Admission of Major in Elementary Education at University of New England
Admission of Major in Elementary Education at University of New England, Westbrook College Campus Maine
Admission Requirements and Program Standards
Candidates for all undergraduate education programs not already possessing a bachelor’s degree must meet the core requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences and the requirements for their major. Elementary certification requirements for the major rests solely within the Department of Education. Secondary certification students and art education students must meet two sets of major requirements involving their content major as well as the requirements for professional certification. Hence, undergraduates seeking secondary or K-12 art certification should consult first with their content advisor and next with their education advisor within the Department of Education. An additional application form must be filed for those seeking secondary or art education certification, since an applicant must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 in their content teaching area and all courses counted in the content teaching field must be passed with a “B” or better. Application forms may be obtained from the major advisor or from the secondary education/art education advisor in the Department of Education.
Each undergraduate student will be reviewed for admission to advanced standing when s/he has completed approximately 60 credit hours. Advanced standing is earned by achieving minimums of a 3.0 cumulative grade point average in professional education courses with no course grade below a C; 3.0 in content area classes for those pursuing secondary or art education certification; and a 2.5 cumulative grade point average across all courses including the core curriculum and electives. Grade point averages will be calculated using only courses taken at UNE (the cumulative grade point average) and using transfer courses if accepted as a part of the professional program (the cumulative professional grade point average). Students who do not meet these grade-point average requirements must improve their grade-point average before continuing in education courses. If a grade below C is attained in a professional education course, that course must be retaken until at least a C is received before additional education courses can be taken. Also at the time of the 60-credit review, students must pass the Praxis I Pre-professional Skills Tests (PPST) or the Praxis I Computer-Based Test (CBT) using the state of Maine minimum scores. Undergraduate transfer students who bring in more than 60 transfer credits have up to one year to pass Praxis I or before the internship application deadline, whichever comes first. If Praxis I is not passed at the time of these deadlines, no further certification courses may be taken and if a student is at the point of internship, the application will not be accepted which automatically restricts the student from participating in the internship the following semester.
As of the October 1, 2006 application deadline for internships beginning the spring of 2007, all students must show evidence of passing Praxis II before the internship application deadline.
Students may obtain PPST registration information and Praxis II registration information from the Department of Education office or from the Educational Testing Service website.
In addition to these achievement requirements, students admitted to UNE’s teacher education programs are assessed systematically for the purpose of determining their professionalism and suitability for teaching. Students complete self-assessment questionnaires in each professional education course and these are reviewed by faculty. If serious reservations arise in two or more of the assessments, a committee will convene to determine a student’s continuance in the program. Finally, students must participate in the Professional Education Review Board (referenced later in this section of the catalog) at which competency in the ten Maine teaching standards must be shown.
All certification coursework including the internship should be completed within a five-year timeframe. A delay beyond the five years might warrant the retaking of course work. Furthermore, if state certification requirements change prior to your completion even within the five year timeframe, those changes must be incorporated into a revised plan program in order to meet state certification regulations.