Frequently Asked Questions

The Health and Physical Education (HPE) undergraduate program is available only through on-campus, day coursework. This degree program can be completed on the Statesboro Campus. Currently there are no internet or distance learning programs in place for undergraduate education degrees at Georgia Southern. The HPE program also requires certain combinations of courses to be taken concurrently, so steady progression through the program requires full-time enrollment.

TEP is the abbreviation for the Teacher Education Program. Admission into TEP is dependent on the satisfaction of specific requirements. Declaring Education as a major does not automatically admit you into the Teacher Education Program. Until all teacher education program requirements are met, students are classified as  Professional Studies Health and Physical Education B.S.Ed. Non-Certification Track majors and may not enroll in junior and senior level education courses.

The Pre-professional Block, or PPB, is a set of three courses with a field experience component:

• Investigating Critical and Contemporary Issues in Education (EDUC 2110)
• Exploring Socio-Cultural Perspectives on Diversity in Educational Contexts (EDUC 2120)
• Exploring Learning and Teaching (EDUC 2130)

The three PPB courses, totaling nine semester hours, are taken concurrently preferably during the fourth semester at Georgia Southern.

During the PPB experience, students will begin the construction of a Folio, which will be a part of the admission process to the Teacher Education Program. Students will also have a common field experience with the three courses which will provide them with exposure to actual classrooms and school settings. During the PPB, students will be evaluated by committees on a set of established criteria including intrapersonal behaviors, interpersonal behaviors, oral communication, written communication and professional behaviors.

Prior to enrolling in the PPB, students should have all other requirements for admission to the Teacher Education Program satisfied in order to progress in the program after the PPB is completed. Successful completion of the PPB, including the field experience and Folio review, is required for admission to the Teacher Education Program.

The Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators®(GACE™) is a series of exams developed by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (PSC) with the assistance of the National Evaluation Systems, Inc. (NES®). The purpose of GACE is to assess the knowledge and skills of prospective Georgia public school educators. The series of exams includes the GACE Program Admission Assessment and GACE Content Assessment exams.

The GACE Program Admission Assessment is a requirement for entry into the Teacher Education Program at Georgia Southern. The appropriate GACE Content Assessment must be taken for admission to Student Teaching.

For more GACE information, including test dates, locations, study hints, and on-line registration, use these links:

• GACE website
• PSC’s Educator Testing web page
• Exempting the GACE Basic Skills Assessment

All B.S.Ed. in Health and Physical Education majors are advised by staff in the College of Education Advisement Center.

Check the Clinical Practice Experience web page for information on student teaching locations and factors considered for student teaching placements. Also, see region for field experience placements.

Georgia Southern University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate, bachelor, master, specialist, and doctorate degrees. In addition, the College of Education’s programs are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), and approved by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GAPSC) which oversees teacher preparation and certification in Georgia.

Check with the Office of Financial Aid for complete financial aid information including loans, grants, scholarships, and work-study programs. You may wish to explore Georgia’s highly successful HOPE Scholarship Program. Also, check the College of Education Undergraduate Scholarship information for scholarships available within the College of Education through the Georgia Southern Foundation with applications due Jan. 31 each year.