Education | NMU Bulletin

Contact Information

Address: 179 Whitman Hall

Phone: 906-227-2728

Fax: 906-227-2764

Web Address: https://www.nmu.edu/education

Department Email: education@nmu.edu

Education at NMU

The School of Education offers professional studies courses leading to the Michigan Professional or Provisional Teaching Certificate at the elementary and secondary levels as well as courses for continuing professional development through the master’s degree. Students must be eligible for admission to the School of Education in order to enroll in education courses.

All NMU education programs are accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education and approved by the Michigan Department of Education.

Northern’s School of Education carries primary responsibility for the following:

Curriculum for elementary school teachers.
Curriculum for teachers of children with cognitive impairment.
Curriculum for teachers of children with emotional impairment.
A sequence of professional courses in education for secondary school teachers.

In cooperation with other departments, the school also sponsors graduate programs for teachers and school service personnel leading to the master of arts in education. These programs are described in the Graduate Studies Bulletin.

Most education courses at Northern Michigan University include field experience in K-12 classrooms. A number of education courses meet in public school buildings to expand teaching opportunities. Another learning opportunity is an apprenticeship in special education, which provides students with a chance to refine goals and polish skills.

Student Organizations

Michigan Student Council for Exceptional Children
Student Michigan Education Association

Elementary Education Programs

Satisfactory completion of the program in elementary education qualifies a student for a Michigan Elementary Provisional Certificate, which is valid for teaching kindergarten through grade five and major and minor fields in grades six, seven and eight, and self-contained grades six, seven and eight.

Special Education Programs

Satisfactory completion of a program for teaching students with cognitive impairment (CI) or students with emotional impairment (EI) qualifies graduates for an Elementary or Secondary Provisional Certificate and an endorsement to teach children in kindergarten through grade twelve in the specialty area, as well as elementary classrooms in kindergarten through grade five or middle school and secondary grades six through twelve in major or minor area only.

Secondary Education Majors

Students who satisfactorily complete a curriculum for secondary teaching qualify for a Michigan Secondary Provisional Certificate, which is valid for teaching grades seven through twelve in majors and minors only. Some programs, however, are kindergarten through grade twelve.

Post-Degree Teacher Certification

Baccalaureate degree graduates without teaching certification may complete a provisional certification plan of study for teaching at the elementary or secondary level by enrolling in undergraduate courses. If a student has completed courses as an undergraduate that are applicable to a teachable major or minor, the undergraduate credits may be counted toward the state requirement for provisional certification. If additional credit hours are required, they may be obtained through enrollment in undergraduate courses. In addition to the major and minor requirements, the student must complete the State of Michigan requirement in professional education. Provisional certification programs are available in elementary education, secondary education and special education.

Students who qualify for a Michigan Provisional Certificate do not receive another Northern Michigan University degree.

Department/Program Policies

Admission to Teacher Education Program

Admission to Northern Michigan University does not necessarily imply full admission to a teacher education program. Admission to teacher education is determined by the director of teacher education student services or the certification counselor in the School of Education or, on appeal, by the Teacher Selection and Retention Committee.

The complete set of standards (Teacher Selection and Retention Standards) to which all students in the teacher education program must adhere is available in the School of Education and can be accessed through the following Web site: www.nmu.edu/education/standards.htm.

Admission requirements to a teacher education program of study are as follows:

A. First-semester freshmen applicants entering directly out of high school must have:

an ACT composite score of 20 or an SAT score of verbal 450 and math 500; and
a high school GPA of 2.75 in college preparatory subjects.

B. All other undergraduate applicants must have:

a cumulative GPA of 2.70 in undergraduate-level college credits;
at least 24 credits in liberal studies courses outside of their major and minor with a GPA of 2.50; and
ACT, SAT or PPST scores as listed below in D.

C. All post-baccalaureate applicants must have:

a cumulative GPA of 2.70 in undergraduate-level college credits; or
at least 40 credits in liberal studies courses outside of their major and minor with a GPA of 2.70; and
ACT, SAT or PPST scores as listed below in D.

D. All students, prior to enrolling in education courses, must be able to show competency in the areas of reading, mathematics and writing in one of the following ways:

ACT subscores of 21 in English and reading, and 20 in mathematics; or
SAT scores of verbal 450 and mathematics 500; or
Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) scores of reading 174, mathematics 173, and writing 173. If the computer-based PPST is taken, the required scores are reading 321, mathematics 318 and writing 319.

Applicants may be denied admission if they do not meet the above requirements or if they have:

more than five repeats in college courses;
a combination of excessive repeats and withdrawals from classes; or
more than one repeated course in any of the following areas: major, minor, professional education sequence, or the planned program and required cognates combined.

Retention in the Program

To retain eligibility in the professional teacher education program, a student must do the following:

A. Maintain an overall GPA of 2.70 or above.

B. Maintain a GPA of 2.70 or greater with no grade below “C” in the professional education sequence, the major and/or minor(s), and the planned program and required cognates combined.

C. Have no more than five total repeats, with no more than one repeat in each of the following:

major(s)
minor(s)
professional teacher education sequence courses
the planned program and required cognates combined

D. Maintain minimum standards of behavior as outlined in the Teacher Selection and Retention Standards.

Appeals

Students who are denied admission or are academically dismissed from the program may appeal the decision to the Teacher Selection and Retention Committee by contacting the committee’s chairperson or the director of teacher education student services. Hearing procedures are stated in the document titled “Academic Dismissal from the Teacher Education Program,” available in the School of Education.

Limitations on Acceptance of Transfer Courses and Validity of Courses

Students are expected to take their professional education sequence courses at Northern Michigan University. Guidelines for specific courses are as follows:

A. ED 201 Introduction to Education

Transfer credit will be accepted but given only a satisfactory or unsatisfactory grade designation. An “S” grade will be assigned when the grade earned is “C” or greater, and a “U” grade will be assigned when the grade earned is below “C.”

B. Methods-level courses: a minimum of 20 credits of methods-level courses must be taken at NMU, including the following:

Elementary Education
     ED 311 (3 credits)
     ED 316 (3 credits)
     ED 420 (11 credits)
     ED 450 (1 credit)

Secondary Education
     ED 319 (3 credits)
     ED 349 (2 credits)
     — 350 (3-4 credits)
     ED 430 (11 credits)
     ED 450 (1 credit)

Special Education
     ED 311 (3 credits)
     ED 316 (3 credits)
     ED 401 or ED 408 (4 credits)
     ED 406 or ED 409 (2 credits)

Elementary Base (Special Education)
     ED 423A (5 credits)
     ED 423B or ED 423C (6 credits)
     ED 450 (1 credit)

Secondary Base (Special Education)
     ED 424A or ED 424B (11 credits)
     ED 450 (1 credit)

All education courses are invalid after six years. MA 150 Mathematics for the Elementary Teacher I, MA 151 Mathematics for the Elementary Teacher II, and MA 353 Methods and Materials in Teaching Elementary School Mathematics Education are also invalid after six years.

These requirements apply to all provisional certification programs of study. Exceptions to the requirements may be made by the director of teacher education student services or the certification counselor in consultation with the appropriate faculty member.

Repeats of all education courses must be taken at NMU.

Eligibility for Student Teaching Placement

Students should plan to do their student teaching when they have completed all prerequisite course work. Students should notify the student teaching office of their intent to do student teaching two semesters in advance and must submit a complete student teaching application one semester in advance. Forms, policies, procedures and other information are available in the Field Experience Office.

Student teaching placements are made by the university. Students are not to contact school personnel to arrange student teaching placements.

Occasionally the university finds it difficult to secure a student teaching assignment. Although the university may request an assignment, school districts are under no obligation to accept a student teacher. Reasons such as a poor academic record or a lack of a suitable supervising teacher are responses typically given by districts when not offering a student teaching placement. Students should be aware of this possibility as they progress toward a degree in teacher education.

Eligibility for Recommendation for Certification

To be eligible to be recommended for certification, students must satisfy the following requirements:

A. Comply with all of the previously stated admission and retention requirements.

B. Complete the baccalaureate degree in accordance with the above criteria and any additional criteria as established by other academic departments, where applicable.

C. Satisfactorily complete the student teaching assignment with a recommendation for certification by the supervising teacher and the university supervisor.

D. Satisfactorily complete all Michigan Test Teacher Certification subject area competency tests as required by Public Act 451 as amended (major, minor(s), and elementary education where applicable).

E. As of July 1, 2004, in order to be certified, new teachers must possess a valid certificate of course completion for first aid training that includes cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This training must be from the American Red Cross or the American Heart Association.

Other Requirements

All education majors must complete EN 111 College Composition I and EN 211 College Composition II (or equivalent) with a grade of “C” or better.

Students who do not meet requirements for continuous enrollment (e.g., those who drop out for one or more semesters or withdraw from all courses in which they are enrolled) are required to re-apply for admission to the level of the teacher education program that they were enrolled in at the time of their departure.

Students may be required to complete other tests or evaluation procedures for admission to any phase of the teacher education program, for removal of any suspension from the program, or for teacher certification.

Title II Requirements

NMU complies with all federal and state Title II requirements. NMU’s teacher education program has a 100 percent pass rate on MTTC subject-area tests for students who complete the program, and is nationally accredited. More information can be found at www.nmu.edu/education/titleii.

Information for Elementary Education Majors

The School of Education advises new freshmen elementary education majors who met the university’s criteria for regular admission upon graduation from high school. Other students will be advised through the School of Education once they have been admitted into the teacher education program. Students are required to adhere to state standards that do not necessarily apply to students outside the program. We strongly encourage students to maintain contact with their advisers and to be familiar with the Teacher Selection and Retention Standards that they receive upon admission to the program. Detailed planning sheets for the various major/minor options are available in the Teacher Education Student Services Office.

Social Studies Component

All students in the elementary education curriculum must complete a 16-credit-hour social studies requirement. Any AN, EC, HS, PS or SO prefixed course fulfills this requirement, as well as ENV 101, FR 310, GC 100, GC 164, GC 300, NAS 204, PL 270 and SN 314. These credits can be double counted with other program requirements.

Major/Minors Program Guidelines

A major or two minors are required. Majors are available only in the five core content subject areas listed below. If two minors are chosen, one of the minors must be selected from the five core content subject areas.

Core Content Subject Areas for Majors and Minors

1. Language Arts (group): contains English, journalism, speech and reading courses.

2. English (straight): contains literature, writing and grammar courses.

3. Integrated Science (group): contains biology, earth/space science and physical science courses.

4. Social Studies (group): contains economics, geography, history and political science courses.

5. Mathematics (straight): contains math and computer science courses.

Minor Subject Areas

French
Geography
German
History
Physical Education
Reading Spanish

Minors that overlap in content (e.g., English, reading and language arts) are prohibited.

Information for Secondary Education Majors

The School of Education contributes professional studies courses in education to the secondary education curricula. Information about entrance, test and certification requirements is available from the Teacher Education Student Services Office.

Prospective secondary school teachers are advised on course selection and other academic matters by faculty members of the department or area in which students plan to major.

Approved Secondary Education Majors and Minors

Majors