Education
Mount Saint Mary College’s teacher education programs are fully accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and by the following professional agencies: Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI), Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), International Reading Association (IRA), National Council of Social Studies (NCSS), National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), and National Science Teachers Association (NSTA).
In conjunction with general education courses and an academic major in a liberal arts and sciences content area, the Division of Education offers courses that will permit prospective students to complete academic requirements for initial New York State certification in the areas listed below:
| | Childhood Education (1-6) |
| | Childhood Education with Middle School Extension (7-9) |
| | Dual Childhood and Students with Disabilities (1-6) |
| | Adolescence Education: | Biology (7-12)
Chemistry (7-12)
English (7-12)
Mathematics (7-12)
Social Studies (7-12)
|
| | Adolescence Education with Middle School Extension (5-6) |
| | Dual Adolescence Education and Students with Disabilities (7-12) |
Students must take all certification courses at Mount Saint Mary College unless otherwise approved by an adviser. The prerequisites for all education courses numbered 2110 and above and for
,
PSY 3301 and
PSY 3700 are a passing grade in
ED 2051 and scores of 85% or better on three Education Proficiency Examinations offered by the Center for Student Success at the beginning of each traditional semester. Students working toward certification must consult with both an education adviser and an adviser in the major each semester.
Students enrolled in an education certification program who have earned at least 45 creditsat MSMC, or transfer students who have earned at least 15 credits at MSMC, must maintain a Grade Point Average of 2.75 to remain in the program. Students whose GPA falls below this minimum at the end of any semester will be granted one additional traditional semester to raise it to 2.75. Failure to do so will lead to dismissal from the education program. Students must also achieve a minimum grade of C+ in all required certification courses, as well as have a 2.75 minimum GPA to be eligible for student teaching and to be recommended for certification. Students who do not receive a C+ or better in a certification course may repeat the course once. Failure to achieve a grade of C+ or better the second time in the course will lead to dismissal from the program.
Please note: New York State, beginning in February, 2011, requires that teacher candidates seeking adolescence certification in teaching students with disabilities, along with adolescence certification in a subject area, must be certified as Adolescence Generalists for Teaching Students with Disabilities in grades 7-12. To be eligible for this certification, all candidates must have completed six hours of study in college level courses in four areas: English, social science, mathematics, and science, in addition to completing all required pedagogical courses. Mount Saint Mary College students will likely complete most of these distributive requirements as part of the required CORE or general education requirements for the bachelor’s degree. However, even if one has met the Mount Saint Mary College general education requirements, these required courses must be met to be eligible to receive certification from New York State.
Fieldwork
While completing the teacher education program in childhood or adolescence education, students must complete 100 hours of course-related, supervised fieldwork before student teaching. Students pursuing dual certification must complete 150 hours, while students pursuing a middle school extension must complete 100 hours before student teaching plus a 3-credit practicum after student teaching.
Student Teaching
Students must complete a semester of full-time student teaching as arranged and supervised by Mount Saint Mary College within 25 miles of the college. Each student has two placements during the semester (i.e., grades 1-3 and 4-6 for childhood programs or 7-9 and 10-12 for adolescence programs). Students pursuing the dual certification will complete one placement teaching students with disabilities.
All certification courses must be completed before student teaching unless otherwise indicated or approved by an adviser and the Director of Student Teaching. Students pursuing adolescence certification are also required to complete at least 30 credits in the content area before student teaching.
The Student Teaching Handbook outlines policies and procedures that are required in order for students to successfully complete the student teaching experience. The college will not accept transfer credits from other institutions to fulfill the student teaching requirement. Student teaching must be completed within three years of graduation from Mount Saint Mary College.
State Education Department Requirements
The New York State Education Department sets all teacher certification requirements, which are subject to change by the Board of Regents.
Requirements for New York State initial certification are addressed in the college’s general education requirements, academic majors, and teacher education requirements. As part of general education requirements, all teacher education students must complete at least one semester of study of a language other than English; all childhood education students must have at least one course in art, music or theater; and all adolescence students must complete PHL 3080 (Philosophy of Education).
Other requirements include passing scores on the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations (NYSTCE) as follows for all candidates:
| Date of Initial Certification Application | Teacher Exams Required |
| Applied on or before April 30, 2014 and
will meet all requirements for certification on or before April 30, 2014. | Current: - LAST
- ATS-W
- Content Speciality test/s
|
| Applied on or after May 1, 2014 or applied before May 1, 2014 but will not meet the requirements for the certificate by Ma 1, 2014.
| New: - Academic Literacy Skills Test
- Educating All Students
- edTPA (Early Childhood)
- Content Specialty Test/s
|
The percentages of MSMC teacher education program completers passing New York State Teacher Certification exams, as reported in the Annual Institutional Report most recently issued by the NYS Education Department at the time of this catalogs publication, are
Test
| # Tested | # Passed | % Passed |
| LAST | 78 | 78 | 100 |
| ATS-W Elementary | 53 | 53 | 100 |
| | |
| ATS-W Secondary | 25 | 25 | 100 |
| | |
| CST – Students with Disabilities | 49 | 43 | 88 |
Requirements for New York State professional certification include a master’s degree in a functionally related area as defined by New York State, earned within five years of receiving an initial certificate. The master’s degree and three years of teaching experience, including one year of mentored teaching, qualify applicants for the professional certificate from the New York State Education Department. The professional certificate must be renewed every five years. This is accomplished by completing at least 175 hours of professional development, usually through the employing district or with additional accredited coursework.
A student desiring certification outside New York is responsible for meeting the requirements of the respective state. The student should consult with the appropriate division or department for information concerning the approved majors in the various liberal arts areas.
Graduate Study
Mount Saint Mary College undergraduates who are enrolled in a teacher education program at the college, who have earned at least 105 credits, and who have a Grade Point Average of 3.0 or better, may apply to take a graduate course. Eligible students must make a written request and must receive permission from the division chair. A student who wishes to apply the graduate credits toward the baccalaureate degree must indicate this in the written request and must receive the chair’s permission for this purpose. Graduate credits applied toward the baccalaureate degree may not be counted toward a master’s degree at Mount Saint Mary College.
