COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

O. Cleveland Hill, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor of Health and Physical Education
Dean of the College of Education

Office: 220 Polk Hall
Phone: (985) 448-4326

MISSION

The primary mission of the College of Education is to prepare teachers, administrators, school and psychological counselors, school psychologists, and support personnel to be effective decision-makers.  Concomitant purposes are to provide undergraduates a foundation in psychology and to offer service courses in health and physical education as well as psychology.

An additional mission of the College is to afford professional services to area school systems.  School systems receive these services through credit and non-credit workshops and faculty consulting tailored specifically to meet their unique needs.  In addition, the Center for the Study of Dyslexia and the Psychology Training Clinic service area schools, university students, and citizens of the region.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Programs of study in the College of education are rooted in a "Decision Making" Conceptual Framework. The knowledge base provides for a broad general education and mastery of content of instruction (what a candidate knows and is able to do) and professional skills and competencies (so that student learning and outcomes are positively impacted). Further, candidates in school psychology embrace a conceptual framework of "School Psychologist as Data-based Decision maker." Those in counselor education embrace a conceptual framework of "Guidance Counselor as Decision Maker." Finally, the conceptual frameworks that guide teacher education are the "Teacher as Decision Maker" and the "Educational Leader as Decision Maker." 

DEGREES AWARDED

Bachelor of Arts

• Elementary Education
• Special Education
• Psychology

Bachelor of Arts/Secondary Education

• Areas of Concentration
  • Art Education
  • English Education
  • French Education
  • Social Studies Education

Bachelor of Music Education

• Areas of Concentration
  • Instrumental Music Education
  • Vocal Music Education
    

Bachelor of Science/Secondary Education

• Areas of Concentration
  • Business Education
  • Mathematics Education
  • General Science Education
  • Biology and Chemistry Education
  • Biology and Earth Science Education
  • Biology and Environmental Science Education
  • Chemistry and Earth Science Education
  • Chemistry and Environmental Science Education
  • Earth Science and Environmental Science Education
  • Health and Physical Education
  • Vocational Family and Consumer Sciences Education

ACCREDITATION

The College of Education has full status accreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP).

GENERAL INFORMATION

The College of Education prepares teachers, resource and support personnel, and administrators for education service.  The College's programs focus on the needs of individuals interested in the traditional elementary and secondary school environments.  However, the development of innovative concepts is encouraged.  Students are prepared for all areas of education from pre-school through adult years in both the public and private sectors.  The knowledge and skills necessary for effective learning and teaching are provided to prospective teachers.  In addition to programs of study leading to its degrees, the College offers credit and non-credit workshops designed specifically to meet the unique needs of area school systems.

Programs of study in education for teaching are based on the conceptual framework that the teacher is a decision-maker.  The knowledge-base provides for a broad general education, mastery of the content of instruction, and professional competencies.  The relative emphasis placed upon each of these aspects of the total education for teaching varies in accordance with the purpose of each program.

Besides insuring a broad general education and sound professional background and competence, the curricula offered provide valuable foundational education in psychology.

Relying on the Louisiana Components of Effective Teaching, the following program outcomes are used to systematically monitor and assess the progress of students in the teacher education program to verify that the teacher candidate:

1. engages in effective long-range and daily planning

2. maintains an environment conducive to learning

3. maximizes the amount of time available for instruction

4. manages learner behavior to provide productive learning opportunities

5. delivers instruction effectively

6. presents appropriate content

7. provides opportunities for student involvement in the learning process

8. assesses student progress effectively

9. demonstrates effective interpersonal communication

10. demonstrates professionalism.  

The College works closely with local and state groups to foster better teaching and higher professional standards.

Additional purposes of the College of Education are to offer:

1. A Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology;

2. Psychology courses for students enrolled in other degree programs;

3. Health and Physical Education courses for students enrolled in other degree programs;

4. Graduate programs described elsewhere in this bulletin.

Facilities

Observation and student teaching experiences are provided in teacher preparation centers located in South Central Louisiana as well as in Polk Hall and other campus buildings.  The programs of these schools are influenced by such factors as available plant facilities, materials, equipment, established curriculum patterns, community attitudes, and the imagination of the professional personnel.  Supervising teachers are selected because of the high quality of their teaching, their indicated competence to guide potential teachers and certification in supervision of student teaching (masters degree, three or more years of teaching, and EDAS 511).

The Teacher Education Program is a three-stage program beginning with the Pre-Professional Status courses, the Professional Status courses, and concluding with the Student Teaching Status courses.  The program includes coursework, varied field experiences in K-12 schools, and the ongoing development of a professional portfolio in which students are asked to record, integrate, and reflect on their experiences in the program.  The portfolio is cumulative in nature (i.e., it shows evidence of the program outcomes that have been approximated or achieved to a specific point).  The portfolio will provide the basis for assessing progress in, and successful completion of, the Teacher Education Program.  Portfolios will be assessed throughout the course of the Teacher Education Program.  A satisfactory rating of the portfolio for each formative evaluation is a condition for advancing to the next stage in the program; a satisfactory rating for the final, summative evaluation is a condition for passing student teaching and being recommended for certification through the program.

General Requirements for Teacher Education

1. All students who have successfully completed the required methods courses at another college or university must audit one or more methods courses at Nicholls State University to become familiar with the philosophy of the College.
2. All students with a Louisiana Teaching Certificate must complete the minimum requirements for additional certification before the dean of the College of Education can recommend that their certificates be changed.
3. Students will receive credit for correspondence and extension courses taken at other institutions only when such courses have been approved for credit in advance by their advisor and by the dean of the College of Education.
4. Transfer students must meet all of the Admission and Retention Policies. Each transfer student's transcript must be evaluated by the department head who administers the student's curriculum and by the director of Student Teaching. The department head will recommend to the dean of Education appropriate placement of the student.

Admission Standards

The teaching profession, along with other professions, has the responsibility to insure that the welfare of society is safeguarded and enhanced.  Consequently, persons whose actions, performance, or behavior could adversely affect children in the school or the school system will not be allowed to enter or complete the teacher education program at Nicholls State University.

All secondary majors except Health and Physical Education, Music (Instrumental Music Concentration only), Family and Consumer Sciences, Business Education must pass the University credit exam or successfully complete CMPS 120, 201, or OIS 200.

Conditional Status

Students not eligible for any other type of status will be placed on conditional status.  Students who have earned 75 semester hours or more of credit and are still classified on conditional status will be counseled out of the teacher education program.

Pre-Professional Status

Students are admitted to pre-professional status and permitted to enroll in EDUC 250 when they have:

1. Earned a minimum of 30 semester hours applicable to a degree program. (Developmental courses cannot be included in the total.) Included in the 30 semester hours must be:

• ENGL 101 and 102 - a minimum grade of C must be earned in each
• Mathematics - three semester hours other than developmental
• Science - three semester hours
• Social science - three semester hours

NOTE: Students who have maintained a 3.5 overall grade-point average and meet the above course requirements may enroll in EDUC 250 with less than 30 semester hours.

2. Earned a minimum overall grade-point average of 2.2. In computing this average no developmental courses can be included.

Students admitted to pre-professional status will be permitted to take the following professional courses: EDUC 211, 250, and PSYC 206, 210 and 311.

Teacher Education Program Status

Students are admitted to the Teacher Education Program and permitted to enroll in EDUC 312 when they have:

1. A minimum score of 172 on the Pre-Professional Skills Test/Reading and 171 on the Pre-Professional Skills Test/Writing of the Praxis Examination.
2. A minimum score of 170 on the Pre-Professional Skills Test/Mathematics of the Praxis Examination.
3. A minimum overall grade-point average of 2.5.
4. A minimum grade of C in each professional course completed. Professional courses are those which have an Education prefix and PSYC 206, 210, 311, LBSC 301, FACS 210, and HIST 371.
5. Demonstrated proficiency in mathematics and English according to University requirements.
6. A minimum grade of C in SPCH 101, if required.
7. Qualified under the ten percent rule. The policy for admission under the ten percent rule is as follows:

• The number of students eligible for admission under the ten percent rule will be determined by taking ten percent of the total number of students enrolled in all sections of EDUC 312.
• The students must meet all other criteria required for admission to the Teacher Education Program.
• Only students who have a passing score on either the Pre-Professional Skills Test in Reading and Writing or Mathematics or who passed the general knowledge or communication skills component of the N.T.E. prior to September 1, 1999 will be eligible for the ten percent pool.
• Students in the ten percent pool will be ranked by overall grade-point average.
• Students admitted under the rule remain on conditional status and are so notified.
• A student admitted under the rule is not permitted to enroll in any additional courses in the next or any other succeeding semesters until he or she attains a passing score on both sections of the N.T.E. or Praxis equivalent required for Admission.

Student Teaching Status

Students are admitted to student teaching and permitted to enroll in EDUC 455, 463, 465, 473, 485, 489, and 491 when they have:

1. A minimum overall grade-point average of 2.5.
2. A minimum grade of C in all professional courses.
3. A minimum grade of C in all specialized academic (major/minor) courses required for the bachelor’s degree and/or teacher certification.
4. Not been placed on any type of probation or conditional status.

Teaching Minors for Secondary Majors

(Secondary majors are not required to have a teaching minor but are encouraged to select one.)

Business Education (To teach all subjects except shorthand): ACCT 203, 204, 300; BSAD 101, 201; CIS 231; ECON 255; EDUC 307; OIS 102, 200, and 205.

Computer Science Education: CMPS 120, 221, 222, 341 and six semester hours in Computer Science courses numbered 303 or above.

English Education: ENGL 101, 102, 251, 252, 264, 266, 305 or 306, and 368 plus six hours of electives in English courses 300-level or above.

Mathematics Education: MATH 102 or 108, 165, 166, 265, 358, 360, and 423.

General Science Education: Biology, eight semester hours; Geology (Earth Science), eight semester hours; Chemistry, eight semester hours; Physics, eight semester hours.

Biology Education: Twenty semester hours of biological sciences to include microbiology and eight semester hours of chemistry.

Chemistry Education: Twenty semester hours of chemistry to include four semester hours in organic chemistry and four semester hours in either quantitative analysis or physical chemistry.

Geology (Earth Science) Education: Twenty semester hours of geology to include physical and historical geology.

Environmental Science Education: Biology, twelve semester hours to include general biology and ecology; Chemistry, twelve semester hours to include general and organic chemistry; Geology (Earth Science), six semester hours to include physical geology or its equivalent.

Louisiana Teacher Certification Requirements

Upon completion of all academic requirements including graduation, student teaching and passing of the Praxis Examination or N.T.E. equivalent (if taken prior to September 1, 1999), the College of Education will submit all of the student's credentials to the State Department of Education at the request of the student for initial certification.  However, a teacher already certified should see his or her employer to add-on a certification.

An Alternate Post-Baccalaureate Program for Secondary, Elementary and Special Education Certification is available to graduates who qualify. Information about the program can be obtained from the Dean's Office. The existing Alternative Certification Program at Nicholls State university is no longer accepting new applicants. Teacher candidates presently in the program have until January 2005 to complete the program. A pilot Practitioner Teacher Certification Program was implemented in the summer 2001 as an Alternative Teacher Certification Program.

ALTERNATIVE TEACHER CERTIFICATION
The College of Education's Teacher Education Program participates in the Alternative Certification Program at the Post-Baccalaureate Degree Level. This program falls under the auspices of State Department of Education Bulletin 746, Louisiana Standards for State Certification of School Personnel. The program is designed to provide opportunities for non-education graduates to become certified teachers. Candidates for admission to the Alternative Program must meet the criteria that follow:

Admission to Pre-Certification

1. Have a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education.
2. Have a grade Point Average of at least 2.20 a calculated by the College of education (or the Admissions Office if a Nicholls State University graduate).

A teacher candidate admitted to pre-certification is allowed to register in Education 420 and Education 421 and general education courses provided the student meets the course prerequisite(s). A pre-certification candidate is not permitted to take any 500 level methods courses.

Admission to Teacher Certification

1. Have a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education.
2. Have a grade Point Average of at least 2.50 a calculated by the College of education (or the Admissions Office if a Nicholls State University graduate).
3. Successful completion of the Praxis Examination (or Communication Skills or General Knowledge Component of the National Teachers Examination).

A candidate admitted to the teacher certification program is permitted to take relevant 500 level and methods courses.

THE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF DYSLEXIA

The Dyslexia Center, housed in Polk Hall, is administered through the College of Education.  The major functions of the Center are to prepare teachers to serve individuals with dyslexia through clinical and educational intervention, to provide service to area residents and Nicholls State University students, to disseminate information and to conduct research which will contribute to the study of dyslexia.

TEACHER EDUCATION

STUDENT TEACHING

PSYCHOLOGY AND COUNSELOR EDUCATION