be renaming the current BA in English to a BA in English and Media Studies.

The Media and Cultural Studies concentration is already currently offered by UMPI but not via YourPace. To date the only BA in English via YourPace has been the Professional Communication and Journalism concentration.

The current UMPI catalog lists two other concentrations attached to the UMPI BA in English.

One is the General concentration, which includes a set of upper-level courses chosen from ENG or PCJ. If UMPI offers both the Professional Communication and Journalism concentration and the Media and Cultural Studies concentration via YourPace, they’ll likely also offer the General concentration via YourPace, which can mix and match courses from the others.

The remaining concentration in the catalog is the Writing concentration, which includes a set of courses in creative writing and optionally professional communication. Let’s stay tuned for whether the Writing concentration becomes offered via YourPace.