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Undergraduate Policies
Each student contracts to abide by policies of the School of Education and Psychology. Students admitted to Student Teaching are encouraged to become familiar with policies outlined in the Student Teaching Handbook. Students will be expected to provide their own transportation for all field and practicum experiences. The School of Education and Psychology reserves the right to revise, add, and withdraw policies and/or courses as necessary to ensure a quality program. Assessment of Psychology Majors During their last academic year in the undergraduate program, students are required to write a major position paper that demonstrates their knowledge of and application of various issued in the field of psychology. This major paper is part of a capstone course, History and Systems of Psychology, which takes a comprehensive view of the field of psychology. Seniors will be required to complete a Psychology Senior Exit Exam during the final semester of their enrollment. This examination is available at Counseling & Testing. Admission Procedures Admission to Southern Adventist University does not automatically admit the student into teacher education. There are three stages that students must go through to be fully accepted in the Teacher Education Program. A. Initial Admission to the Teacher Education Program Each student accepted at Southern Adventist University who indicated that teaching is his/her professional objective is assigned an educational program adviser by the advisement coordinator in the Records Office. The advisers assist in planning a student's academic program each year and guide their advisees through the stages of the Teacher Education Program. Advisers and advisees should work closely to follow the professional sequence of courses. Students assume responsibility for making necessary applications, meeting the requirements, and other relevant deadlines. At the time of a student's Initial Admission to the Teacher Education Program, the current and subsequent catalogs will determine the requirements for completion of the program and graduation. Deviations to this policy will be valid only if mandated by the North American Division and/or the State of Tennessee Department of Education. NOTE: Courses with grades lower than "C" in the major studies or professional education must be repeated. The student must apply for Initial Admission to the Teacher Education Program (usually by the end of the sophomore year) after completing all requirements as outlined below. Initial admission is required before the student can enroll in upper division education courses. The following criteria are required for each applicant.
Applications meeting the above criteria are approved by the School of Education and Psychology Faculty and recommended to the Teacher Education Council. The student will be informed in writing as to the status of the application for admission following the action of the Teacher Education Council. B. Candidacy and Retention in Teacher Education After the applicant has been admitted to the Teacher Education Program, his/her progress will be reviewed by the Candidacy Committee, consisting of the adviser, a departmental/school representative, and one elementary or secondary teacher. As a teacher candidate, the applicant will be given an opportunity to interact with the Candidacy Committee in a non-threatening atmosphere. During the interview the candidate can strengthen his/her commitment to teaching or express his/her concerns and questions about the teaching profession. Retention in the teacher education program is contingent on successful completion of courses attempted and maintenance of the academic standard required for initial admission to the program. Teacher candidates are expected to maintain consistent personal representation of the standards and objectives of Southern Adventist University and the teacher education program. C. Authorization to do Student Teaching The teacher candidate mjust file a formal application with the faculty of the School of Education and Psychology for authorization to do student teaching. Application forms may be obtained from the School secretary in Summerour Hall. A late application may delay the student teaching experience. Student teaching is regarded as the culminating experience of the Teacher Education Program. NOTE: Prior to the professional semester, the student must take and pass the PRAXIS II licensure exams--both the appropriate section of the Principles of Learning and Teaching, and the particular specialty test(s) for the licensure area(s). Each student must arrange for a Designated Institution Report to be sent by the testing service to Southern Adventist University as evidence of passing scores. All students planning to student teach in the fall semester must complete all required Praxis II exams by the preceding June test date. All students planning to student teach in the winter semester must complete all required Praxis II exams by the preceding September test date. The following criteria are required for each applicant:
Teacher candidates who meet the above criteria are approved by the School of Education and Psychology Faculty and recommended to the Teacher Education Council. Candidates are informed in writing as to the status of their application following the action of the Teacher Education Council. Advisement The major goal of the advisement process is to orient the teacher candidate with the total teacher education program, with major emphasis on its three components, namely, general education, professional education, and major studies. This is accomplished by the academic adviser as s/he interacts with his/her advisees during advisement sessions. Secondary majors have an advisor in their major. However, they should seek advisement related to the Teacher Education Program from the Secondary Coordinator and/or the Certification Officer in the School of Education and Psychology. Appeal Procedures Criteria and standards for admission to teacher education are explicit, but allow for second chance attempts. Courses may be repeated to raise GPA or students may follow the Grievance Procedures found under Academic Policies (page 43). Also, students who do not meet all the criteria required to do Student Teaching may appeal to the Teacher Education Council. Any applicant who determines to follow this alternative policy must seek counsel from the Dean of the School of Education and Psychology. Assessment of Education Majors Final assessment of senior Education majors takes place during their full semester of student teaching. It involves continuous monitoring of the student's classroom performance in both verbal and written feedback. Senior assessment consists of two phases. Phase One, Formative Evaluation, consists of ongoing monitoring and feedback. The cooperating teacher conducts informal conferences as well as a one-hour weekly formal conference providing anecdotal records. A formative evaluation is completed by the University supervisor and the cooperating teacher at midpoint of each placement. Phase Two, Summative Evaluation, is completed by both the cooperating teacher and the University supervisor. Performance assessments used are the Student Teaching Summative Evaluation and the Student Teaching Portfolio. The student teacher is also evaluated by his/her students when they complete the Pupil Evaluation of the Student Teacher. A self-evaluation is completed by the student through a video-taped lesson. A capstone interview is conducted with all student teaching candidates. The faculty of the School of Education and Psychology will monitor a candidate's academic progress, emotional stability, social and professional skills during the student teaching placements. If at any time, after being admitted to student teaching, a teacher candidate gives evidence of failing to maintain commitment to criteria or preparation for teaching, she/he may be asked to postpone student teaching placements and submit to further requirements as deemed necessary by faculty of the School of Education to ensure success in the teaching profession. The final letter grade for the student's performance is decided by the Education Faculty. Failure to complete student teaching with a satisfactory grade of C or above results in students being reassigned for an additional practicum. Graduate follow-up is carried out through the Program Effectiveness Assessment completed by the first-year and third-year teachers. Feedback for the Teacher Education Program is solicited from administrators of school systems using the Program Effectiveness Assessment. Teacher Licensure Licensure and certification are synonymous terms for the process of granting legal authorization to teach in the public or private elementary or secondary schools of a state or of the Seventh-day Adventist Church based on meeting predetermined qualifications. Certification has been established to give professional status to qualified teachers and to assure school boards and parents that the teacher is well prepared. Who can obtain certification? Every student who successfully completes the requirements for teaching in the elementary, middle, or secondary school and graduates from Southern Adventist University will receive recommendation for certification based upon the following criteria:
Certification is not automatic. The eligible candidate must make the necessary application to the Southern Union Conference, and to any other appropriate union conference for denominational certification; and to the State of Tennessee and to any other specific state department of education where the candidate expects to teach. Information regarding certification is available through the Southern Adventist University certification officer. Since teacher certification regulations are always in the process of change, graduating teacher education candidates are urged to make their applications for certification immediately. If the candidate does not make application within two years for denominational certification, or within three years for Tennessee State certification, she/he will have to take additional courses before certification can be issued. What certificates may be obtained? A. Initial Certificate (Tennessee) A certificate is issued on the basis of a minimum of a Bachelor's Degree with a major in at least one subject teaching field and the completion of an approved teacher education program. Passing scores on the following PRAXIS II Examinations: (1) Principles of Learning and Teaching, and (2) appropriate specialty area(s) must be obtained. B. Basic Certificate (SDA denominational) Required by the Department of Education of the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists. This three year denominational certificate is issued on the basis of completing the following courses in addition to the above requirements:
Requirements for Certification Candidates for state certification must complete the appropriate teacher preparation curriculum. This consists of three components: general education, professional education, and major studies. A. General Education: This component represents that portion of the total teacher education program designed to foster the development of those competencies that are basic to all life's responsibilities and provide intellectual foundation in the liberal arts. Students pursuing a teacher education curriculum must work closely with their advisers for guidance in the selection of general education courses that are appropriate to their individual needs. Relevant courses are listed in the current catalog under the seven main areas of the general education requirements, pages 27-31. B. Professional Education: Elementary: The elementary program is included with the degree requirements. Middle: The middle school program is included with degree requirements. Secondary: The following courses are required for secondary teaching certification. In order to be eligible for certification, students must have a minimum grade point average of 2.75 in the major, professional education, and cumulative areas. They must also include one literature class and one mathematics class in their programs, each at the 100 level or above.
C. Major Studies Major studies requirements: Preparation for teaching in the elementary school requires a B.A. in Liberal Arts Education leading to licensure K-6; preparation for teaching in the middle school requires a B.S. in Math & Science Education leading to licensure 5-8. See program descriptions. The following departments/schools offer majors that can be combined with professional education courses resulting in licensure to teach:
*Pending state approval Students are to complete the degree requirements as specified by their chosen major plus the professional education courses as listed under B above. Miscellaneous Information Relative to Teacher Training: Because of time commitments during the student teaching experience, it is expected that any student entering student teaching will not be enrolled in additional classes. Correspondence credit will be accepted to the extent of one fourth of the credit required for the certificate provided that no more than four semester hours in education are applied on the professional education requirement. If personal circumstances demand a correspondence course, a petition must be filed with the School of Education and Psychology and its approval obtained before registering for the course. The course must be completed and the grade filed in the Records and Advisement Office before student teaching is begun. For SDA Certification, a major is not always required for additional endorsements; a minor may be acceptable in some disciplines as a second field endorsement area. Students should contact the School of Education and Psychology for information on specific requirements in the area(s) of endorsement sought. NOTE: The Teacher Education Program at Southern Adventist University is constantly being refined to meet any and all North American Division, NCATE, and/or State of Tennessee's changing and mandated licensure requirements for teacher preparation. As a result, changes may occur in the course offerings and in the program requirements for students preparing to become teachers. Teacher education students must meet any
and all such additional requirements mandated by NAD, NCATE, or
the State of Tennessee, even though such changes may not be listed
in the Teacher Education programs in the particular catalog under
which the student entered, and students should stay in contact with
the School of Education and Psychology to be aware of any changes
that may affect them. |
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Students required to perform field or practicum experiences will accept personal responsibility for their learning and professional behavior.