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Graduate Admission to Teacher Education Programs

Note: The following requirements are for students who began coursework Spring 2005 (January) or later. If you began coursework prior to Spring 2005, different requirements (PDF) must be met.

All graduate students admitted to the initial certification programs in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, Secondary Education, and Multicategorical Special Education, who wish to complete the University’s Teacher Preparation Program, including clinical practice (student teaching), must be officially admitted to the program. Passing the Illinois Certification Testing Systems, ICTS (Basic Skills Test for Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, Secondary Education, and Multicategorical Special Education majors) and ICTS, (Content Area Test for Secondary Education majors) is a requirement for full admission to the School of Education. Admission to Teacher Education Program is a four-benchmark process, which starts when a student enters Saint Xavier University and continues through admission to clinical practice. The four benchmarks are as follows:

Benchmark I, Teacher Education Candidate Status

The process for completion of this benchmark includes:

1. Admission into a graduate program in the School of Education
2. Completion of a federal criminal background check, facilitated by the Office of Teacher Education
3. Successful completion of EDUG 470, Profession of Teaching, and a minimum of six approved semester hours of professional education courses wit a grade of "C".
4. Maintaining a 3.0 Grade Point Average in professional education courses.

Benchmark II, Admission to Directed Teaching

The process and requirements for this benchmark include:

1. Maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 in professional education courses.
2. Successfully complete all professional education courses, and all general education courses. A minimum grade of “C” must be earned in all courses.
3. Pass the ICTS content-area tests (Early Childhood, Elementary, or Multicategorical Special Education) at a time that assures reporting of results prior to the start of student teaching according to the deadlines established by the Office of Teacher Education.
4. Submit the electronic Live-Text Portfolio to the Office of Teacher Education, and participate in an Educators Symposium the semester prior to student teaching. *
5. Submit an application for student teaching placement according to the deadlines established by the Office of Teacher Education.
6. Complete all health screenings as required.
7. Complete all required field experience hours.

Continuing development of an education portfolio occurs during this timeframe, details of which are available in the Office of Teacher Education and from course instructors. Upon successful completion of Benchmark II, the teacher candidate is designated a student teacher candidate and is assigned a student teaching placement. Requirements in teacher education, including portfolio requirements, are subject to change within the time span of one’s university career due to changing requirements at national, state, and local levels.

A more in-depth explanation of program requirements is available in the School of Education and the Office of Teacher Education.

Benchmark III, Exit from Clinical Practice

The process and requirements for this benchmark include:

1. Maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 in professional education courses..
2. Satisfactory ratings by supervisor and cooperating teacher on OTE Instructional Feedback forms.
3. Grade of “C” or better in clinical practice experience
4. Successful completion of EDUG 445 appropriate in Early Childhood Education, Elementary education, and Secondary education programs.

Benchmark IV, Program Completion

The process and requirements for this stage include:

1. Maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 in professional education courses.
2. Successful completion of the clinical practice experience, EDUG 445 (when a requirement of the major).
3. Minimum completion of semester hours as required by the program.
4. Proof of passing the appropriate APT test (required for certification but not graduation). Graduate Students in Multicategorical Special education also have to pass the Special Education General Curriculum Test.

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