Admission: Checkpoint 1

It is the applicant's responsibility, with the assistance of the advisor, to initiate the Application for Admission into the teacher education program in accordance with the procedures established by the department screening committee (See form on pages 29-30 of the Initial Programs Handbook, Appendix B). This committee will evaluate the applicant's records and determine eligibility for admission into the Teacher Education Program. Please read all information below prior to beginning the admission process.

New Requirements:

To be considered for Admission into the Teacher Education Program, teacher candidates must meet/complete the following criteria:

1. Submit the Online Application for Admission (Have all supporting documents completed and ready to submit prior to beginning the online application.)
2. Attain minimum overall GPA of 2.70 beginning August 24, 2015 (Program of Study and MAT students must have a minimum of 3.0 overall in courses for Program of Study.)
3. Complete the following courses with a grade of “C” or better in each: ENG 1003, Composition I; ENG 1013, Composition II; MATH 1023, College Algebra (or MATH 1043, Quantitative Reasoning as allowed by degree program); Introduction to Education (specific to each department); and COMS 1203, Oral Communication or Speech Proficiency (as specified by the department)*
4. Complete a minimum of 30 semester hours*
5. Complete the Professional Educator Dispositions Assessment (self-assessment by candidate and evaluation by screening committee) as prescribed in the Teacher Education Handbook. Download this document, complete it, and save it prior to beginning the application process. You will need to upload it to the online application.
6. Complete the Professional Ethics Assessment as prescribed by the Teacher Education Handbook. Submit a copy of the training certificate obtained from ArkansasIDEAS.
   • Professional Licensure Standards Board (PLSB) - The Code of Ethics Training Video (2018) Course #ERC19048 
   • To register for an Arkansas IDEAS account, click here: https://ideaslms.aetn.org/
   • All students should read the Arkansas Code of Ethics: Rules for Governing the Code of Ethics for Arkansas Educators
7. Acknowledge Clarification of Teacher Education Admissions/Retention Standards on the application and the Mission & Values, Teacher Education Outcomes and Arkansas Teaching Standards as outlined in the Teacher Education Handbook
8. Documentation of an Approved Arkansas State Police (ASP) and Federal Background Check and the Arkansas Child Maltreatment Background Check through the Arkansas Department of Education Online Background Check Instructions

   • A-State teacher education students and A-State faculty/staff select Arkansas State University for District/Location and use 8800002 for the Verification Code.
9. Appear individually for a personal interview before the Department Screening Committee. The Signature Verification Page will need to be signed by the screening committee and submitted to the PEP Office.  Please complete the applicant portion of the document prior to interview.

Candidates will not be permitted to enroll in specified professional education courses until they have been formally admitted into the teacher education program.  Such courses are designated by an asterisk in the Undergraduate Bulletin.  When the candidate application is approved by the Professional Education Programs Director, candidates will receive official notification via email. Official admittance to the teacher education program does not carry a guarantee of continuance in the program.  In addition to the retention checkpoints described below, candidates must maintain academic proficiency, moral responsibility, emotional stability, and satisfactory professional growth to continue in the program.

*Not required for MAT candidates