General Questions
Yes. Course work taken at another university may be used to satisfy endorsement requirements upon the discretion of the grant advisor at Â鶹´«Ã½. An official copy of the transcript and a course description will be requested before attributing credit.
The advisor will review transcripts and the Virginia Department of Education's documentation (if applicable) to determine remaining courses necessary for full endorsement. This information will be provided to the participant in the course approval letter(s).
Participants will take courses via on-campus meetings (where available), web conferencing, and asynchronous modalities.
In the CSEEP program, participants may receive tuition assistance for one course per semester ( three total in an academic year, which includes fall, spring, and summer semesters) when funds are available. Additional course work may be discounted at the discretion of the CSEEP office.VI and ACSD participants may receive tuition assistance for unlimited courses per year when adequate funds are available.
For provisionally licensed teachers, practicum requirements can be completed within the participant's current classroom setting since the student population matches the specific endorsement course work expectations. Non-licensed participants may have to arrange to complete practicum hours in an appropriate classroom, including contacting the Office of Clinical Experiences (OCE), if necessary, for an official placement.
Provisionally licensed teachers will have their school divisions verify their classroom experience with official paperwork to the Virginia Department of Education in lieu of student teaching. Program participants without valid provisional licenses will have to arrange student teaching experiences through Â鶹´«Ã½'s Office of Clinical Experiences (OCE). All OCE requirements for student teaching must be met.
No. All CSEEP & PPET participants must seek theÌýspecial education: general curriculumÌýendorsement. Participants in the VI Consortium may seek endorsement only inÌýblindness andÌývisual impairments K-12.ÌýParticipants in the ACSD Consortium may seek endorsement only inÌýadapted curriculum.
Yes. CSEEP, PPET, and ACSD Consortium participants must earn a minimum grade of B- in eachÌýendorsement course supported by grant funds/discounts. Participants in the VI Consortium program must earn a B or better in each endorsement course supported by grant funds/discounts If a participant earns a grade of less than B- (exception: BVI course work requires a B or better) in a grant-funded/discounted course, tuition support/discounts from CSEEP will cease at the end of the session or semester in which the course was taken. The participant will be placed on inactive status and no other funds/discounts will be applied to the participant's account for following sessions or semesters.
To regain grant funding/discounts, the participant may retake the course at their own expense and document successful completion of the course to the grant office. The participant may also have to reapply to the grant, including being placed on a waiting list. The equivalent of this course may be taken at another college or university after receiving approval from the grant advisor. There will be no further tuition assistance/discounts from CSEEP until the course has been successfully retaken, documented, and the grant office has been informed.
There are also university requirements associated with earned grades and grade point averages (GPAs). SeeÌýthe next questionÌýfor further information.
All graduate students (CSEEP participants included) must maintain a 3.00 grade point average to remain eligible to register for classes at Â鶹´«Ã½. Although the grant accepts a B- (exception: BVI course work requires a B or better), all B- grades must be offset with B+ or A grades to meet graduate GPA requirements at Â鶹´«Ã½. All grant participants must adhere to theÌý
If a participant receives an I grade in a course supported by grant funds/discounts, the individual will have one semester to satisfactorily complete any outstanding course work and receive a grade of B- or better (exception: BVI course work requires a B or better). It is the participant's responsibility to contact his or her instructor immediately upon receiving an I grade and complete the required course work. An I will automatically change to an F at the end of the following semester if the instructor has not entered a change of grade. At that point, the conditions as stated inÌýquestion #9Ìýwill apply. It is also the participant's responsibility to know what grade he or she has received for each class.
Yes. See Grant Participant Responsibilities in the preceding Responsibilities section. Additionally, grant participants are asked to complete the Pre-Task Rating Form within 2 weeks of notification of acceptance to the grant program and the Post Task Rating Form during the last semester of participation. If the Pre/Post Task Rating Form (PTRF) is not submitted within the specified time period, further tuition assistance/discounts or the College Verification Form required by the Virginia Department of Education will be withheld until complete. Any fees assessed by the university on the participants' accounts will be the responsibility of the participant.
The participant portion of the tuition must be paid on or before the designated Â鶹´«Ã½ tuition payment deadline. The participant must not wait for a bill, nor should the participant wait for the posting of the grant funds/discounts. Waiting to pay may result in a late or collection fee. In the case that late or collection fees are applied, the participant will be responsible for their portion of the tuition as well as any late or collection fee on their portion. For all tuition and academic deadlines, please check the websites of the Â鶹´«Ã½ Offices of Finance and the Registrar. Any tuition assistance is added to participants' accounts after the tuition deadline.
The grant office must receive all required assessment documents (Post Task Rating Form and any other assessment instrument(s)) before processing a recommendation for endorsement. Once endorsement requirements have been met, the grant director will send an official letter indicating completion of the program to the grant participant. Participants are responsible for providing their employing education agencies a copy of the letter of verification. The employing agency then will make application to the Virginia Department of Education for licensure.
Enrollment in a Master's Degree Program
Many grant participants choose to enter the master's degree program to seek a teaching endorsement and a master's degree concurrently, as some programs have many courses in common. For entrance criteria, applications, and updated information, please visit theÌýprogram website.ÌýNote that Â鶹´«Ã½ does not offer a master's degree with endorsement inÌýblindness and visual impairment K-12,Ìýnor is the Â鶹´«Ã½ master's degree program with endorsement inÌýadapted curriculum K-12Ìýcompatible with the ACSD consortium program.
Yes. If an individual meets the established grant criteria, they may become a grant participant.
An individual may transfer up to 12 graduate credit hours into the master's degree program at the discretion of the graduate program director. Regardless of the number of graduate hours completed or where these hours were completed, only 12 credit hours can be transferred into the graduate degree program.
An individual must apply and be accepted into the Â鶹´«Ã½ Special Education Master's Program before the completion of 12 graduate credit hours. Any credit hours earned beyond 12 will not be transferred into the master's program.