Elementary & Special Education

The Department of Elementary and Special Education (ESE) offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. At the undergraduate level, the Department of ESE offers a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree resulting in the ability to apply for dual certification in Elementary and Special Education (ELE/SPED). This initial certification program consists of 127 hours of coursework designed to prepare students to work in both fields from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. Partnerships with school districts afford ELE/SPED students the opportunity to complete over 1500 hours of extensive practicum field experiences and internships in partner schools.

All students accepted into the Elementary and Special Education program will full-day, full-year teaching and learning experiences in our partner schools. These experiences are critical for the development of our teacher candidates. Not only are our teacher candidates in the ELE/SPED program well-prepared for the classroom due to their intensive field and clinical experiences, but they are also taught by faculty who are experts in the most current pedagogies and research in their fields.

At the graduate level, the Department of ESE offers a Master of Education (M.Ed.) degree in Elementary Education (ELE). The M.Ed. in Elementary Education is designed for teachers who are certified in Elementary Education and who have an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education or a related degree. Our M.Ed. in Elementary Education is a fully online 33-credit program that can be completed in six semesters.

Along with the M.Ed. in ELE program, the Department of ESE offers six graduate-level endorsements. The Autism Education Endorsement, Computer Science Endorsement, Dyslexia Endorsement, English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Endorsement, Gifted Endorsement, and Reading Endorsement programs can be taken for graduate college credit as standalone programs or embedded endorsements in the College’s master’s degree programs. These six endorsement programs can also be taken for Professional Learning Units (PLU) credit.

Upper Division for Initial Certification

Students are admitted into a College of Education degree program whenever they declare education as a major. Under this major, they may complete the core or their first 60 hours. They may not progress to the major area courses or upper division courses, however, until they complete an application for continuation. Students must be issued a pre-service certificate from the Georgia Professional Standards Commission or they will not be permitted to continue in the program, as students without a pre-service certificate cannot participate in field and clinical experiences required for graduation and certification.

Retention in the College of Education Initial Certification Programs

One important aspect of the College of Education’s initial teacher certification programs 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 with a grade of “C” or better;
Demonstration of competence in the use of oral and written language;
Maintenance of an overall grade point average of 3.0 for graduation (2.50 is required for progression to the upper division for all College of Education initial certification programs); and
Satisfactory performance in all field and clinical experiences, including the on-going demonstration of dispositions required of teachers as professionals.

Students whose overall GPA drops below a 3.0 or who receive “D’s” in major courses will be placed on an Academic Success Plan. If appropriate progress is not made within the next semester of enrollment, the student could be withdrawn from the program.

In order for a student to be considered a program completer by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, the student must attempt all assessments required for certification in addition to completing a UNG Initial Certification Program.

Field and Clinical Experiences for Initial Certification

Field experience refers to all experience completed prior to the final internship, which is called the clinical experience. For all courses with a field or clinical component, an education student must complete all requirements and earn a grade of “C” or higher in the field and/or clinical 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 education courses in a subsequent semester.

The clinical experience or final internship is that part of the pre-service education program in which the prospective teacher works fulltime in a cooperating school with an assigned mentor teacher. Depending on the program, the clinical experience will take place during the last full year or the last entire semester of the program. During clinical experience students are expected to assume all of the responsibilities of a classroom teacher.

The following are prerequisites for the clinical internship:

Issuance of the pre-service certificate from the Georgia Professional Standards Commission,
Completion of all professional education courses and courses appropriate to the teaching field with a grade of C or better;
Maintenance of a minimum grade point average of 3.0;
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.

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

Education majors 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 for Initial Certification

Due to the highly sensitive nature of working with children and youth in public school settings, the following policy also applies to the College’s 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 perform her/his assignments adequately or conform 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.

Program Completion Requirements for Initial Teacher Certification

In addition to the successful completion of the program of study and satisfactory performance in all field and clinical experiences, Education students must also pursue assessments required by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. To be considered a College of Education program completer and graduate, a student must meet the following requirements:

Take the Georgia Educator Ethics Assessment,
Attempt the GACE Content Assessment in the respective content area(s) (attempting the GACE is required for graduation, although a passing score is required for certification),
Complete all other Educator Preparation Program key assessments at the set benchmark;
Submit the GaPSC and College of Education completer surveys;
Earn a grade of “C” or higher in all major coursework; and
Maintain an overall 3.0 GPA.

In order to be eligible for teacher certification, students must receive passing scores on the Georgia Educator Ethics assessments and the GACE content assessments for the degree field.

Accreditation

The College of Education programs of the University of North Georgia have state program approval through the Georgia Professional Standards Commission and national accreditation through the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).

Programs

Bachelor of Science

Elementary and Special Education (B.S.)