Special Education General Curriculum, Post Baccalaureate Certificate

This fully online certificate program enables students holding degrees other than education degrees to study Special Education General Curriculum at the graduate level. Candidates must have an undergraduate degree in a related field. 

The program requires 24 semester hours of graduate study. Each semester students will engage in clinical experiences and field experiences are required in all methods courses.   A year-long internship or the equivalent is required. Successful completion leads to recommendation for an initial level teaching license in K-12 Special Education General Curriculum from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, pending completion of all state-mandated requirements.  

Teacher Education Admission Requirements

Acceptance and registration in a department do not guarantee admission to the teacher education program in that department. The applicant's fitness for teaching in the chosen area is determined by demonstrated academic ability and other personal characteristics conducive to effective teaching. Admission and retention policies in teacher education programs are based on the standards and guidelines of the State of North Carolina and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). Approved institutions must have established procedures for implementing decisions regarding admission to and retention in teacher education programs. The state and CAEP guidelines require continuous evaluation of students admitted to teacher education programs and states that those found unlikely to succeed as teachers should be withdrawn. Students with disabilities that may impact successful teaching should consult with the Director of Teacher Education and the Office of Accessibility Resources.

Students who plan to receive a certficate or degree in education or a teaching license through Western Carolina University must apply for and be officially admitted to a teacher education program. Admission to teacher education requires an application that should be completed during the first semester in which the student is enrolled. Applications are available online by logging into Watermark (also known as Tk20.) See information on Admission to the Teacher Education website.

Students must have maintained satisfactory conduct and citizenship records in keeping with the ethics of the teaching profession. Applicants with a record of legal offenses may not be eligible for admission to teacher education or be able to remain in teacher education if new offenses occur.

Readmission to the Teacher Education Program

Students whose WCU enrollment is interrupted for three consecutive semesters (any combination of fall, spring, summer) or who are dismissed from the university are required to seek readmission to the Teacher Education Program upon their return. Readmission to the Teacher Education program requires students to meet admission criteria in place at the time the readmission application is submitted.

A student who is readmitted to the university after dismissal, suspension or expulsion will not be readmitted to the Teacher Education program the first term after returning.

Continuation in the Teacher Education Program

The requirements for continuing in the program are as follows

1. A GPA of at least 2.75 on hours attempted
2. Behavior that adheres to the NC code of ethics of the profession and the professional dispositions of the College of Education and Allied Professions
3. Satisfactory participation in the required professional field experience program that is prerequisite to student teaching.

An evaluation of each field experience assignment will become a part of the student's professional record.

Clinical and Field Experience for Professional Education

In addition to the intern requirement, the teacher education program requires field experiences in conjunction with several courses. Students are expected to make their own arrangements for transportation and housing and absorb the costs related to field experiences and internship. Each program has different requirements, and students should discuss costs with the program head before applying for admission to the teacher education program. The goal of professional education clinical and field experiences is to help teacher education students learn to teach all of their pupils to achieve at high levels of performance. Although each field experience requirement has its own specific purpose and placement procedures, the strategies to achieve this goal are stated below:

1. Field experience placements are made so that students can work with qualified educators in successful programs.
2. Field experience placements are made so that students have the opportunity to work with diverse learners. Teacher education students are required to complete one field experience in a diverse setting, as defined by the College of Education and Allied Professions. Students who do not complete one of the early field experience requirements in a diverse setting must be placed in a diverse setting for the internship semester.
3. Field experiences placements are made in collaboration with K-12 school personnel.
4. Field experience placements are made to facilitate appropriate supervision of students.
5. Students can sometimes combine early field experience placements to meet multiple course requirements. This is approved for no more than two classes.

Admission to Internship

Students apply to the director of field experiences early in the semester before the semester in which the student teaching/internship is to be done. These are the requirements for admission to student teaching/internship are:

1. Enrollment in the professional education sequence for at least two semesters
2. A GPA of 2.75 or above, both at the beginning of the term immediately preceding the student teaching/internship term and at the time of enrollment in student teaching/internship
3. Completion of all records designated by the director of field experiences
4. Completion of the applicable professional education sequence except for student teaching/internship and the student teaching/internship seminar
5. Completion of a background check through approved vendor within six months of beginning internship.
6. Completion of student teaching/internship application including recommendation by adviser and department head
7. All other requirements from the school placement as applicable.

Continuation in Internship

To continue in internship, students must maintain satisfactory professional conduct and adhere to the policies and regulations of the school to which they are assigned. When recommended by the director of field experiences and approved by the dean, students failing to perform at a satisfactory level may be removed from internship. Removal from a school placement is considered a failed internship. The Office of Field Experiences is under no obligation to place the student in another setting. Removal from a school placement will result in a grade no higher than a F.

Requirements for Teacher Licensure

To be eligible for a recommendation from WCU for an initial teaching license in North Carolina, a student must meet the following criteria:

1. Complete one of the approved teacher-education programs
2. Achieve a minimum grade of C (2.0) in internship or student teaching
3. Achieve minimum required score on the edTPA assessment
4. Receive a public school recommendation indicating that student teaching was successful
5. Receive a satisfactory recommendation on the standard final internship/student teaching evaluation.  
6. Complete application for licensure and file with the Licensure Officer of the College of Education and Allied Professions
7. Meet WCU testing requirement for PRAXIS II and/or Pearson tests
8. Receive a professional recommendation for an Initial Professional License (IPL) by the Licensure Officer of the College of Education and Allied Professions
9. Pay the license fee required by the Department of Public Education for the issuance of a teacher license.

Credits earned may be applied to the Special Education General Curriculum concentration in the Comprehensive Education MAT program.