Application Requirements
The Lewis-Clark State College Teacher Education Program is committed to providing a quality experience for its teacher candidates. The following criteria are considered to assure that each candidate is qualified to enter the program. Students will be admitted based on a predetermined number of quality spaces in our professional education classes and school sites for internships. To begin the application process, please visit our web site at http://education.lcsc.edu/application.htm. For your information, the following is a summary of how applications are weighted.
| I. Coursework | Students must have completed or be in their final semester of completing all core, minor, major, and elective courses prior to the Phase II coursework (click here to see coursework checklists ). No grade lower than a "C-" will be accepted in any required course. No grade lower than a "B-" will be accepted in any Phase II or Phase III professional education course. |
| II. Official Transcripts | Official transcripts are required from all transfer institutions. |
| III. Entrance Exam | Students will be required to take the COMPASS Exam; please see the Center for New Directions in RCH 23 to schedule an appointment to take the COMPASS. Secondary students must complete the Praxis Series™ II exam in their content area at the time of entrance (http://ets.org/praxis/index.html). |
| IV. Scholarship | A minimum LCSC cumulative grade point average of 2.75 is required. In addition, for secondary teacher education candidates, a minimum grade point average of 3.0 in their major teaching field is required. |
| V. Experience Working with Children | Students will be asked to provide information about a successful experience working with children and to author a short essay about what they learned. |
| VI. Confidential Professional References | Students will be required to obtain two confidential references related to communication skills and academic competence. |
| VII. Interview and Composition | Students will be required to attend a formal interview and write an extemporaneous composition. Students will be contacted to schedule an appointment with the Director of Field Experience. |
| Detractors | |
| I. Incompletes | Patterns of incompletes on transcripts |
| II. Withdrawals | Patterns of withdrawals on transcripts |
| III. Paracompetencies | Personal characteristics/attitudes inconsistent with the teaching profession exhibited by the student such as racism, intolerance, chronic lateness. |
| IV. Moral Turpitude | Conviction of a felony automatically disallows receiving a teaching credential and makes you ineligible for the LCSC teacher education program. |
Procedure for Application Review and Program Acceptance
The Education Division office staff will check for complete applications, verify the data in applications, and assign numerical weights for scholarship, and references. The field experience director will then contact applicants to schedule interviews and essays. The interview panel of professionals will give numerical weights for the essay and the interview and make a recommendation for admission. After the interview, the elementary or secondary committee will review application files for professional experience, incompletes, withdrawals, paracompetencies, and moral turpitude. The committee will use a list of all applicants and the numerical ranking to make final admission decisions. Applicants are notified in writing of results.