Increased recognition and public acknowledgment of the difficult task of teaching are possible silver linings of the pandemic when it comes to potentially elevating teaching as a profession. Nevertheless, recruitment of individuals into the teaching profession is a persisting challenge for a variety of reasons, such as increased testing demands and inadequate salaries. The difficulties of specifically recruiting mathematics teachers have been highlighted at AMTE conferences, through membership surveys, and in other outlets. One challenge we do not hear as much about is the hidden costs for students in teacher preparation programs. This issue was highlighted in an open forum discussion after the 2019 Annual Conference AMTE Opening Session. Participants asked for more information about these hidden expenses in order to better advocate for their students.  

In an environment where recruiting teachers is challenging for many reasons, teacher preparation programs should seek ways of attracting individuals into the teaching profession, rather than create additional costs and barriers for students. Requirements related to accreditation and also those imposed by states, universities, and programs unwittingly contribute to expenses that can act as deterrents to individuals considering majoring in education, especially when costs are required before a student is officially accepted into a preparation program. When considered individually these costs may seem minor, but they add up in ways that are both financially and temporally burdensome. For example, in some cases, students are required to apply for and complete two to three different types of background checks each year of their program, resulting not only in financial costs but loss of time to accomplish these tasks potentially each year of their program. The costs may also be a burden on the program itself in regard to the staff needed to maintain and verify these records annually. 

Table 1 illustrates some potential financial costs for students in teacher preparation programs. While costs vary by institution, state, and program, these examples are not uncommon and such unanticipated expenses can be discouraging and serve as roadblocks for students. The example costs in the table total over $1600, of which $200-$300 are incurred through requirements before a student is officially admitted to a teacher preparation program. 

Table 1. Examples of hidden costs by year of program

There are a few strategies already available to alleviate costs. We can begin to defray costs to students by implementing these suggestions: 1) financial aid offices allow students to request an increase in their cost of attendance, thus increasing their financial aid eligibility; 2) scholarships designed to defray these costs; 3) private entities manage background checks and streamline that process, though it may add an additional platform to those already in use (e.g., learning management system, portfolio assessment platform) that students must interact with, increasing inefficiencies for students; 4) testing corporations offer waivers for testing expenses based upon documented cases of financial hardship; and 5) defining a cost, such as a portfolio assessment platform, as a textbook and making it available through the bookstore allow the cost to be included under financial aid.

In addition to these strategies, we expect some universities have found other less burdensome ways to approach hidden financial and efficiency costs for their students. May this be an opportunity for us to collaborate and learn from those who have discovered and/or implemented solutions to this challenge. Minimizing the unanticipated expenses for students removes some of the obstacles they encounter that could prevent them from entering and successfully completing our programs. In the meantime, if programs would consider providing students with a table, such as that above, which describes the costs and when they will be incurred, students would be better supported in their financial planning.