Application for Advanced Standing

The Education Department at Saint Vincent College has in place an application procedure by which the student may gain admission into the Teacher Certification Program offered by the Department.
Online Application Closed Pre-Student Teaching Candidacy (online submission only) and Application for Advanced Standing (paper application) is a procedure that has been developed to indicate a candidate is ready for formal admission to the education department and has intent to enroll in pre-student teaching. The Pre-student Teaching Candidacy is required to be submitted online and then after submission a printable certificate will be displayed. This certificate needs to be taken to the Education office for the Application for Advanced Standing. Completion of the Candidacy and the Advanced Standing Applications must be done the semester before a student plans to pre-student teach by the announced deadlines at the Education Town Meeting held the second Thursday of each semester. Additional information is available in the Education Office, Ground Prep Hall. The following directions are for the online submission of the Pre-Student Teaching Candidacy and the Certificate for the Application for Advanced Standing. Actual deadlines for applications are confirmed at the Town Meeting held at the beginning of each semester
A. Please Read the following before completing the Online Pre-Student teaching Candidacy: Complete the Online Pre-Student Teaching Candidacy (closed for spring 2010) by the Deadline announced at the Town Meeting Print the Certificate that will allow you to obtain the Application for Advanced Standing packet at the Education Office, Ground Prep Hall B. Application for Advanced Standing (paper submission only): Exchange the Certificate of Pre-Student Teaching Candidacy Submission for the Application packet for Advanced Standing at the Education Office Follow the checklist to include the following items: Unofficial Transcripts or Academic Record (from Saint Vincent Web Information System) with marker highlighted areas below: Highlighted grades of B- or better in ED 100, 101/207, and 205/206 Highlighted overall grade point average of 3.0. Grade point average of at least a 2.0 in the major. Highlighted completion of six credits in mathematics including MA 104 or higher Photocopies of your passing scores on PRAXIS I (PPSTs) Photocopies of your FBI, Act 34 and Act 151 clearances; tuberculosis clearance (no older than one year) You can obtain your Act 34 record check online with a credit card at https://epatch.state.pa.us/Home.jsp Three recommendations. One (1) from an education faculty and two (2) from outside of the department or personal references. The faculty members and references may return them to you or can submit these. If they decide to submit, please enclose a statement indicating the names of the faculty members or other individuals that should be returning them shortly. (See Recommendation form) Four (4) copies of your Autobiographical Statement. 200 – 300 word statement introducing yourself to your cooperating teacher and principal. Please include: background education, desire to teach, hobbies, experience with children, and other information to help your cooperating teacher and principal better know you. Please type at 12 pt font and double space this document.
	* Alternative Admission Students who do not meet all of the requirements listed above (low GPA) may apply for admission through the Alternative Application Process. Only 10% of the students admitted to the program annually may come through this process. To be considered complete the Pre-Student Teaching Candidacy and Advanced Standing Application items above in addition to the items on the Alternative Application. After all the materials are reviewed, you will be sent a letter with your approval status. See Alternate Application and the Field Placement Coordinator for information regarding alternative admission.
B. General course requirements and grades: ED 100, Foundations of Education, count as partial fulfillment of the social science core requirement. Grades of B- or better must be earned in ED 100, ED 101, ED 205/206 or the courses must be retaken. ED 109, Physical and Cultural Geography, counts as partial fulfillment of the social science core requirement. PY 115, Education Psychology, is considered an entry-level class.
C. Mathematics Requirement The PA Department of Education requires that a certification candidate take six credits in college mathematics. The requirement states that if a student scored 560 or better on the math section of SAT II, he or she is excused from the second math course. Very few students take the SAT II, so very few SVC students will be exempt from this requirement. Most certification candidates must take two mathematics courses. All elementary and early childhood students must take MA 102 Mathematics for Teachers. However, all teacher certification students can take this course to partly fulfill the state’s requirement of 6 credits of mathematics Any two of the following courses or higher courses fulfill the Education mathematics requirement: Mathematics Overview, Mathematics for Teachers, Elementary Functions, Mathematical Statistics, Calculus I, or higher (or a score of 560 or above on the SAT II Math Level IC Assessment). The Education Department cannot accept non-math courses as substitutes for this requirement; e.g. Statistics will not count.
D. Required Grade point Averages Before students can register for ED 400, Student Teaching Orientation, they must have an overall grade point average 3.0 The grade point average requirement is a state mandate Students must also have earned a grade point average of 2.0 in their majors. This requirement is college-wide.