Teacher Education Program

Admission Requirements

To be eligible for admission to the Teacher Education Program, a student must:

  1. complete 40 semester hours of credit with an overall grade point average of 2.75 or higher;
  2. complete EDUC 2110, 2120, and EDUC 2130 with a grade of "C"or better;
  3. complete all courses in Area A of the core curriculum with a grade of "C" or better;
  4. post a passing score on the GACE Basic Skills Assessment test or its equivalent (see the Teacher Education Department for registration and exemption information);
  5. complete an application for admission to the Teacher Education Program. Application deadline is posted on the department Web page;
  6. agree to request a criminal background check.
  7. ECE/SPED applicants must also complete MATH 2400 with a grade of "C" or better.

Individual programs may require higher standards than the ones listed above. These higher standards are available from the Teacher Education Department and are listed on the application for admission to Teacher Education.

The Cohort Group

Eligibility for admission is based upon the criteria listed above. Students are admitted in the Teacher Education Program as part of a cohort group based on the evaluation of the Teacher Education Program Admission Committee. The cohort group completes the professional education sequential course work together. This provides each group of students with a common set of experiences. The School of Education limits the size of cohorts to the number that can be served in class and school settings.

All Teacher Education Programs are planned according to the semester that the student begins upper-division professional education course work. This requires that the student remain in sequence with a cohort group in order to complete the professional education program of study on schedule, excluding summers. A student must complete a program of study by the end of the second semester in the Teacher Education program.

Teacher Education Policies

The Department of Teacher Education publishes a teacher education handbook and an internship handbook. Those handbooks contain more complete descriptions of policies and procedures. Both are normally available on the Teacher Education web site listed under the academic programs portion of the University web site.

Retention In The Teacher Education Program

One important aspect of the Teacher Education Program is the constant vigilance exercised by the faculty to ensure that standards of quality are maintained. The following standards must be maintained for continued retention in a program:

  1. compliance with rules and regulations prescribed for all students at North Georgia;
  2. adherence to the Code of Ethics of the Georgia Professional Standards Commission;
  3. completion of all courses in the academic major and professional education courses with an academic grade of "C"or better;
  4. demonstration of competence in the use of oral and written language;
  5. maintenance of an institutional grade point average of 2.75 as required for program admission; and
  6. satisfactory performance in all field experiences.

Students whose institutional GPA drops below a 2.75 or who receive "D's" in major courses will be placed on teacher education probation the next semester. If the problem is not corrected within the next semester of enrollment, the student's admission to Teacher Education will be revoked.

Field Experiences

For all courses with a field component, a teacher education student must complete all requirements and earn a grade of "C" or higher in the field component in order to pass the course. Students must complete all courses with a field component with a grade of "C" or better before enrolling in any teacher education courses in a subsequent semester.

Only under extreme circumstances will a student be allowed to extend or repeat field-based coursework at the 4000 level. A student who must extend or repeat the pre-internship block will have only one opportunity to complete internship. However, a student who successfully completes block in one semester without extension will have one opportunity to extend or repeat internship.

A student who is required to repeat pre-internship block must pass GACE Professional Pedagogy and Content Assessments before attempting internship. A student who does not successfully complete internship in one semester must pass GACE Professional Pedagogy and Content Assessments before repeating the internship.

The School of Education has contractual agreements with designated systems and schools for placement of teacher education students for field experiences and internships. Field placements are limited to those school sites.

Teacher education students will not be placed for field experiences in a school which they attended within the last ten years or in which they have immediate family employed or enrolled.

Program Probation And Suspension

Due to the highly sensitive nature of working with children and youth in public school settings, the following policy also applies to the Teacher Education Program: Any faculty member or administrator of North Georgia College & State University and/or the co-operating school system who has supervisory responsibility for the on-site college student may immediately remove said student from the school site if, in that person's professional judgment, the college student has acted in an inappropriate manner involving children, youth, staff, or parents of the school or if the student's continued presence in the classroom is detrimental either to the intern or to the educational progress of the students in the classroom. The college student may also be removed, prior to the completion of her/his assignment in that school, should the university or school personnel judge that the university student does not adequately perform her/his assignments or conform adequately to the policies and procedures of the school.

Service Learning

Middle grades and secondary education majors are required to complete 60 hours of Service Learning as unpaid volunteers working in an approved setting with diverse populations in at-risk situations. ECE / SPED majors will have this requirement embedded in the program. Students may begin their experiences upon their admission to the Teacher Education Program. All hours must be completed prior to enrolling in the Internship. Arrangements for the placement must be planned jointly by the coordinator of service learning, the student, and the receiving site. Students expecting to participate are required to attend an orientation session which will be held at the beginning of each semester. Secondary education students may be required to document additional hours of professional experience.

Technology

All Teacher education candidates are required to successfully meet the state mandated technology requirement. A candidate can satisfy this requirement by completing a technology-embedded teacher education program. All North Georgia's teacher education programs are technology-embedded programs.

The Internship

The Internship is that part of the pre-service education program in which the prospective teacher works full time in a cooperating school with an assigned cooperating teacher. Depending on the program, the Internship will take place during the last full year or the last entire semester of the program. Permission for employment or courses not included in the program must be obtained from the Director of Field Experience.

A student must complete an Internship application, which is found in the Teacher Education Handbook. Application deadlines are March 5 for fall Internships and September 15 for spring Internships.

The following are prerequisites for the Internship:

  1. admission to the Teacher Education Program;
  2. completion of all professional education courses and courses appropriate to the teaching field (exceptions must be approved by the coordinator of field placements and the academic advisor) with a grade of C or better;
  3. achievement of a minimum grade point average of 2.75;
  4. senior classification as determined by the Registrar's Office;
  5. satisfactory completion of the Service Learning requirement or its approved equivalent;
  6. take the GACE Professional Pedagogy and Content Assessments examination.

For a complete listing of internship policies, see the internship handbook.

Appeals

Students denied admission to or continuance in the Teacher Education Program may appeal the decision to the Teacher Education Department's Admission and Retention Committee. Appeals must be made in writing and should clearly state why an exception should be made. An adverse decision by the committee may be appealed in writing to the Vice President for Academic Affairs or their designee, whose decision shall be final.

Advisement of Teacher Education Students

The Department of Education has the responsibility of advisement for students admitted to Teacher Education Programs throughout their course work. Guidance of students in the secondary (6-12) and grades P-12 programs will be shared jointly between the Teacher Education Department and the home academic department, with the academic department advisor having primary responsibility. The overall responsibility for teacher education programs rests with the Teacher Education Department.

Accreditation

The Teacher Education Program of North Georgia College & State University has state program approval through the Georgia Professional Standards Commission and national accreditation through the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education.

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Department of Teacher Education