When admitted to the
College, all students who intend to pursue a teacher preparation program
are identified by major and the certification area in which they are
interested. However, they are not yet admitted to the Teacher
Education Program. All students with at least sophomore status who plan to pursue teacher certification should apply to the Teacher Education
Program when they have met the requirements for admission.
Sophomores identified by the Registrar as teacher certification students will receive information about the application process from the Teacher Education Program office in the fall of the sophomore year, but students can request an application be sent at any time by sending an email to the Teacher Education Program.
Admission requirements are established by the Teacher Education
Committee in compliance with regulations from the Commonwealth of PA and
the Messiah College Teacher Education Program.
Four major criteria
are reviewed when a student applies for admission to the Teacher Education Program:
-
Character Clearances
The Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania requires that students who are preparing to become teachers
must be "persons of good moral character." By Pennsylvania law, Act 114, students preparing to become teachers must provide the following clearances:
- PA Act 34 (PA Criminal Record Check)
- PA Act 33/151 (PA Child Abuse Check)
- FBI Background Check processed through the Cogent system as per Pennsylvania Department of Education requirements
All of these clearances have
processing fees which are the responsibility of the teacher certification student. Results of all three clearances must be submitted as part of the student's application for admission to the Teacher Education Program and must be dated within a year of making application. Click on the Clearance Info link at the left side of the page under Quick Links for specific information about filing clearances.
Applicants are also screened by the
College's Student Affairs and Registrar's Offices to ascertain that
individuals are considered to be in good standing with each office and are
in compliance with campus guidelines for personal behavior and academic
integrity.
-
PRAXIS I Examination Scores
At the time of
application, students must submit evidence of passing scores from the PRAXIS I Exam (PPST),
administered by Educational Testing Service (ETS). For admission, scores
must meet the standard established by the Pennsylvania Department of
Education. Click on the Praxis Information link at the left side of the page under Quick Links for specific information about the Praxis exams.
-
Course Completion
Students must earn at least a "C-" in:
- First year seminar (or
equivalent course)
- COMM 105 Foundations of Public Communication (or equivalent
course)
- Two college level math courses
- American/British literature course.
- All courses required for
the major or teacher certification program
Any course listed above in which students earn a grade
lower than "C-" must be repeated.
- GPA/Academic
Performance
Minimum GPA's of 3.0 (both cumulative and
in the major) after 48 completed credits are required for admission. The GPA for the major
includes all courses prescribed by the academic major and all courses
required for PA teacher certification. Students can check these GPAs on their own degree audits on MCSquare.
Provisional admission can be offered to students who are eligible to use the 2.8 GPA exception or the concurrent course exception.
- 2.8 Exception: If your major and/or overall GPA is between a 2.8 and a 2.99 and it is mathematically possible for you to raise your GPA to a 3.0 prior to student teaching, you may petition the Teacher Education Committee to allow you to enroll in courses that require TEP admittance for one semester while you work to raise your GPA.
If you are eligible to use the 2.8 policy when you apply to the TEP, you will be sent the petition to complete with your advisor.
- Concurrent course exception: The concurrent course policy allows you to enroll in courses that require TEP admittance while concurrently being enrolled in a course for which you received a grade lower than C- or a course that is required for admission that you have not yet completed.
If you are eligible to use the concurrent course policy when you apply, you will be sent the petition to complete with your advisor.
Your advisor can help you determine if it is in your best interest to use the policy in a given semester or to delay the courses for which you are currently ineligible. Completed petitions are to be sent to the chair of the Teacher Education Committee. You will be considered eligible to use the policy when the petition has been completed, returned and approved.
A student may appeal decisions regarding his/her status as determined by the Teacher Education Committee. Any appeal should be articulated in writing to the Chair of the Teacher Education Committee, stating the nature for the appeal and supporting rationale for consideration of the requested change. Appeals will be processed through the Teacher Education Committee by the committee chair and the Director of Teacher Education. Decisions regarding the appeal will be relayed to the student verbally and in writing. If the student is not satisfied with the decision of the Teacher Education Committee, a subsequent appeal may be made to the Dean of the School of Education and Social Science.
