A. Academic Requirements

Before beginning the internship, teacher candidates must have:

1. completed all teaching major and/or teaching minor(s) requirements as well as all teacher certification coursework and other courses required for teacher certification;
2. been awarded the bachelor's degree; (Note: Music Education Students complete MUS 495, "Directed Teaching", as part of their baccalaureate degree.)
3. earned a Grade Point Average of 2.5 or above in each of the following:
   • University overall cumulative Grade Point Average, teaching major, and/or teaching minor(s).
4. earned a Grade Point Average of 2.5 or above for pre-internship, professional education courses required for teacher certification with no individual grade below 2.0.
5. passed all three components of the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification Basic Skills test (reading, writing, and math).
6. completed the Michigan State Department of Education technology requirement.

B. Pass the required State of Michigan certification tests for secondary teaching or the appropriate major and minor subject area tests for secondary teaching

For those seeking secondary certification (including the K-12 majors of Music, Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Kinesiology, and Art), students must take and pass the MTTC in their major as a condition for progression to the internship (TE 501, CSD 894A, MUS 495).

For secondary education students, passing the secondary education test is a requirement for completion of the teacher certification program and is the minimal requirement of the State of Michigan in order to receive certification to teach in grades K-5. Students who additionally wish to teach in grades 6-8, must pass tests in subject matter areas in which they wish to receive endorsements. (All students must have completed majors or minors in these areas). Students in special education or early childhood must pass tests in their respective area (e.g., HI, LD, or early childhood education) in order to be endorsed in those areas and eligible to teach in those areas. Passing these subject matter tests, however, is not required for program completion and to enter the internship, but is required to be recommended for certification.

For those seeking secondary certification (including the K-12 majors of Music, Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Kinesiology, and Art), students must take and pass the MTTC in their major as a condition for progression to the internship (TE 501, CSD 894A, MUS 495). For secondary education students, passing the separate MTTC content area test in their minor is a requirement for being certified to teach the minor and is a requirement for placement in the minor subject area in the internship. All secondary education students, except music, art, and physical science (comprehensive group majors), are required to complete an approved teaching minor. While it is in the best interest of secondary education teacher candidates to be certified in both their major and minor areas, the Michigan State Department of Education now permits secondary education students to obtain provisional certification in the major only without recommendation in the minor.

Updated 3-27-07 by Associate Dean of Student Affairs to reflect mandated changes in Michigan Department of Education Teacher Certification Code and MSU department name changes.

C. Criminal Disclosure Form

It is important that prospective interns be appropriate candidates for teacher education. In Michigan, the State Board of Education may refuse to grant, or may impose conditions upon, a teaching certificate for an individual who is convicted as an adult of a felony involving moral turpitude or who is convicted of an act of immoral conduct contributing to the delinquency of a child. Conviction of these crimes may, therefore, preclude the teacher candidate from participating in the internship. To be eligible for an internship, the teacher candidate must complete, sign, and submit to the Teacher Education Department the Criminal Disclosure Form. Concealment or misrepresentation of information required to be disclosed in the Criminal Disclosure Form may result in denial of admission to the internship year or in denial of recommendation for teacher certification.

D. Professional Criteria

The internship involves the intern in extensive co-planning and co-teaching with an experienced mentor teacher and requires the intern gradually to assume responsibility for all aspects of learning and teaching in the classroom. To be eligible for an internship, the teacher candidate must have demonstrated a readiness to work in accordance with the Professional Standards in part III below and an appropriate disposition for the profession of teaching. Therefore, a teacher candidate who meets the Academic Requirements listed above may be denied the opportunity to do an internship if, in the judgment of the Teacher Education Department, the teacher candidate has failed to meet any of the following Professional Criteria. The Professional Criteria are related to the Professional Standards used to evaluate interns' progress during the internship year (see part III below).

A. Academic Requirements and Criminal Disclosure Form

The Student Affairs Office will have primary responsibility for confirming that a teacher candidate has met all Academic Requirements and submitted the Criminal Disclosure Form. Students are responsible for insuring that they meet all criteria for progression to the internship, including fulfilling grade requirements. Students should meet with advisors to verify grade point averages if necessary. **

If a teacher candidate's records are not complete or if a student has failed to meet one or more Academic Requirements or to submit the Criminal Disclosure Form, the Student Affairs Office will endeavor to notify the teacher candidate and the Teacher Education Department (usually the teacher candidate's Team) before May 30 prior to the beginning of the teacher candidate' internship. If the deficiencies are not remedied before the end of the summer term, the Student Affairs Office will so notify the Teacher Education Department (the teacher candidate's Team), and the beginning of the teacher candidate's internship will be delayed until the beginning of the next internship after the deficiencies have been remedied.

B. Professional Criteria

The Department of Teacher Education and its representatives, including course instructors and mentor teachers, have primary responsibility for evaluating whether teacher candidates have met the required Professional Criteria. The following procedures will be used to assure that teacher candidates are systematically evaluated according to the Professional Criteria and that potential problems are investigated:

• All mentor teachers working with students taking TE 401/407 and TE 402/408 will be asked to fill out a questionnaire concerning the students' performance in the field, including their performance with respect to the Professional Criteria. Any classroom teacher indicating concerns about a student's performance or professionalism will be contacted by the course instructor or another Secondary Teacher Preparation Program representative, and the Secondary Teacher Preparation Program will investigate the concerns.
• The Secondary Teacher Preparation Program will request that course instructors teaching TE 301/302, TE 401/407, and TE 402/408 identify students who may not be meeting the Professional Criteria and provide information about their possible failure to comply with the Professional Criteria. The Secondary Teacher Preparation Program Coordinator will investigate any such concerns expressed by other course instructors.
• Secondary Teacher Preparation Program will investigate concerns expressed by other course instructors, including instructors in other departments, which might involve a student's failure to meet any of the Professional Criteria.

Generally, the Secondary Teacher Preparation Program Coordinator and/or a subject area leader will review situations which may involve a teacher candidate's failure to meet any of the Professional Criteria. If the likelihood of failure to comply with the Professional Criteria is serious enough to jeopardize the teacher candidate's progress to the internship, the Secondary Teacher Preparation Program will review the case.

If the Secondary Teacher Preparation Program concludes that the situation involves a failure to comply with one or more of the Professional Criteria that is so serious that the coordinator recommends that the teacher candidate not be allowed to progress to the internship because of it, the coordinator will inform the teacher candidate and the Assistant Chair/Coordinator of the Teacher Preparation Programs of the recommendation and of the basis for it. The Assistant Chair/Coordinator will be responsible for reviewing the recommendation and determining that the teacher candidate may, upon meeting certain conditions, proceed to the internship, or that the teacher candidate will not be allowed to proceed to the internship. The Assistant Chair/Coordinator will contact, and preferably, meet with the teacher candidate prior to making this determination.

If the Secondary Teacher Preparation Program concludes that the teacher candidate has failed to comply with one or more of the Professional Criteria, but that the failure is not, by itself, serious enough to prevent the teacher candidate from progressing to the internship, the teacher candidate will be notified of the failure and of the teacher candidate's need to comply with the Professional Criteria in the future. If the teacher candidate again fails to comply with any of the Professional Criteria, the Secondary Teacher Preparation Program will again review the case. If, because of the teacher candidate's repeated failure to comply with one or more of the Professional Criteria, the Secondary Teacher Preparation Program recommends that the teacher candidate will not be allowed to progress to the internship, the Secondary Teacher Preparation Program Coordinator will inform the teacher candidate and the Assistant Chair/Coordinator of the recommendation and the basis for it. The Assistant Chair/Coordinator will be responsible for reviewing the recommendation and determining that the teacher candidate may proceed to the internship upon meeting certain conditions or that the teacher candidate will not be allowed to proceed to the internship. The Assistant Chair/Coordinator will contact and, preferably, meet with the teacher candidate prior to making this determination.

The teacher candidate may appeal the decision to the Associate Dean of the College of Education.