Total number of hours for program: 120-128.
Admission to the Elementary Education Program
Students seeking admission to the Elementary Education Program must declare their major, declare their second academic concentration and earn and maintain a 2.75 cumulative GPA before being admitted. In order to be admitted students must complete an application for admission in EDCI 201 and achieve minimum required scores in Reading, Writing and Mathematics on PRAXIS I. Students will also complete a personality trait survey in EDCI 201, which will be viewed prior to admission (see Admission to Teacher Education Program). Students admitted to the program must maintain a 2.75 GPA or better to continue in the program. In addition to courses in the professional education sequence and courses in the major, Elementary Education teacher candidates must earn a C or better in the following courses: EDCI 201, ENGL 101, 202 and all courses in major. If a student’s overall GPA falls below 2.75 the student will be removed from the program and must improve the GPA and reapply for admission. If a student receives an F in any course in the professional education sequence or major, the student must retake the course when it is offered and earn a grade C or better. If a student fails any required major course twice, the student is withdrawn from the major. If a student does not successfully complete internship they may be withdrawn from the program and will be ineligible for licensure.
Admission to the Professional Education Sequence in Elementary Education
Students in the Professional Education must be admitted to the Teacher Education Sequence and are subject to all of the teacher education requirements. EDCI 201 is the only course in the professional education sequence that may be taken prior to admission to teacher education. The elementary education professional education sequence includes: EDCI 201, PSY 323, SPED 339, ELMG 485 and ELMG 495.
Continuation in the Elementary Education Program
The requirements for continuing in the program are (1) a GPA of at least 2.75 on hours attempted (2) behaviors and dispositions which adhere to the code of ethics of the profession and (3) satisfactory participation and completion in the required professional field experiences including ELMG 390 which are a prerequisites to internship. An evaluation of each field experience assignment will become a part of the teacher candidate’s professional record. Any dismissal from a field experience or internship will result in a grade lower that a C and will make the teacher candidate ineligible for licensure.
All students must complete a total of 120-128 hours depending upon SAC including:
- Liberal Studies (42 hours including 3 hours of Freshman Seminar)*
- Second Academic Concentration (18 hours)*
- Professional Education Sequence (24 hours)
- Major Courses (47 hours)
*Some SAC’s can count toward Liberal Studies and can affect the total number of hours to come degree. MATH 321 and MATH 322 are Liberal Studies of which 3 hours count toward Liberal Studies in the degree.