Student Advising and
Field Experiences Office –
SAFE Office
Columbus State University
College of Education and Health Professions
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title / PageCollege of Education and Health Professions Contact Information / 3
The Mission of Columbus State University / 4
The Mission of the College of Education and Health Professions / 4
The Conceptual Framework of Educator Preparation Programs / 5
The Partner School Network / 6
The Student Advising and Field Experiences Office / 7
The Role of the Advisors and the Role of Students in Advising / 7-8
Requirement for Admission to Teacher Education for Undergraduates, Post -
Bac Certification and Graduates / 9-11
Transcript Evaluations for Post - Bac and Graduate Studies / 12
Teacher Education Forms / 13
Authorization/Consent for Background Check Link / 13
GACE Information Link / 14
Field Experience Practices and Expectations for EDUC 2130, SPED 2256
and Teacher Education Classes / 15
Online Orientation for Field Experiences / 16
Community Service Practices and Expectations for EDUC 2110
and EDUC 2120 / 17
Faculty Evaluation of Field Experiences and Clinical Practices / 18
MAP Rubric and Assessment / 19-22
Disposition Rubric Assessment / 23-25
Student Evaluations of Field Experiences Evaluation, Cooperating Teacher
Evaluation, and SAFE Office Services Survey / 26-32
Policies and Expectations for Student Teaching/Internship / 33-36
Graduation Information / 37
Certification Information - Code of Ethics for Educators / 38-41
Obtaining a Georgia Teaching Certificate / 42
Upgrading and Adding Fields / 43-45
Frequently Asked Questions / 46
Terms and Acronyms Used by the Teacher Education Program and
Save the Date! Important times of the academic year to remember) / 47
Resources for COEHP Students
COEHP Scholarships
COEHP Departments and Centers
COEHP Student Organizations – Student Services Committee, Student
Chapter of Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), Early
Childhood Organization (ECHO), Math Education Student Association
(MESA), Diversity Committee, and Kappa Delta Pi
Online Forms - Change of Major, Grade Appeal and Registration / 48-49
Contact Us:
SAFE Office Secretaries:
Placement Advisor/Certification Assistant: LaJuene Black, or 706.568.2194
Administrative Secretary: Joetta Reeves, or 706.568.2191
Fax Number: 706.568.2231, Jordan Hall 107
SAFE Office Advisors:
Ms. Peggy Luker, Middle Grades and Secondary, Health/PE or 706.568.2466
Ms. Janie Henderson, Early Childhood Education (A-N) or 706.568.5397
Ms. Kimberly Haymans, Early Childhood Education (O-Z), Special Education, or 706.568.5398
SAFE Office Administration:
Director: Jean Partridge, or 706.568.2200
Coordinator of Student Teaching: Julie Edenfield, or 706.568.2195
Teacher Education Department Chair:
Dr. Jan Burcham, or 706.507.8519
Administrative Secretary: Talley Dentzau 706.568.2255
Fax Number: 706.569.3134
College of Education and Health Professions Dean’s Office:
Dean: Dr. Deirdre Greer, or 706.507.8034
Associate Dean for COEHP: Dr. Joseph Jones, or 706.507.8509
Associate Dean: Dr. Sallie Miller, or 706.507.8506
Executive Secretary, Ms. Gale Webster: or 706.507.8501
Fax Number: 706.568.5015
Mission Statement of Columbus State University
• To achieve academic excellence through teaching, research, creative inquiry and student engagement.
• To achieve excellence in the student experience and prepare individuals for a life of success, leadership, and responsibility through community awareness, engagement, and service to others.
• To achieve recognition as a leader in community development, regional economic development, and public-private partnerships.
Vision Statement Targets Academic Quality
Columbus State University provides world-class education and assures student success through creative inquiry and community, regional, and global partnerships.
Mission Statement of the College of Education and Health Professions
The College of Education and Health Professions seeks to achieve excellence by guiding individuals as they develop the proficiency, expertise, and leadership consistent with their professional roles.
Conceptual Framework:
A Visual Model for Initial and Advanced Professional Preparation Programs
The following visual model represents the key features of the Educator Preparation Conceptual Framework. The circle represents the continual process of acquiring, integrating, refining, and modeling excellence in teaching, scholarship, and professionalism. The arrows represent the interdependence of these qualities. The result of efforts to achieve excellence in teaching, scholarship, and professionalism will be improved student learning at the P-12 and university levels, ultimately resulting in closing the achievement gap among various demographic groups of students.
Teaching
Excellence in teaching embodies the use of best practices to improve student learning in diverse P-12 classrooms as well as at the university level. Within the learning community in the College of Education and Health Professions, faculty employ best practices in the preparation of teachers, media specialists, counselors, and leaders. The ideas and activities that constitute best practices include the use of a variety of tools and strategies to address the needs of diverse learners and the extensive integration of technology to enhance teaching and learning. Faculty model best practices for candidates who then apply similar ideas and activities in P-12 schools and classrooms. Teachers and media specialists collaborate within communities of learning as they continually seek feedback from peers, mentors, and students and reflect upon the efficacy of their practice. Leaders support and contribute to excellence in teaching by creating and maintaining safe, civil, healthy, and intellectually stimulating school environments that promote high levels of P-12 student learning. Counselors improve student learning by promoting the academic, career, and social development of students. These efforts by teachers, media specialists, counselors, and leaders provide the necessary tools and environments that result in accomplished P-12 teaching and improved learning for all students in all settings.
Scholarship
Scholarship is systematized knowledge that is accurate, authoritative, relevant, and thorough. Scholarship combines theoretical knowledge with practical applications. Scholars operate within communities of learning as peers, collaborators, mentors, and leaders, who construct, critically examine, and reflect upon knowledge and skills. Scholars seek out and explore multiple viewpoints, embracing diversity as it enriches their intellectual lives and positively impacts their professional performances. Scholars actively engage in a life-long learning process, continually acquiring, integrating, refining, and applying knowledge and skills to achieve excellence in teaching and to improve P-16 student learning.
Professionalism
Professionalism comprises a body of knowledge, a set of beliefs, an array of actions or behaviors, and ethical standards that members of a profession agree are the core of their practice. The professional educator demonstrates in-depth knowledge of a field of study and strives to meet its highest standards as represented by the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) Principles, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Core Propositions, the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Programs (CACREP) School Standards, the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Standards, the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) Standards, the Standards for Advanced Programs in Educational Leadership (SAPEL), and/or specialty association standards. The professional educator is an active member in the learned societies and professional organizations that set the code of ethics and performance standards for their field. Ultimately, the professional educator is a scholar who models professionalism for students and fosters the development of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions in students which allow them to acquire, integrate, refine, and apply knowledge meaningfully throughout their lives.
The College of Education and Health Professions Partner School Network is comprised of contracted schools within the Harris County School District, the Muscogee County School District, and the Fort Benning Department of Defense Schools.
The Partner School Network has been established in order to assist in the pursuit of improved student achievement and offer improved educational opportunities for teacher, counselor and leader candidates. Partner Schools are public schools in which these schools and Columbus State University collaborate towards six (6) goals:
· To increase P-12 student achievement and high levels of learning
· To mentor beginning teachers, leaders, and counselors
· To provide field-placements for teacher, leader, and counselor candidates to demonstrate the performance outcomes of the Regent’s Guarantee
· To identify potential educators (teachers, leaders, and counselors) for admission into preparation programs
· To work on school improvement and improvement of preparation programs for teachers, leaders and counselors
· To increase the amount of school-based research to inform the continuous improvement of schools and educator (teacher, leader, and counselor) preparation and development programs
For a list of Partner Schools, visit www.ColumbusState.edu/PSN
Welcome to the Student Advising and Field Experience Office
(SAFE Office)
The Student Advising and Field Experiences (SAFE Office) is a clearing house of information for Teacher Candidates. We provide the following types of information and services: Advising; Admission to the Teacher Education Program; Placement in Field Experiences and Student Teaching/Internships; Certification; and Education Scholarships.
Mission of the Office of Student Advising and Field Experiences (SAFE)
The mission of the Student Advising and Field Experiences Office (SAFE) is to recruit teacher candidates and provide retention efforts that assist them in the development and implementation of their educational plans.
Goals:
· Support teacher candidates in their educational plans with a comprehensive array of services from point of contact through graduation and certification
· Provide academic advising services to assist teacher candidates in completing their course requirements in a timely manner
· Offer diverse and high quality field placements and clinical practices
· Promote academic excellence in teacher candidates
· Support the College of Education and Health Profession's mission by ..."guiding individuals as they develop the proficiency, expertise, and leadership consistent with their professional roles”
There are four advisors in the SAFE Office. They include two full time faculty members - who specialize in special education and in middle grades and secondary education. Two additional professional advisors advise those student majors in health and physical education and early childhood. One interim faculty member advises the students majoring in Health Sciences. The Director of the SAFE Office coordinates all field placements associated with specific courses, coordinates all candidate internships and is the certification officer, while the Coordinator of Student Teaching coordinates all candidate student teaching placements. One Graduate Placement advisor coordinates field placements and student teaching for online graduate programs. One administrative assistant assists in administrative services.
The Role of the Advisor is to:
· Maintain sufficient office hours, as determined by the SAFE Office, which provide students adequate opportunities to seek advisement
· Understand the degree requirements in the academic area(s) of the advisees served
· Understand current academic policies as well as registration, schedule change, and withdrawal procedures
· Review academic progress of advisees and meet with students each semester
· Refer students to additional services outside the COEHP such as the Career Center, Testing Center, Writing Center, and the Office of Disability Services
· Participate in professional development opportunities that facilitate advising skills
The Responsibilities of the Advisor is to:
· Conduct advising in accordance with the Columbus State University Advising Policies
· Advise students each semester and release advising holds
· Keep accurate records on each advising session as documented in the advising folder
· Update and maintain the student’s degree evaluation record
· Provide information and encourage students to apply for teacher education
· Assist with verification of course work and readiness to student teach
· Provide verification to university offices such as financial aid, registrar, admission and veterans affairs as requested
· Assist students in applying for graduation upon request
· Maintain regular office hours per week
· Participate in orientation sessions to assist new and transferring students
· Assist with high school visitation days as needed
Students Roles and Responsibilities in Advising:
· Be an active participant in the advising process
· Demonstrate responsibility for his/her educational progress and decision-making
· Attend mandatory advising sessions in fall and spring semesters prior to registration
· Use campus resources to develop and follow a plan to accomplish his/her educational and career goals
· Investigate co-curricular and experiential learning opportunities to enhance, enrich, and extend the academic experience
· Provide thoughtful feedback on the advising process as requested through surveys, focus groups, and/or interviews
Students are informed about scheduling advising appointments by an email sent to their colstate.edu address. This email instructs the student to go to AdvisorTrac and make an appointment with their advisor. Students are urged to immediately schedule a 20 minute mandatory advising session with their assigned advisor. Once the advising session has concluded, the advisor releases the student’s advising hold so the student can register when campus registration begins. Longer advising sessions can be scheduled at the student’s request.
Students are asked to complete an Advising Survey twice a year. This survey indicates their level of satisfaction with the SAFE Office services and provides a section for comments. This information gathered from the survey is then used to make necessary changes and improvements in the delivery of services from the SAFE Office.
Requirements for Admission to the Teacher Education Program
(Undergraduate)
· Completion of EDUC 2130 with a grade of C or better or UTCH 1202 (for UTeach Columbus students)
· Completion of 45 earned semester hours with an overall GPA of 2.50 or better on all transcripts and a CSU GPA of 2.50 or better
· Maintain a CSU and overall GPA of 2.50 or better
· Satisfactory performance on all three parts of the GACE Program Admission examination or an exemption based upon satisfactory scores on the SAT or ACT tests (Documentation of GACE scores or exemption scores must be presented to the SAFE Office)
Exemption Scores
SAT – 1000 (combination of Verbal and Math scores)
ACT – 43 (combination of English and Math scores)
· Completion of a satisfactory FBI background check with fingerprints to ensure no criminal record and no discharge from the armed services that would prevent recommendation for teacher certification. Instructions and applications for the FBI background check can be found at safe.columbusstate.edu or can be picked up in Jordan Hall, Room 107.
· Complete the Program Entry level (350) of the Georgia Professional Standards Commission’s Georgia Educator Ethics Assessment. The fee for this test is $30. Go to GaPSC.com and login or create a mypsc account. Once created, go to your mypsc account and click assessments. Scroll down to number 7 and click on add. Please note: You must add Columbus State University as a score recipient in order for us to get your results!