Education

To be eligible to receive an initial teaching certificate in Georgia, a student must complete an approved teacher preparation program designed to meet state and national certification and accreditation requirements in a specific teaching field, as well as institution requirements.

The University of North Georgia offers undergraduate programs in middle grades education, early childhood care and education (birth to K), early childhood education (grades P-5), and a dual major in early childhood and special education (P-5). The university also offers secondary education programs (grades 6-12) in biology, chemistry, English, mathematics, and history and offers programs leading to P-12 certification in art, music, and physical education. Students should note that some programs are only offered on specific campuses.

Course requirements for the education programs are found in each of the following sections. Academic requirements related to the Secondary (6-12) teaching programs in the other teaching fields are found in the area of the catalog devoted to that specific academic major (e.g., English Education (6-12) may be found in the catalog under English).

The University of North Georgia offers a number of programs leading to the Master of Education (M.Ed.) and Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree. Specific information about the M.Ed. and MAT is found in the Graduate Bulletin.

Undergraduate Admission Requirements

Individual programs may have differing requirements. These requirements are available from the Teacher Education Department and are listed on the application for admission to Teacher Education. All College of Education Admissions Requirements are posted in the program specific description sections.

The Background Check

All Teacher Education students will be subject to a Fingerprint/Background check performed through a professional agency identified by UNG.

The Fingerprint/Background Check is performed on:

Students enrolling in EDUC 2110 Fall 2013 and onward.
As part of your enrollment in the EDUC 2110 course at UNG and prior to placement in the schools, students will be required to submit to a fingerprinting/background check.
Transfer students (or returning students who did not complete a recent check in EDUC 2110) applying and being accepted into the UNG Teacher Education Program.
Fee due before beginning the program. (Form included in application packet).

Program Cohort Groups

Eligibility for admission is based upon the admission criteria listed in the catalog and on the Teacher Certification Admission website. Students are admitted in the Teacher Education Program as part of a cohort group. Each cohort group completes the professional education sequential course work together. This provides each group of students with a common set of experiences, ensured access to required classes within the College of Education and coherent advisement and progression to graduation. The College of Education limits the size of cohorts to the number that can be served in class and public school settings.

All Teacher Education Programs are planned according to the semester that the student begins upper-division professional education course work. This requires that the student remain in sequence with a cohort group in order to complete the professional education program of study on schedule. Please note that some programs require attendance during summer terms. A student must complete an approved Plan of Study by the end of the second semester in the Teacher Education program.

Teacher Education Policies

The College of Education polices applicable to all students are posted on the College of Education web site.

Retention in the Teacher Education Program

One important aspect of the Teacher Education Program is the constant vigilance exercised by the faculty to ensure that standards of quality are maintained. The following standards must be maintained for continued retention in a program:

compliance with rules and regulations prescribed for all students at UNG;
adherence to the Code of Ethics of the Georgia Professional Standards Commission;
completion of all courses in the academic major and professional education courses with an academic grade of “C” or better;
demonstration of competence in the use of oral and written language;
maintenance of an institutional grade point average of 2.75 as required for program admission; and
satisfactory performance in all field experiences, including the on-going demonstration of dispositions required of teachers as professionals.

Students whose institutional GPA drops below a 2.75 or who receive “D’s” in major courses will be placed on teacher education probation the next semester. If the problem is not corrected within the next semester of enrollment, the student could be withdrawn from the program.

Field Experiences

For all courses with a field component, a teacher education student must complete all requirements and earn a grade of “C” or higher in the field component in order to pass the course. Students must complete all courses with a field component with a grade of “C” or better before enrolling in any teacher education courses in a subsequent semester.

Only under extreme circumstances will a student be allowed to extend or repeat field-based coursework at the 4000 level. A student who must extend or repeat the pre-internship block will have only one opportunity to complete internship. However, a student who successfully completes block in one semester without extension will have one opportunity to extend or repeat internship.

The School of Education has contractual agreements with designated systems and schools for placement of teacher education students for field experiences and internships. Field placements are limited to those school sites. All public school field placements will be arranged through the School of Education Field Placement Coordinator.

Teacher education students will not be placed for field experiences in a school which they attended within the last seven years or in which they have immediate family employed or enrolled.

Program Probation and Suspension

Due to the highly sensitive nature of working with children and youth in public school settings, the following policy also applies to the Teacher Education Program: Any faculty member or administrator of UNG and/or the co-operating school system who has supervisory responsibility for the on-site university student may immediately remove said student from the school site if, in that person’s professional judgment, the university student has acted in an inappropriate manner involving children, youth, staff, or parents or if the student’s continued presence in the classroom is detrimental either to the intern or to the educational progress of the students in the classroom. The university student may also be removed, prior to the completion of her/his assignment in that school, should the university or school personnel judge that the university student does not adequately perform her/his assignments or conform adequately to the policies and procedures of the school. Removal from a school placement may result in a failing grade for the field experience and expulsion or suspension from the program.

Technology

All Teacher Education candidates are required to successfully meet the state mandated technology requirement. A candidate can satisfy this requirement by completing a technology-embedded teacher education program. All University of North Georgia’s teacher education programs are technology-embedded programs.

The Internship

The internship is that part of the pre-service education program in which the prospective teacher works full time in a cooperating school with an assigned cooperating teacher. Depending on the program, the internship will take place during the last full year or the last entire semester of the program. During internship students are expected to assume all of the responsibilities of a classroom teacher, therefore permission for outside employment or enrollment in courses not associated with internship must be obtained from the Field Experience Coordinator. A student must complete an Internship application, which is found on the Teacher Education website. Application deadlines are March 1 for fall Internships and September 1 for spring Internships.

The following are prerequisites for the Internship:

admission to the Teacher Education Program;
completion of all professional education courses and courses appropriate to the teaching field (exceptions must be approved by the academic advisor) with a grade of C or better;
maintenance of a minimum grade point average of 2.75;
senior classification as determined by the Registrar’s Office;
satisfactory completion of all previous field-based assignments;
completion of the appropriate GACE Content Assessments examination.

For a complete listing of internship policies, see the Internship Handbook on the Teacher Education website.

Accreditation

The Teacher Education Program of North Georgia College & State University has state program approval through the Georgia Professional Standards Commission and national accreditation through the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education.

Programs

Associate of Science

Bachelor of Science