Teacher Education Program
Teacher Education Policies
Policies and procedures related to the Teacher Education Program can be found on the Teacher Education website listed under the Academic Programs portion of the University website. Specific policies and procedures related to the Internship can be found in the "Field Experiences" section of the Teacher Education website.
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:
- compliance with rules and regulations prescribed for all students at North Georgia;
- adherence to the Code of Ethics of the Georgia Professional Standards Commission;
- completion of all courses in the academic major and professional education courses with an academic grade of "C"or better;
- demonstration of competence in the use of oral and written language;
- maintenance of an institutional grade point average of 2.75 as required for program admission; and
- 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 If the problem is not corrected within the next semester of enrollment, the student could be withdrawn from the program.
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.
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. All public school field placements will be arranged through the Field Placement Coordinator.
Teacher education students will not be placed for field experiences in a school which they attended within the last seven 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 and/or the co-operating school system who has supervisory responsibility for the on-site university student may immediately remove said student from the school site if, in that person's professional judgment, the university student has acted in an inappropriate manner involving children, youth, staff, or parents 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 university 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.
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 Field Experience Coordinator.
A student must complete an Internship application, which is found on the Teacher Education website. Application deadlines are March 1 for fall Internships and September 1 for spring Internships.
The following are prerequisites for the Internship:
- admission to the Teacher Education Program;
- completion of all professional education courses and courses appropriate to the teaching field (exceptions must be approved by the Field Experience Coordinator and the academic advisor) with a grade of C or better;
- achievement of a minimum grade point average of 2.75;
- senior classification as determined by the Registrar's Office;
- satisfactory completion of all previous field-based assignments;
- take the GACE Professional Pedagogy and Content Assessments examination.
For a complete listing of internship policies, see the Internship Handbook on the Teacher Education website.
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 a designee, whose decision shall be final.
Advisement of Teacher Education Students in the SOE Advisement Center
Students who choose early childhood/special education or middle grades education are assigned as pre-education to the Coordinator of Student Advisement in the School of Education. Once a Middle Grades student has earned 40 hours credit and a Early Childhood/Special Ed student has earned 50 hours of credit (see Admissions Requirements), s/he is eligible to apply to the Teacher Education Program. Once the student is admitted into the Teacher Education Program, advisement of students is provided by the faculty of the Teacher Education Department.
Prior to the academic pre-registration advising period (March & October), students should schedule an appointment with the academic advisor through the SOE Advisement Center. All students assigned to the SOE Advisement Center will be contacted via their North Georgia email account when it is time to make appointments for pre-registration advisement.
Students are encouraged to communicate with their advisor concerning contemplated schedule, educational, or career plan changes or to discuss academic problems and concerns. Although advisors provide guidance and assistance to students, it is ultimately the responsibility of each student to be familiar with the requirements of the program of study and the undergraduate bulletin.
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.