Recruitment/Admissions/Selectivity/Continuance in Teacher Preparation Program (Becoming a Candidate)

EPP and Program Recruitment

Recruitment for the Educator Preparation Programs (EPP) at BYU-Idaho begins with the University recruitment activities, including recruiting events across the country, and continues through EPP and individual program efforts that are documented in the recruitment plans and updated in the Annual Program Status Update.

Potential students begin their application and select majors in which they are interested. The EPP reaches out via email to each student expressing interest in studying education (email from the Associate Dean for Teacher Preparation Programs). The correspondence invites the potential student to visit the EPP website and explore the available education majors and requirements of the education programs. The website provides information on the education programs and contact information for each program.

Once students accept their offer to attend BYU-Idaho, select an education major, and determine a starting date, the EPP reaches out again to invite the student to review the program standards and requirements and use the graduation planner in iPlan to create a plan for at least their first few semesters. Programs are also encouraged to reach out to the incoming students to help ensure the first semester is positive and productive.

These procedures are incorporated into the EPP and each program’s recruitment plan. Recruitment plans address each of the following:

• An understanding of the mission of the University and how our programs serve that mission.
• The needs in the field. (Is there a shortage or an overage of teachers in the discipline? Citing sources that help us understand the needs. Sources should include national trends, state job openings, and partner district needs (job postings)).
• Current students in our programs and desired targets for future students (number, demographics, academic quality, and dispositional preparedness).
• An annual process for recruitment that includes:
  
  • gathering data (what data will be gathered as part of the recruitment process)
  • reviewing data (what has been learned from the data previously gathered)
  • making decisions regarding needs of the program based on data
  • action plans for addressing those needs (plans to achieve desired results)
• Overall, programs are developing a system for ensuring recruitment of appropriate volume, diversity, and quality of candidates to meet the needs of the profession, and this is the goal of a recruitment plan.

Possible Ideas for Recruitment Activities:

1. Conduct a needs assessment with our partner school districts regarding position shortages or over-supply.
2. Train faculty and advisors regarding the many misconceptions about teaching using the resource getthefactsout.org (this resource is focused on STEM education fields. Bryan Piper was involved in the development of this resource during his sabbatical).
3. Use the resources available at getthefactsout.org with students.
4. Provide training to all advising centers with regards to what it means to be a teacher.
5. From Advisory Council: Help students understand why they should go into teaching. It is about having a positive impact on the next generation.  If they want to be like Christ then that is why they should want to be a teacher.
6. Have a segment or booth at Dare to Declare- Contact Dean of Interdisciplinary Studies
7. Present at GS 100 Career Exploration course every block- could create a short video to add to online sections.
8. Have a booth at the Career Fair every October and February- Maybe have teachers currently in the field or school districts recruiting.
9. Outreach to all campus students through email by inviting them to join the ED Society and learn about majors and careers in teaching.
10. Outreach to Pathway students in their last semester before they matriculate to BYU-Idaho, and present the need for more teachers. We could also include information on the getthefactsout.org.
11. Outreach to students in content major areas that are currently not declared education majors and let them know about the option of teaching or the Post Bach Teacher Cert program.
12. Education and Human Development Advising has a Twitter, Instagram and Facebook page we could post Ed Society info, getthefactsout.org website, and spotlight teachers in the industry.
13. The advisory council (2019) suggested a general education class that is open to all students since teaching is done in all professions. The Ed 361, Principles of Teaching. We felt Ed 200 may be a better choice. Currently these courses are only available to education majors, so it is difficult to see how they can be used for recruiting. 
14. Could Ed 200 be a GE course? It could then be used as a tool to recruit majors by presenting in class at ED 200 courses. We could create a short video to add to online sections.
15. Visit high schools and start recruiting there. (Work with Benjamin Hyde from the admissions office regarding any information we’d like to provide as part of University recruiting visits).
16. Examine how the Post Bachelors certification opportunities can be coordinated and utilized as a recruiting tool.
17. Could all Education programs be supported by the same advising center? Could they develop the level of expertise needed for all the various secondary disciplines?
18. Target spouses of military members. FCS Ed have been reached out to by the military to help them promote teaching(education) as a profession for military spouses. They have scholarships and funding for military spouses to become teachers. Could we work with the ROTC and help spouses understand the opportunities teaching provides.

Major Declaration

• Upon admission to the University, students can declare their major in an education program.

Freshman & Sophomore years

• Students are supported in becoming future educators through early education core classes, early program content courses and clinical experiences, and Teacher Education Society activities.
• During the first two years at BYU-Idaho, students are required to maintain a 2.5 GPA and satisfactory professional dispositions.

Admittance

• Junior year students transition to one of the following statuses of teacher candidates:
  
  • Teacher Candidate: Earned 60 credits with at least a 2.5 GPA, satisfactory disposition ratings.
  • Provisional Teacher Candidate: Earned 60 credits with active improvement plan (gpa or dispositions).
  • Ineligible Teacher Candidate: GPA below 2.5 after the improvement plan has expired, poor dispositions, or unsatisfactory writing assessment. Student must work with academic advising to change their major to a non-education major.

Junior & Senior years

• Teaching candidates are supported in becoming future educators through additional education core classes, program content courses, methods courses, clinical experiences, and education society activities.
• As a teaching candidate, students must maintain passing grades in all program and education courses, pass required praxis exams, maintain satisfactory disposition ratings, and achieve satisfactory performance ratings in clinical experience (Danielson ratings) to qualify to student teach.

Student Teaching

• Student teaching is arranged and supported through the Student Teaching Services Office. Working closely with partner districts and schools, student teachers are interviewed, assignments made and qualified mentor teachers are selected. Certified supervisors work with student teachers and school personnel to provide support and evaluation of student teachers.
• As a student teacher, candidates must achieve satisfactory disposition and Danielson ratings in all subdomains, satisfactorily develop and implement the required unit, and complete all certification requirements.

Graduation & Licensure

• Upon graduation and fulfillment of all certification requirements, The Student Teaching Services Office compiles applications and submits applications and fees to the state with the Institutional Recommendation.

Dispositions

At BYU-Idaho we have developed procedures to help facilitate the selectivity, development, and assessment of candidate dispositions throughout the program. We aim to help students develop the necessary dispositions for teaching. The dispositions rubric outlines key dispositions students need to continually develop as they prepare to become teachers. If a student receives an unacceptable rating in any of the disposition categories, a plan will be developed to ensure the student understands what is needed to improve or the student will select another major. If the student does not make significant progress with their plan in the subsequent 30 credits after creating a plan, then the student will be ineligible to student teach and will need to change majors to graduate.

Semester Procedures

The dispositions rubric was designed as a tool for growth. Early core and program classes were selected to ensure we have an assessment early in the program, so if there are any issues, they can be addressed with the individual student. Methods and clinical experience classes were selected to ensure that the professional dispositions are being developed in support of teacher effectiveness. Assessment of dispositions at the conclusion of student teaching provide a measure of the development of those dispositions at the conclusion of the program. BYU-Idaho also participates in the annual completer and alumni surveys with other Idaho EPPs that is administered by Boise State to gather data that includes professional dispositions of our completers.

• Each semester the designated classes are surveyed using the rubric and the survey tool (survey conducted in the last few weeks of each semester).
• At the conclusion of the semester, the Associate Dean for Teacher Preparation Programs follows-up with all faculty and supervisors with missing ratings to make sure they are all completed.
• Data is gathered and presented in the dispositions dashboard, where programs can access the historical disposition ratings including any teacher comments. The dashboard can be used by programs to look at program specific disposition data as well as individual student disposition data.
• A report of unsatisfactory disposition ratings in conjunction with low GPAs is provided to programs for their action.

Policies for Tracking Low Dispositions Scores

Each semester, by the second Friday of the semester, programs are provided a list of any students who received unacceptable disposition ratings. (Associate dean works with administrative assistant to put together the GPA and low disposition lists.) Programs follow-up with each student who received low disposition ratings and report action taken back to EPP by midterm (using spreadsheet in Teams).

List will be updated each semester and posted in teams so directors will be able to see the history and know if a student is showing up repeatedly on the list and what action has been taken previously.

GPA

The continuance process for education majors requires a minimum GPA of 2.5 to continue beyond 60 credits and become a teaching candidate. To support students in achieving this standard, GPA checks are made once a student reaches 30 credits and every semester thereafter until the student exceeds 60 credits.

Semester Procedures

Each semester the office assistant for the office for Teacher Preparation Programs checks the GPA for all students with 30 to 90 credits (“GPA Credits”, not “Attempted” or “Earned” credits). Students with a GPA below 2.5 are identified. By the second Friday of the semester, programs are provided a list of any students in the credit ranges with a GPA below 2.5. Programs follow-up with each student on the list to provide support and make plans. Upon completion, programs report action taken to EPP by midterm (using spreadsheet in teams).

Program process to ensure clear communication with students needing to improve GPA & dispositions:

• Have department administrative assistant remove registration clearance (putting a hold on student registration) for all students on the list (if department administrative assistant does not have this ability, that can be requested by contacting the Teacher Preparation Programs administrative assistant). 
• Look over the list and consider each student individually and ask
  
  • Is this an isolated case or part of an overall pattern?
  • Are there patterns that would suggest teaching is not an appropriate field for this student?
  • Should we simply notify student and wait to see what happens this semester?
  • Are there other questions and considerations that would help provide students the support they need to be successful?
• Based on answer to above questions determine the level of concern and notify students of the concern and appropriate action. If concern is significant, instruct student to meet with their faculty mentor (or program director).
• Inform faculty mentors that the students will be coming to see them and outline their role to reach out to the students and meet with them to (1) discuss the student's academic and disposition performance, (2) have a meaningful discussion regarding what is required to improve, and (3) create an action plan for improvement (see attached GPA_Dispositions_Guide). 
• Mentors (or program director) will meet with the student and have the necessary discussion and develop the action plan for improvement, or for students who have not met the criteria of previous action plans (in previous 30 credits), they would be required to change major through advising. 
• Mentors need to remove the hold and report the action plan to the program director (or if the program director met with the students, then the program director will have the department secretary remove the registration hold). 
• The program director will report the action plan for each student on the list to Teacher Preparation Programs administrative assistant (return the spreadsheet with action plans and any students changing majors to the Teacher Preparation Programs administrative assistant (or edit the spreadsheet on teams)).

EPP process for communication regarding GPAs

1. All students' GPAs are checked between 30 and 45 credits.
   
   1. students get 1 of 2 letters depending on GPA i
      
      1. List of students receiving each letter is sent to programs one week prior to sending out to students, so if programs have any concerns they can reach out to students before they receive the letter.
      2. List of students receiving each letter is sent to advising and advising posts the letter on the students’ history.
2. If student GPA was above 2.5, then it will be checked each semester thereafter until the student reaches 60 credits.
   
   1. If students are identified with a GPA below 2.5 (between 30 & 60 credits), they will receive the encouraging/warning letter.
      
      1. List of students receiving this letter is sent to advising and advising posts the letter on the student's history in iPlan.
      2. Program places a registration block ii.
      3. Student will work with program to develop an improvement plan. (see Continuance GPA tracking flowchart iii)
      4. Student has 30 credits to get GPA back up to 2.5.
3. When a student exceeds 60 credits with a satisfactory GPA, they receive a candidate letter iv
   
   1. List of students receiving the candidate letter is sent to advising, and advising posts the letter on the student's history in iPlan.
4. If students with low GPA complete the 30 credits and have not achieved the 2.5 GPA,
   
   1. Program is notified that a letter will be sent one week prior to sending out to students, so if programs have any concerns they can reach out to students before they receive the letter.
   2. Students will receive a letter vinforming them they need to change their major.
   3. List of students is sent to advising and they will post the letter to the student history in iPlan, and SRR will place an advising hold vion the students' registration.
   4. Students will meet with advisor and change major, or working with program, may submit a petition to remain in the program.
5. Petition Process:
   
   1. If students have compelling reasons for staying in the program, they may submit a petition to the dean of teacher preparation.
      
      1. Petition form can be obtained from programs or EPP.
      2. Petition form is completed by student and emailed to the dean.
         
         1. The dean consults with programs and considers student circumstances and
            
            1. Approves the petition.
               
               1. Assistant sends letter viito student informing of decision to be allowed to continue in the program.
               2. Program is cc'd on the approval, so they can reach out and continue working with student.
               3. Advising is cc’d on the approval, so they
                  
                  1. Can remove advising hold and
                  2. post the letter to the student history in iPlan.
            2. Denies the petition.
               
               1. Assistant sends letter viiito student informing of denial.
               2. Program is cc’d on the denial.
               3. Advising is cc’d on the denial, so they can
                  
                  1. post the letter to the student history in iPlan and
                  2. reach out to the student to work with them in changing major.

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Encouraging/Warning Letter
Dear «First_Name» ,

Choosing education as a profession is a wonderful choice. At BYU Idaho the education programs strive to support students in developing the knowledge and dispositions that will prepare them to be the best teachers possible. The standards are high and require diligent study and effort to achieve. The minimum knowledge standard for continuance in the program beyond your sophomore year is a cumulative GPA of 2.5. The minimum standard for professional disposition ratings is a Basic rating in all categories. Students that do not meet these standards will be ineligible to continue as education majors beyond their sophomore year and will be required to change their major.

Currently, your performance does not meet the standard for GPA and/or Dispositions, but there is time to improve, so that you can continue in the program. Please contact your faculty mentor («Advisor»), or your program director to discuss your plans and how the University can support you as you invest your time and energy to prepare for your future. Please make sure you meet with your mentor or program director and determine an action plan by midterm (Midterm Date), so you will be able to make whatever adjustments may be necessary as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

BYU-Idaho Teacher Preparation Programs

+ Letter

Dear student name,

Keep up the great work! Choosing education as a profession is a wonderful choice. At BYU Idaho the education programs strive to support students in developing the knowledge and dispositions that will prepare them to become the best teachers possible. One way we do that is by checking GPAs and professional disposition ratings one you’ve earned 30 credits. The standards are high and require diligent study and effort to achieve. We want to congratulate you on meeting and exceeding those standards. We also want to encourage you to continue working diligently and excelling in your program. Additionally, please review the education requirements, review and update (if necessary) your grad plan in iplan, and also check possible additional program requirements using the professional development plan in iplan. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Sincerely,

BYU-Idaho Teacher Preparation Programs

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Registration Block

The registration block is placed on a student’s account by the program director (or program administrator).

Pros- This restricts a student from registering until they meet with their faculty mentor or an Academic Advisor and the hold is manually removed. This hold can only be removed by faculty or full-time advisors (not student employees).

Cons- This hold does not show on the student’s account/portal until they go to register. Once the student tries to register an alert pops up on screen, letting the student know they have a hold and need to meet with their faculty mentor. This can cause confusion and frustration if the student waits until the day of registration to resolve the hold.

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^iv return

Candidate Letter

Dear «First_Name» ,

Congratulations & Welcome teacher candidate!

At BYU Idaho the education programs strive to support students in developing the knowledge and dispositions that will prepare them to become the best teachers possible. One way we do that is by checking GPAs and professional disposition ratings once a student reaches 30 credits. As you have completed at least 60 credits and have demonstrated adequate performance in your GPA and professional dispositions, you are now officially a teacher candidate and qualified to continue in the education program on your path to becoming a teacher. As you continue your studies at higher levels, we encourage you to continue your diligent study and even raise your level of performance, so you will be fully prepared to bless the students you will teach. Each class you take has purpose and offers you growth opportunities. Take advantage of your time here at BYU-Idaho.

Now is a good time to review and update your grad plan and professional development plan in iPlan. We also encourage to review the education requirementsand make sure you include plans to give yourself plenty of time for your Praxis exams (we recommend 2 semesters before student teaching), technology certification, and literacy exams as well as all the preparation requirements for student teaching.

There are many steps to becoming a teacher, and you are well on your way. Keep moving forward.

Sincerely,

Teacher Preparation Programs

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Change Major Letter

Dear «First_Name»,

Although we strive to support students in developing the knowledge and dispositions that will prepare them to be the best teachers possible, when students don’t achieve those standards, we are obligated to direct students to another path. The standards for teacher preparation are high and require diligent study and effort to achieve, and in some cases, an education major is simply not the best fit. The minimum knowledge standard for continuance in the program beyond your sophomore year is a cumulative GPA of 2.5. The minimum standard for disposition ratings is a Basic rating in all categories. Students that do not meet this standard are ineligible to continue as education majors beyond their sophomore year and are required to change their major.

At this point, your performance does not meet the standard for GPA and Dispositions. Please contact the advising center to discuss your plans and how the University can support you in a different major as you invest your time and energy to prepare for your future. If you have questions regarding this direction, please make sure you meet with your mentor or program director by midterm (Date), so you will be able to make necessary adjustments as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Teacher Preparation Programs

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ADVISING HOLD (ADVI)

This hold restricts student from registering until they meet with an Academic Advisor and the hold is removed manually. This hold can only be removed by academic advisors, which includes peer advisors. (Office assistants, and faculty are not given access to remove this hold).

Pros-The Advising Hold shows on the student’s account/portal as ADVI and is listed with all other holds a student may have such as; Past Due Debt Hold, Housing Hold, Endorsement Hold, etc. The student can then click on the hold and read instructions on what they need to do to remove the hold, such as meet with an academic advisor.

Cons-The Advising hold must be put on manually by a full-time advisor. The ADVI hold also gives the illusion the hold is coming from Advising rather than Teacher Education/ EPP. Students will meet with Advising rather than their faculty mentor and the hold may be removed before it should be. Every time faculty meet with students and need the hold removed, they will need to contact Advising

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Petition Approval Letter

Dear «First_Name» ,

After reviewing your petition to remain in the education program and in consultation with your program faculty, it has been determined that it is appropriate for you to remain in the program. We encourage you to continue to improve your GPA between now and graduation. You will still have to meet any GPA requirements from the university, such as having a C- or better in all major classes and an overall 2.0 GPA in order to graduate. You will also need to perform adequately on BYU-I Teacher Preparation Program requirements such as examinations, teaching performance, and professional dispositions, etc.

Sincerely,

Dean

Teacher Preparation Programs

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Petition Denial Letter

Dear «First_Name» ,

We appreciate you taking the time to submit a petition regarding your desire to continue in the Teacher Preparation Program; unfortunately, after reviewing your petition and in consultation with your degree program, your petition is being denied. We know this is disappointing, and we wish we had adequate time to work with every student in reaching the high standards for teaching. Due to accreditation standards this is not possible. We must set and stick to minimum criteria for those in educator preparation programs.

The Academic Advising Center ( CEHDadvising@byui.edu ) can help you to select a different major in which you can find success. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Dean

Teacher Preparation Programs

Danielson Ratings (Performance)

Teaching candidates participate in clinical experience courses to support the development of their performance in the classroom as teachers. Students are observed and rated by Danielson certified evaluators. Students must receive basic ratings in all subdomains in their major and minor areas to continue on to student teaching. In student teaching performance is evaluated multiple times to ensure quality performance working with students.

Improvement Plan s (individual performance)

The improvement plan is a simple document noting anything that will help the student improve an identified weakness (GPA, disposition, or performance). It will typically include the following: 1. Identify goal(s) to be achieved in the next 30 credits, 2. any specific actions or strategies the student will employ to achieve the goal, 3. intermediate steps that will support achievement of the goal, 4. an expressed understanding that non-achievement of the goal will result in the student being required to switch to a non-education major.

Approved by ECC on 11/12/2020

Appendix 1 – Petition to Remain in Program

Appendix 2 – Individual Performance Improvement Plan