Course Information Suite

Council on Teacher Education

505 E. Green Street, Suites 202–203
Champaign, Ill 61820

Executive Director: (217) 333-2804
Associate Director/Certification Officer: (217) 333-7195
Certification Services: (217) 333-7195
Clinical Experience Services: (217) 333-2804
Educational Career Services: (217) 333-0740

The Council on Teacher Education formulates, modifies, implements, and monitors compliance with policies related to the education of educators. The Council also facilitates communication and promotes collaboration among all participants involved in the preparation and continuing professional development of educators. The Council is the designated unit responsible for the coordination of teacher, school service personnel, and administrator education curricula at the Urbana campus and serves as the liaison between the campus and state certification and program approval authorities.

Six colleges and two schools of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign offer degree programs in teacher, school service personnel, and administrator education: the Colleges of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences; Applied Health Sciences; Education; Fine and Applied Arts; Liberal Arts and Sciences; and the Graduate College. The list of teacher education curricula can be found at the end of this section.

Candidates may consult their teacher education advisers or the certification officer for additional information about academic regulations and other policies affecting teacher education. Consult the Executive Director of the Council for information about the Grievance Policy and Procedures for Students Enrolled in Certification Programs under the Purview of the Council on Teacher Education.

Requirements

Admissions

Applicants to teacher education curricula must meet the admission requirements of the colleges and departments offering the chosen curricula. By state law, candidates must pass the Illinois Certification Testing System (ICTS) test of Basic Skills before they may be admitted to a teacher preparation program.

Applicants are advised that certain felony convictions, enumerated in Articles 10-21.9 and 21-23a of the School Code of Illinois, prohibit certification or employment in public schools. Questions pertaining to this matter should be addressed to the certification officer.

Continuation in Teacher Education

To be eligible for continuation in teacher education, candidates must satisfy all requirements of the applicable Common Assessment Plan (CAP), which includes maintaining University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and overall grade point averages of 2.5 (A = 4.0) or higher. In addition, candidates must meet the content area and professional education grade-point requirements specific to their programs. The full text of the three Common Assessment Plans is available on the Council website. The Council on Teacher Education reviews each candidate's academic progress every semester. Candidates who do not meet the criteria of the appropriate CAP will receive a warning letter from the Council advising them that their continuation in the program, entry into student teaching, and receiving a recommendation for certification from the University are at risk. Candidates will be directed to their college deans for more information. Candidates may be dropped from certification programs by the Council if they fail to meet the criteria of the appropriate CAP after receiving an initial warning letter.

Teaching effectiveness is influenced not only by academic proficiency, but also by the dispositions and professional behaviors of the candidate. Therefore, faculty members take these characteristics into account as they evaluate candidates' progress in the program. Teaching effectiveness can also be influenced by the candidate's health. For this reason, the University provides counseling and medical services for all students. A candidate wishing additional information about these services may call or visit the Council office.

Because it is essential that counseling and medical services be offered as soon as the need becomes apparent, teacher education advisers and faculty members are asked to recommend for assistance or examination any candidate about whom they feel concern. A candidate who is recommended for assistance or examination will receive a written request to make an appointment to discuss the situation. It is a requirement of the Council on Teacher Education that a candidate who receives such a request must respond. Failure to do so will jeopardize the candidate's continuation in teacher education. During the appointment, the candidate will be informed of the counseling and medical services available at the University. The candidate's use of these services is usually optional. In exceptional cases, however, the Council may require a candidate to satisfactorily complete a mental health or physical examination with one of the campus services. Candidates who wish to continue in teacher education must comply with such referrals.

Student Teaching

Candidates should consult with their adviser about the timing of requests for a student teaching placement. Student teaching application forms are available in the college clinical experiences office that houses each program. (Candidates may obtain referrals to the appropriate office by contacting the Council office.) A candidate seeking placement in student teaching should contact the appropriate college office of clinical experiences no later than October 1 of the academic year preceding the desired placement to determine departmental deadlines and meeting dates. Departments may set earlier deadlines. Candidates who apply after their departments' deadlines cannot be guaranteed a student teaching assignment during the next academic year. A candidate who will not be on campus during the fall semester, but who expects to enroll in educational practice (student teaching) during the next school year, should secure an application form from his or her college's office of clinical experiences before leaving campus. A candidate who has submitted an application will receive a student teaching assignment pending verification that he or she has completed all requirements of the appropriate Common Assessment Plan.

Only those candidates officially registered in teacher education curricula are eligible for student teaching placements. The Council reserves the right to deny student teaching placement to candidates who have not met all requirements of the appropriate Common Assessment Plan. Candidates may also be denied a student teaching placement for health reasons.

Candidates in teacher education should anticipate and plan for student teaching assignments. For most candidates, additional expense will be incurred during the semester in which student teaching is scheduled. Candidates cannot be guaranteed assignments in local schools. Student teaching is a full-time commitment on the part of teacher candidates. Teacher candidates should not plan to take additional coursework outside their program during student teaching, nor should they plan to be employed.

Candidates are expected to complete all field experiences, including student teaching, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A candidate who wishes to complete student teaching through another university, yet receive a University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign degree and recommendation for certification, must secure the prior approval of his or her adviser, clinical experiences program coordinator, college, and the Council on Teacher Education via petition. The petition must be supported by verification from the other university that it will accept the candidate as a student teacher and will comply with all Council on Teacher Education requirements. Approvals of such arrangements are rare, and candidates should expect to incur additional costs. Consult the Council for additional information.

Teacher Certification

A candidate who completes all of the coursework, including all content and professional education coursework with a grade of C or better, and other requirements in a program approved for purposes of certification by the Illinois State Board of Education is entitled to receive the recommendation of the University for the appropriate certificate, provided the candidate (1) is a U.S. citizen or legally present and authorized to work, is of good character and in good health, and is at least 19 years of age; and (2) has met all of the requirements of the appropriate Common Assessment Plan.

In some instances a candidate may be denied a recommendation for certification but be granted a degree by his or her college. A candidate who believes that the recommendation for certification has been withheld unjustly may seek redress through the grievance policy established by the Council on Teacher Education.

General Education

Candidates for certification are required to complete coursework that includes the theoretical and practical understanding generally expected of a liberally educated person. General education includes developing knowledge related to the arts, communications, history, literature, mathematics, philosophy, sciences, and the social studies from multicultural and global perspectives. This requirement is satisfied by the University of Illinois general education pattern incorporated into all undergraduate teacher education programs.

Certification Tests

All candidates for certification as teachers, school administrators, and school service personnel must pass tests mandated by the Illinois State Board of Education as a condition for certification. Illinois law requires that applicants for teacher certification pass a test in basic skills (reading, writing, grammar, and mathematics) prior to admission to a program, a separate test in their major area, and an Assessment of Professional Teaching test prior to certification. Candidates for Learning Behavior Specialist I certification must pass a fourth test: Special Education General Curriculum.

Candidates for certification as school administrators or school service personnel must pass the test for their area of preparation and the Basic Skills test if it was not passed previously. For additional information, contact the certification officer or certification specialist.

Time Limit on Certification

Because certification requirements are subject to change as a result of new mandates from the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois General Assembly, the University is unable to guarantee a recommendation for certification to anyone who applies for certification later than one year after graduation from an approved program. A candidate completing an approved program is urged to apply for certification during his or her last term on campus. Applications for certification are available in the council office.

Background Investigation of Applicants for Field Placement and Employment

Illinois school districts are required by state law to conduct criminal background investigations for applicants for certified and noncertified positions with a school district. Most school districts are requiring that applicants for field placements be subjected to a criminal background review prior to placement in the school districts.

All candidates for public school certification in programs under the purview of the Council on Teacher Education must complete an Illinois State Police and FBI criminal background check before they may be placed in schools. Candidates are responsible for all fees connected with this procedure.

Final decisions regarding the placement of candidates in schools are made in agreement between the relevant department/college/program and the school/district.

The criminal background check will normally be conducted at the time that the candidate enters the program.

Each applicant for employment in a school district in Illinois is required to authorize the employing school district to initiate a criminal background check which will include a request for fingerprints. A school district may employ a person only after a background check has been initiated and may not knowingly employ a person who has been convicted of a felony or of attempting to commit certain offenses enumerated in The School Code of Illinois. This criminal background check is in addition to that required for field placements at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Special Services

Educational Career Services

The Educational Career Services Office (ECSO) assists in the placement and career planning of students and alumni who are registered with the ECSO and who are actively seeking education-related employment in schools, colleges and universities, state and federal agencies, and other settings. Services offered include the following: (1) the publication of an online Job Vacancy Bulletin, available 24 hours daily, which lists notices of job vacancies that are sent to the office on a daily basis; (2) a director who is available by appointment to provide career information and guidance to individuals, groups, and classes; (3) seminars on topics related to the job search in education; (4) a career information center offering literature about careers in education; and (5) on-campus interviews and a job fair with school and college recruiters from Illinois and other states. Students, faculty members, administrators, alumni, and others who are seeking education-related employment information are welcome to contact the Educational Career Services Office at education.illinois.edu/ecso

Curricula

A candidate seeking certification must complete the requirements of both his or her chosen curriculum and the Council on Teacher Education. Teacher education, school service personnel, and administrator curricula and the colleges and departments that offer them are listed below. All curricula have been approved by the Illinois State Board of Education.

Candidates are advised that certification requirements may be altered at any time by the Illinois State Board of Education or the legislature. In such cases, candidates may be compelled to satisfy the new requirements to qualify for the University's recommendation for certification.

College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences

  • Agriculture*

College of Applied Health Sciences

  • Physical Education*

College of Education

  • Early Childhood Education (Includes Early Childhood Special Education Approval)
  • Elementary Education*
  • Learning Behavior Specialist I*
  • Teacher Education Minor in Secondary School Teaching**

College of Fine and Applied Arts

  • Music Education*
  • Visual Arts Education*

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

  • English Language Arts
  • Foreign Language: Chinese (Mandarin)*
  • Foreign Language: French*
  • Foreign Language: German*
  • Foreign Language: Japanese*
  • Foreign Language: Latin*
  • Foreign Language: Spanish*
  • Mathematics
  • Science: Biology
  • Science: Chemistry
  • Science: Earth and Space Science
  • Science: Physics
  • Social Science: History

Graduate College

Graduate-level certification programs are offered in the areas listed below. For additional information, contact the certification officer or departmental office indicated.

Agricultural Education

  • College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Science Office of Academic Programs

Director of Special Education

  • Department of Special Education

Early Childhood Education

  • Department of Curriculum and Instruction (Includes Early Childhood Special Education Approval)

Elementary Education*

  • Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Foreign Language: Latin*

  • Department of Classics

Foreign Language: Spanish*

  • Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese

General Administrative (Principal)

  • Department of Educational Organization and Leadership

Learning Behavior Specialist I*

  • Department of Special Education

Learning Behavior Specialist II*

  • (Options: Curriculum Adaptation, Behavior Interventions, Multiple Disabilities, Transition Specialist)
  • Department of Special Education

Library Information Specialist *

  • Graduate School of Library and Information Science

Music*

  • School of Music

School Social Worker

  • School of Social Work

Secondary Education (English Language Arts, Mathematics, Sciences, Social Science: History)

  • Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Speech-Language Pathologist: Nonteaching

  • Department of Speech and Hearing Science

Superintendent

  • Department of Educational Organization and Leadership
*Individuals completing these programs who wish to be able to teach departmentalized subjects in grades five through eight must complete additional coursework. Contact the certification officer for additional information.

**This minor is a required component of the teaching option within the following Science and Letters majors in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences: biology, chemistry, English, geology, history, mathematics, and physics. It is available only to students registered in these programs.

Teacher Education Minors

  • English as a second language
  • Mathematics: Grades 6-8
  • Mathematics: Grades 9-12

Candidates should be aware that the state recognizes teaching fields that are not listed above. Candidates may obtain teaching endorsements for any fields for which they satisfy the state minimum requirements. Contact the certification officer or certification specialist for additional information regarding the endorsement fields available and the qualifications for each. Endorsement requirements are also listed on the Council on Teacher Education Web site.