The
College of Education and Human Services, recognizing the value
of a multicultural dimension to a student's undergraduate
experience, established a Multicultural policy: A
potentially life-transforming exercise that immerses
individuals as participant observers in cultural, social, or
ethnic environments that differ from their own. An
experience that makes students deeply value other cultures and
instills in them greater sensitivity to other values and
beliefs. An experience that awakens in students an
awareness of their own value systems and assumptions about
life. To meet this requirement, students must complete a
minimum of 40 hours of field experience in a cultural, social
or ethnic environment which differs from their own. Upon
review of this experience, each student is required to submit
a detailed written summary of the experience which must
include thorough reflections on the value of the experience to
the student's academic and personal growth. Each
department of the College will be responsible for determining
the method of implementation and oversight in order to fulfill
the intent of this policy. (Effective Date - Fall
2000 Freshmen)
Certification Requirements
The
College of Education and Human Services has established, in
alignment with the Pennsylvania Department of Education,
minimum standards for all teacher education majors to achieve
at various stages in their programs. The education
program standards and requirements are defined in our Teacher
Education Advanced Standing Policy. This Policy further
contains information and criteria for acceptance to and
graduation from LHUP with recommendation for
certification.
Requirements
and regulations regarding certification for Pennsylvania and
other states can, and do, change from time to time. It
is the responsibility of the student to track the requirements
and document their progress as part of their application for
advanced standing.
Only a citizen of the United States is
eligible to receive a teaching certificate.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education requires teacher
education majors to have a 3.000 GPA in each certificate area
the candidate plans to teach in.
Students
who are not LHUP graduates are required to complete a minimum
of 12.0 sh of credits in which they are requesting
certification. "Certification Only" students
are required to have a 3.000 GPA before admission to
professional courses. Education courses taken 10 years
prior may need to be updated.
International
students must apply for United States citizenship in order to
be considered for Pennsylvania State certification.
Teacher
Education Advanced Standing
Advanced
Standing is the official acceptance of candidates* into a
teacher certification program, thus allowing the candidate to
take selected advanced courses in his/her major leading to
teacher certification, contingent on maintaining acceptance
criteria.
Purpose:
1. To ensure that teacher candidates are aware of and
meet Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) and Lock Haven
University of Pennsylvania required standards and
prerequisites for student teaching and ultimately teacher
certification.
2. To ensure high quality graduates in teacher
education.
3. To provide all students with the opportunity to
pursue alternate career options in a timely fashion.
Approval Process
for Advanced Standing into Teacher Education Certification
Programs:
Note - This information is considered to be descriptive
in nature. It does not constitute an irrevocable
contract between the student and the College of Education and
Human Services. The College of Education and Human
Services reserves the right to make changes in the content of
this document or in the documented course of study that it
deems necessary or desirable to improve programs and/or to
meet accreditation standards. (These changes will always
be made, however, through established procedures and announced
in appropriate publications.)
Achieving
Advanced Standing:
Any
student seeking a Bachelor of Science in Education and teacher
certification (Early Childhood Education, Elementary
Education, Health and Physical Education, Secondary Education,
Special Education) must formally apply for advanced
standing. In order to complete the degree in eight semesters
of full-time study, students should apply for formal admission
to the program at the completion of 45 semester hours and
Stage I of the Professional Development Plan. Students
must make formal written application and be officially
accepted into their department's undergraduate teacher
education program. Advanced Standing status will only be
awarded when a student has completed the 45 hours, including 6
credits of math and 6 credit of English, Stage I of the
Professional Development Assessment Plan, and has achieved an
overall GPA of 3.0. Acceptance is recommended by the
department with approval of the Dean of the College of
Education and Human Services. Only candidates who have
attained advanced class standing are eligible to enroll in 300
and 400 level courses. Each program will designate, for
its own majors, advanced professional courses.
Candidates who have attained advanced standing in teacher
education must maintain the 3.0 GPA required for admission
into the teacher education program in order to continue taking
advanced professional education course work.
Requirements and procedures for attaining advanced standing in
teacher education programs in the College of Education and
Human Services will be explained in detail in mandatory
orientation sessions. With the assistance of the program
faculty advisor, each student will be guided in completion of
the various stages of the Professional Development Assessment
Plan. Each education major is assigned to a Faculty
Advisor in the chosen teacher education program. The
Faculty Advisor is available to answer questions regarding
specific courses in the program, course content,
career-related questions, or any other major-related issues.
*Students become
candidates after achieving advanced standing.
Requirements for
Advanced Standing:
A student shall apply for admission to teacher education after
completion of 45 credit hours including 6 credits in math and
6 credits in English. A 3.0 GPA is required. All
candidates must pass the Praxis I and Praxis II before
graduating with a degree in Education.
Advanced
Standing (Stage 3 and 4 of the Conceptual Framework
Progression) requirements include the following criteria for
all teacher education programs**:
A
graduation plan should be on file. This should include:
a.
Current child abuse, criminal background clearances and
TB test forms (Candidates should be aware that a felony or
child abuse record would preclude teacher certification. See
the Dean’s secretary for additional information. Students
who are residents of states other than Pennsylvania must
complete an FBI background check, and should be aware of the
fact that this may take several months to complete.)
b.
Speech
competency
c.
Passing scores on the Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST)
as established by PDE: Math,
Reading, Writing and Listening
d.
Multi-cultural Experience record sheet (Evidence of
completion of at least 20 of the 40 hours required in
Multi-Cultural experiences, and a plan to complete the
remaining 20 hours)
e.
Field experience record sheet (Evidence of a minimum of
80 hours of field experiences that have been completed in
approved educational settings pertinent to the majors)
f.
Program check sheets
g.
Successful completion of all required courses in the
major, professional education course work and specific general
education course work (Math, History, Lab Science, Composition
and Speech), with a C grade or higher
h.
Recommendation, determined by interview, by faculty in
the appropriate Department of the College of Education and
Human Services, with final approval by the Dean of the College
of Education and Human Services
i.
Courses
in the major (transfer or taken on campus) older than 7 years
by the projected graduation date will not receive credit.
Each
education major is assigned to a Faculty Advisor in the
College of Education and Human Services. The Faculty Advisor
is available to answer questions regarding specific courses in
the program, course content, career-related questions, or any
other major-related issues.
Program
Progress:
If a
candidate’s progress becomes questionable as measured
against the following standards, the student may be placed on
probation or dropped from the program if recommended by the
department chair in collaboration with the faculty in the
program.
The
candidate shall maintain:
1.
Standards of English 100 and English 110 in all written
work: grammar, spelling, punctuation, usage, vocabulary,
pronunciation and handwriting.
2.
Standards
of English oral communication.
3.
A professional attitude and demonstrate appropriate
interpersonal skills throughout all education assignments as
evidenced by interacting effectively with peers, university
instructors, and public school students and personnel, as well
as clients and staff of community agencies.
4.
An overall and major cumulative grade point average of
3.0o or higher.
5. Acceptable pass rates on
Praxis I and Praxis II
Requirements
for Graduation**: (Stage 5 of Conceptual Framework
Progression)
Passing
scores on Praxis I and II will be required for graduation, in
addition to all of the criteria noted in the graduation plan.
This requirement will apply to students entering into the
education program effective Fall 2001. In addition, candidates
must successfully complete all requirements unique to
individual majors.
Requirements
for Teacher Licensure: (Stage 5 of Conceptual Framework
Progression)
Issuance of a
teaching certificate or license is the responsibility of each
state’s Department of Education. Meeting
requirements for licensure is the sole responsibility of each
student. Currently, the PDE requirements that must be met
prior to issuance of a teaching license include:
1.
Recommendation from an accredited College.
2.
Application for certification (See the Dean’s
secretary for current information.,
3.
Passing scores (which are set by the PDE) on all
required Praxis exams (See the Dean’s secretary for current
information.)
4.
Recommendation by the department of the student’s
major. (Department recommendation may be contingent upon
completion of additional and/or more rigorous requirements
than the minimum described above.)
Candidates
that will seek certification in states other than Pennsylvania
will be responsible for determining the
certification/licensure requirements for that state. They
should make note of any specific requirements of coursework,
tests, degrees and similar requirements for certification in
that state. The candidate must be aware that the Department of
Education or its counterpart in each state is responsible for
certification, not Lock Haven University.
Requirements
and regulations regarding certification for Pennsylvania and
other states can, and do, change
from time to time. It is the responsibility of the candidate
to track the requirements and document their progress as part
of their application for advanced standing.
**Note:
Students transferring to Lock Haven University will
need to complete and/or meet the same criteria for Teacher
Education. Proof of the teacher education entrance
requirements may be required if attained at a university other
than LHU.
Commonwealth Requirements for Teacher
Certification
The
Department of Education and the State Board of Education
establish certification standards for Commonwealth public
school teachers. The
chairperson of the department in which the student is majoring
must verify to the Dean of the College that all qualifications
are met. The Dean
is authorized to give final approval for certification.
