College of Education

   
    Admission Procedures
    Admission & Retention
    Appeals Procedures
    Assistantships
    Curriculum Approval
    Disclosure and Affirmations
    Graduate Advisement
    Graduate Program Coordinator
    Grant Proposal Process
    Off-Campus Offerings
    PLU Process
    POS Approval Process
    Senior Privilege
    Student Scholarships
 
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    Graduate Assoc. Dean's Page
 

COE Graduate Information and Procedures

Admission and Retention in COE Graduate Programs
A student must be admitted to the graduate degree program for which they intend to earn a degree by the completion of half of the required program course work. Any courses taken beyond that point will not apply to the degree program.

In order to be admitted in a graduate education program, a student must:

  1. Meet all admission criteria as identified for the specific graduate program (degree and non-degree).

  2. Complete a criminal background check (unless the applicant holds certification in Georgia or can provide documentation that verifies employment in a school system or other educational/community agency and that a criminal background check was conducted as part of that employment).

  3. Disclose any previous misconduct or professional ethics violations—must not have a past reprimand, monitoring, or warning statement in the educator’s certification file.

  4. Acknowledge that the Georgia Professional Standards Commission’s (PSC) Code of Ethics for Educators has been reviewed and that the applicant will adhere to those standards;

  5. Confirm that he/she holds tort liability insurance coverage.

In order to be admitted into a graduate internship, a graduate student must:

  1. Meet all admission and retention requirements for the graduate education program, including GPA requirements.

  2. Have a disciplinary record clear of any actions which might be a detriment to placement and successful performance in a school or other educational/community agency internship setting.

  3. Disclose any previous misconduct or professional ethics violations.

  4. Exhibit appropriate mental, emotional, and physical health skills and capabilities needed to meet the expectations of the profession.

  5. Confirm that he/she continues to hold tort liability insurance coverage.

  6. Complete a criminal background check (unless the applicant holds certification in Georgia or can provide documentation that verifies employment in a school system or other educational/community agency and that a criminal background check was conducted as part of that employment).

  7. Participate in any required orientation activities for the internship.

All of the following requirements must be met for retention in a graduate education program:

  1. Maintain required GPA

  2. Successfully complete all key assessments required by the program

  3. Successfully complete all field experiences required by the program

  4. Successfully complete all requirements specified by the program and be making satisfactory progress toward achieving program outcomes. Programs will be responsible for monitoring student progress and providing guidance to students who may be having difficulty meeting retention requirements.

  5. Must not have violated the Georgia Professional Standards Commission’s Code of Ethics for Professional Educators. Must not have a past reprimand, monitoring, or warning statement in the educator’s certification file.

  6. Must not have been found in violation of the Georgia Southern University Student Conduct Code. Reviews will be made on a case-by-case basis based on the seriousness of the violation and with regard to consistency.

  7. Maintain liability insurance.

  8. Students who are required to participate in internships or other field experiences as part of their graduate program are required to complete a criminal background check on admission to the program and before commencing the internship unless the student is a certified teacher in Georgia or can provide documentation that verifies employment in a school system or other educational/community agency and that a criminal background check was conducted as part of that employment. Students will not be required to undergo a criminal background check more than once every two years.

  9. Meet all retention criteria established by the College of Graduate Studies.

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COE Graduate Admission Procedures
Prospective candidates must make application to the College of Graduate Studies through the Admissions Office. Once an application file is complete, the designated COE program admissions coordinator reviews the file using Application Xtender, the admissions software used by the Admissions Office. Admission decisions are made for non-degree admission as well, including non-degree applications for the purposes of acquiring initial certification, adding fields, certification renewal, and other professional development.

Admission decisions are made within the department and in collaboration with program faculty. Additional admission criteria are required by the Counselor Education, School Psychology and the two doctoral programs (i.e. interviews, writing samples). Contact is made with applicants by program admissions coordinators as needed to complete the application and review processes.

Admission decisions are posted in Xtender. Graduate Admissions Office staff then notify applicants of their admissions status. COE doctoral admissions coordinators also send letters to those who are admitted to the Ed.D. programs.

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Disclosure and Affirmations
For admission to a graduate educator preparation program, a prospective candidate must submit a completed "Disclosure and Affirmation Form" that addresses misconduct disclosure, criminal background check, the Code of Ethics for Educators, and tort liability insurance. Violations can prevent admission and/or retention in the educator preparation program. Criminal background rechecks are required every two years. Guidance to graduate students, program coordinators and graduate advisors regarding the criminal background check and other requirements is available at: http://coe.georgiasouthern.edu/disclosure/.

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Graduate Advisement
Graduate candidates are advised by faculty advisors in the programs to which they are admitted. Department chairs regularly update the list of advisor assignments and the office of the Associate Dean for Graduate, Research and Sponsored Programs compiles a central list that is then submitted to the Graduate Admissions Office. Candidates are notified of their advisor's name and contact information upon admission.

Candidates who are enrolled in graduate or non-degree programs for initial teacher certification are advised by the Student Success Center and Certification Coordinator (Mrs. Chris Thompson). Once degree-seeking candidates complete all prerequisite content courses that are identified on their transcript evaluation and are admitted into the Teacher Education Program, a graduate faculty advisor in the teaching field will be assigned."

After admission into the graduate program, advisors provide candidates a copy of the program requirements and provide advisement through e-mail, telephone, and conferences. All College of Graduates Studies (COGS) policies for matriculation must be follows (see http://cogs.georgiasouthern.edu/matriculation.html).

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Graduate Appeals Procedures
 If an applicant is denied admission to a COE graduate program or a graduate student is excluded from continuing in a COE graduate program, the following procedures are to be followed. The student or prospective student must begin the appeals process with the College of Graduate Studies and follow their guidelines for submitting an appeal. The appeal materials are then forwarded to the office of the COE Associate Dean for Graduate, Research, Sponsored Programs, and Development. The Associate Dean's secretary makes copies, as necessary, and routes the material so that the necessary recommendations are provided. First, the materials are distributed to the appropriate department chair/s for a departmental recommendation. Once a departmental recommendation is received, the appeal is then reviewed by the COE Student Affairs Committee. The committee members review appeals either in a regularly scheduled meeting, a specially called meeting, or electronically. Once the Student Affairs Committee makes its recommendation, the appeal is forwarded to the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies for a final decision.

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Program of Study Approval Process
Programs of study for individual students must conform to the Georgia PSC and University-approved programs of study. College of Graduate Studies policies must be followed (see http://cogs.georgiasouthern.edu/posprocedures.html). Faculty advisors may approve a limited number of course substitutions and may determine what transfer or transient course credit may apply to the program of study as long as the program's learning outcomes and SPA standards are met.

Candidates must file a program of study with COGS no later than the end of the semester prior to expected graduation. The program of study is submitted by the candidate, and is reviewed and electronically signed by the candidate's advisor; the candidate's department chair; and the COGS associate dean. A copy is maintained by the department and/or advisor, and COGS maintains copies of programs of study.

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Senior Privilege to take Graduate Courses as an Undergraduate Student
In the College of Education, "senior privilege" can be granted to high-achieving undergraduate students who are in their senior year and desiring to take up to two graduate courses in the term prior to Student Teaching (typically in the summer). Only in special circumstances will more than 6 graduate credit hours be allowed or for any other term besides the term preceding Student Teaching. It is recommended that students take any of the three M.Ed. core courses (EDUR 7130, EDUF 7130, EDUC 7130) with Senior Privilege.

Following are the process and guidelines to be followed:
1. The student completes a Senior Privilege (Graduate Credit for Seniors) request using the form available through the College of Graduate Studies. COGS guidelines for Senior Privilege must be followed. Senior Privilege requires that the student qualifies for regular admission to a graduate degree program, including acceptable GRE or MAT test scores and GPA.

2. The student must obtain the signature of his/her Student Success Center advisor on the request form to verify senior status and GPA.

3. The student must obtain an approval signature of the department chair for the graduate program the student desires to enter. Attached to the request form must be the verification of status in the undergraduate program (that all but Student Teaching has been completed) and GPA.

4. The student must obtain an approval signature of the Associate Dean for Graduate programs. At this time, GRE/MAT scores, GPA and academic standing in the undergraduate program will be examined to assure the applicants meet "regular" admission status for the M.Ed. program.

5. The Associate Dean will forward the request to the College of Graduate Studies for a final admissions decision.

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Graduate Assistantships
The College of Graduate Studies makes annual graduate assistant allotments to each college. In the College of Education, the Associate Dean for Graduate, Research and Sponsored Programs facilitates the allotment of graduate assistants to the COE departments based on assessed needs. Faculty and departments typically are asked to submit requests each year (late spring when notice of the college allotment is received). Requests are reviewed by the Associate Dean and Chairs so that equitable assignments are made based on needs within the college.

Graduate assistant applications are received from COGS electronically. Department chairs and appropriate faculty within the college interview and select the candidates they wish to employ as graduate assistants. The Associate Dean's office monitors the process and assists with processing necessary forms.

Additional graduate assistants are employed through grant funding. Grant principal investigators and/or directors are responsible for the selection of those they employ. Graduate assistants who are paid by grant funding must meet all the requirements of all other graduate assistants.

Graduate assistants and their supervisors must follow COGS policies and procedures related to assistantships. See http://cogs.georgiasouthern.edu/graduateassistantships.html. All graduate assistants are evaluated each semester using a COGS evaluation instrument, and evaluations are submitted to the Associate Dean as well as COGS.

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Graduate Student Scholarships
The College of Education offers three scholarships that are available to graduate students. Each of the three departments in the College of Education will post the scholarship information and application forms on their departmental web site, accessed by the COE main web site and the College of Graduate Studies and Financial Aid Office web sites as well. The deadline for applications will be October 1 each year. A spring semester deadline may also be established. Award decisions will be made by a department committee and names submitted to the University Advancement Office within six weeks of the application deadline. Students awarded the scholarships are to be notified by the department by letter within the six week period, with copies sent to the College of Graduate Studies, the COE Student Affairs Committee, and the University Advancement Office. The department will maintain copies of the award letters. The three scholarship currently available are listed below with the managing department:

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Curriculum Approval
 Graduate curriculum is approved through a process that typically begins at the department level. Recommendations from collaborations such as Program Action Teams, Teacher Education Council, and the Partnership Council are considered by the department, as program of study, new course, course revision, and course deletion proposals are made. The process occurs as follows:

  1. Proposal is developed and approved at the departmental level.

  2. Proposal is submitted to the Teacher Education Committee's Executive Committee to determine if one or more College TEC Committee/s should review the proposal. If that is the determination, the TEC Chair routes the proposal to the chair of the appropriate college-level TEC Committee/s for review. If not, the proposal moves to the next step of the process.

  3. Following College TEC Committee/s approval (if required), the proposal is forwarded to the COE Curriculum Committee for review and approval. The proposal will also be submitted to other college curriculum committees, if appropriate. COE Curriculum Committee approval must be received if a proposal relates to a COE program.

  4. Proposal is then submitted to the dean of the college for approval.

  5. Proposal is then submitted to the University's Graduate Committee for approval. If not approved, the proposal is returned to the department for reconsideration. If approved by the Graduate Committee, the proposal is submitted to the University Senate, to the Provost, and, if applicable, to the President and to the Board of Regents. (See http://students.georgiasouthern.edu/registrar/GradCommittee/grad_com_procedures.pdf for University graduate curriculum procedures.)

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Graduate Program Coordinator
Graduate Program Coordinators in the College of Education (COE) are appointed by the Department Chair and approved by the COE Dean and the College of Graduate Studies (COGS) Dean. It is the responsibility of the Graduate Program Coordinator to implement all policies and procedures of the Graduate Committee and COGS as well as any policies, guidelines and procedures of the COE and the department that pertain to the graduate program. (see full document: Responsibilities of Graduate Program Coordinators).

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Grant Proposal Process
 Grant proposals must follow the policies and procedures for grant development, approval and submission as outlined by the Office of Research Services and Sponsored Programs. See http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/research/index.html. Additionally, COE faculty are expected to notify their department chairs if they wish to pursue a grant. If University resources are involved in the grant proposal, including adjustments or reassignments of faculty work load, departments, dean/s and others who hold responsibility for those resources must be consulted at the outset.

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Offering Off-Campus Graduate Courses
 USG Board of Regents Off-Campus Instructional Site Policies and Guidelines (Academic Affairs Handbook 2.12.02, see http://www.usg.edu/academics/handbook/section2/2.12/2.12.02.phtml ) must be followed as well as College of Graduate Studies policy (see http://cogs.georgiasouthern.edu/download/PDHandbook.pdf). Department chairs and faculty in the COE are also expected to use the procedures provided in the Off-campus Program Delivery Plan when scheduling off-campus courses. Information regarding resources that support off-campus programs and courses is available at http://coe.georgiasouthern.edu/coeoffcampus.html.

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PLU Proposal Process
 Select courses are approved to offer Professional Learning Unit credits in lieu of graduate course credit to P-12 educators who apply. Additionally, select courses are offered for PLU credits solely as needed. In all cases, candidates who complete PLU credit courses must fulfill all requirements of the course, including attendance and assessments, and PLU courses are designed at a graduate course level. The procedures and forms for approving a course for PLU credits are available at http://coe.georgiasouthern.edu/plu.html.

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