Education (EDUC) General Program Requirements

Admission to Teacher Education

Education students are admitted to the University as pre-education majors. Subsequently, students will then apply for formal Admission to Teacher Education. The application for Admission to Teacher Education is available online and can be accessed in Canvas. Once admitted to Teacher Education, all candidates will be required to apply for a Georgia Pre-Service Certificate, which will involve a state background check.

Eventually the following requirements must be met for full admission to the teaching program:

• Evidence of adequate scholastic ability, demonstrated by a 2.5 “C+” or higher cumulative GPA or 2.75 for Secondary Education majors.
• Evidence of meeting expectations for professional conduct and ethics as documented by taking the Georgia Ethics Assessment (Exit level/test 360).
• Program Admissions Assessments and be admitted to Teacher Education in order to take professional courses in the major.
• Evidence of adequate communication skills demonstrated by passing required oral interview and written assessment.

When all of the above requirements have been met the candidate will receive a letter confirming his or her full admission to the education program.

Fees

Candidates for degrees and programs leading to teacher certification will incur costs associated with state certification requirements.

Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators (GACE)

*Fees were accurate at the time of printing, but are subject to change.

Field Experiences

Field Experience requirements are established by each department and embedded in individual courses. Teacher Candidates should consult their course instructor for detailed information concerning their program of study and procedures regarding field experiences. Education majors should be aware that they must have the pre-service certificate prior to completing any required P-12 school field experiences.

Continuation and completion of all field experiences is contingent upon demonstration of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to help all students learn as described in the College of Education Conceptual Framework and InTASC standards and the Professional Behaviors and Dispositions Assessment. Piedmont University reserves the right to withdraw or change the placement of a teacher candidate for failure to meet these outcomes or at the request of the host school.

Technology Requirements

As technology continues to evolve in P-12 and in the college classroom, students and faculty of teacher preparation programs are challenged to stay current in the “tools of the day.” This need is reinforced by recent changes in accreditation requirements where the skillset in instructional technology use by teacher candidates is required.

College of Education candidates will no longer be required to purchase, or bring to class, mobile technology, laptops, or other relevant instructional technology tools. However, the College of Education strongly encourages teacher candidates to come prepared with any tools that demonstrate their abilities to apply student engagement activities through related educational Apps, educational games, and educational websites, and other software. Many of these skills are provided in EDUC 2250/EDUC 6601 Media and Technology for Educators, but Candidates are also charged with the ability to prepare with varied technology-based tools and a working knowledge of a need for compatibility with tablets and laptops from varied platforms. Optimizing student engagement through the use and support of current technologies and online systems is the primary focus of College of Education faculty to enrich education classes and to further make our graduates competitive in the educational arena.