Study.com has listed Slippery Rock University at No. 3 in its Best Bachelor’s in Special Education Degree Programs list.

According to its website, the rankings are made based on a student-first approach in regard to a program’s affordability, accessibility and its quality and value.

For Matt Erickson, who is chairman of SRU’s special education department and an alumni of the program, it is the department’s focus on hiring and retaining experienced and caring faculty members that sets SRU’s special education program ahead of the rest.

“We look for people that want to have that impact on the students,” he said. “The professors that I had have had such an impact on the service we provide to students with special needs.”

SRU offers three undergraduate special education degrees, including a special education/early childhood education dual certification, which Erickson said is the most popular option; an early childhood/special education international program; and a transition specialist program. The university currently has 461 undergraduate students, according to Erickson.

Erickson also pointed to the program’s student teaching opportunities as an aspect that sets the university apart. He said special education majors are able to student teach in multiple schools and areas to get experience in different settings, whether they are placed in the Slippery Rock Area School District or in Ireland or Mexico.

He said the university helps find job placements for graduating students, which is also listed on Study.com.

“We put them in different types of settings,” Erickson said. “Different grade levels, different settings from urban to rural. You have to be able to do it throughout to know where you want to go after graduation.”

Erickson said the best reward of the program for him is the recognition earned by the working graduates of Slippery Rock because he often hears about alumni once they enter the workforce.

“We get great feedback about what our students can do,” Erickson said.