Advising

Certification

The advising process in the teacher education program begins at the undergraduate level. Each candidate in the elementary education program is assigned an advisor from the Education Department. Candidates preparing to be secondary teachers have an advisor from the area of their major and, upon acceptance into the program, a co-advisor from the Education Department. Though primary responsibility for advising rests with the candidate, the education advisor works with the candidate in conjunction with his or her major advisor in planning the sequence of courses that leads to graduation and that meet State Department of Education requirements for certification with endorsements in a first and second teaching field. The advisor monitors the candidate’s progress through the portfolio process, state testing requirements, and the coursework for the minor. During the internship year, the Education Department faculty guides interns through the digital portfolio process and assists candidates in completing a placement file and preparing the paperwork for state licensure.

To assure that candidates are progressing successfully through the teacher education program, the department has established five checkpoints (beginning in the undergraduate portion of the program) at which progress is reviewed. For information on the specific timing and requirements of each checkpoint, please consult the Education Department Handbook. Fast track students will work according to an individualized certification plan, developed under the direction of the education advisor, to meet checkpoint requirements.

Appeal Procedure

Any candidate who has been denied admission to the teacher education program, recommendation for admission to the MAT program, admission to internship, recommendation for admission to the MEd program, or recommendation for certification, and who believes that this action was not justified, may appeal the decision through the procedure outlined below. Students wishing to initiate such action must do so in writing within three weeks of being notified of the decision they wish to appeal.

The appeal procedure is as follows:

1. A written statement requesting reconsideration of action shall be presented to the chair of the Education Department. The statement must include reasons for the request. The student shall meet with the chair of the Education Department to determine if a satisfactory agreement can be achieved at that level. The chair shall respond to the student, in writing, concerning the outcome of that meeting within five working days of the meeting.
2. If the situation is not resolved to the satisfaction of the student in step one, the student shall be entitled to appear, in person, before a hearing committee composed of the full-time College of Idaho faculty members teaching in the Education Department, without the department chair present. The student must notify the department of his/her desire to move the appeal process to level two within one week of receiving notification of the decision at level one. A written document, including the nature of the request, the student’s description of the situation in question and his or her rationale for the request, shall be submitted to each department faculty member at least two days prior to the meeting. An Education Department faculty member shall provide the student with written notification of the faculty’s response to the student’s request within five working days of the meeting.
3. If the situation is not resolved to the satisfaction of the student, he/she may take the request to a hearing committee composed of the vice president of academic affairs, the Education Department chair, and a K-12 school administrator who currently serves on the Teacher Education Advisory Committee. The student must notify the department of his/her desire to move the appeal process to level three within one week of receiving notification of the decision at level two. The student shall provide each member of the committee with a written description of the issue in question and the rationale for his/her request at least two days prior to the meeting. The student shall receive written notification of the results of the hearing within five working days of the meeting.

The decision of the level three hearing committee shall be considered final.