Admission to Teacher Education

Teacher Education at Bluefield State College is a restricted enrollment program. The College recognizes two levels of status in teacher preparation:

A Declaration of Intent to pursue Teacher Education is attained when the student declares his or her major in education and identifies the field(s) of specialization. Intent may be declared at any time.

Admission to Teacher Education will be attained when:

1. The student passes the Preprofessional Skills Tests in Reading Writing, and Mathematics.
2. The student has completed a minimum of twenty-four (24) semester hours with a grade point average of 2.5 or better. The Director of Teacher Education may make exceptions.
3. The student has successfully completed two (2) semester hours in Education (Education 110 Foundations of Education). Only Education 110, 160 and 200 of the professional education sequence may be taken before admission to Teacher Education.
4. The student has completed 60 hours of approved volunteer service, with a minimum of thirty (30) hours completed in a public school classroom.
5. The student submits two (2) completed Checklists for Admission from full-time faculty members of Bluefield State College and completes the formal application form.
6. The student completes an interview with a panel to present the first portfolio.

Students must meet all Admission to Teacher Education requirements and be accepted into the program prior to enrolling in any restricted courses. Application for admission will normally occur during the sophomore year. Students may take the Praxis I only after having successfully completed six hours of composition and three hours of mathematics. Deviations from the sequence may be approved by the Director of Teacher Education. The student is responsible for all costs associated with taking the prescribed tests. Students must take and successfully pass the reading, writing, and math parts of the Praxis I and have those scores reported to Bluefield State College Department of Education. Students may only apply for admission to Teacher Education after meeting the entire Praxis I requirement and other requirements listed above. Students with an ACT composite score of 26 or greater are exempt from the Praxis I requirement. Students must submit the complete application no later than August 10 for Fall admission and December 1 for Spring admissions.

All students must be admitted to Teacher Education before enrolling in 300 level courses in Education and Reading.