The Reich College of Education is accredited by The National
Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and The
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The Elementary
Education program is housed in the Department of Curriculum
and Instruction and provides the coursework and experiences
necessary for acquiring NC "A" licensure in
Grades Kindergarten through 6.
Through the Office of Extension and Distance Education,
the Reich College of Education presents an off-campus
undergraduate program in Elementary Education which provides
the upper-division course work for the Bachelor of Science
degree at a community college site in western NC. Lower-division
courses required for the BS degree are available through
the community college system; therefore, those courses
are not delivered in Appalachian's off-campus program.
Individuals planning to enter this program are strongly encouraged to complete the NC Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA) core, AA degree, or AS degree through a NC community college prior to enrollment in this program. If completion of the CAA core is not likely possible by the start of this program, please contact the Office of Extension and Distance Education.
In addition to completing the CAA core or AA or AS degree, students pursuing the elementary education major will need to ensure the following courses are accomplished outside the program Appalachian delivers to the site. (NC community college course numbers which will fulfill the requirements are shown in the second column of the chart.)
Off-Campus Program Delivery
Off-campus Elementary Education programs are cohort-based, a concept of providing a schedule of courses to an identified group of students who, together, start and complete their program of study at a particular location. Cohorts begin at varying times and the prospective student must select a particular cohort to attend prior to that cohort's beginning date (i.e., students may enter a cohort only at selected beginning times and at specific sites). Appalachian faculty teach the cohort courses and the mode of delivery is most often face-to-face, with occasional online course work as appropriate. The courses in each cohort will be offered only
once, so a student must be prepared to take the courses
as they are made available. The final semester of the program entails student teaching (full time) in a local school.
Appalachian delivers both part-time and full-time cohorts at selected sites. The distinctions in program delivery between the part-time and the full-time cohorts are:
Part-time program delivery: Generally, two courses
will be provided each term (including summers). Each face-to-face
course will be conducted either during the evenings
(e.g., 6:00-9:00 pm one evening a week for 15 weeks)
or on weekends (e.g, Friday evenings and/or Saturday
mornings). During the final term of the program a student will be expected to student teach, which is a full-time experience for the term. Cohort length is approximately 4 years.
Full-time program delivery (currently available only in Caldwell County): As the title implies, at least 12 semester hours will be delivered to a full-time cohort each term, with courses conducted primarily during the daytime hours. Program length is approximately 3 years, with courses typically provided during the fall and spring semesters only.
Admission Information
Please contact the Office of Extension and
Distance Education about applying for a
new cohort. The application for admission for each
off-campus cohort is made available only at selected
times, and the application must be submitted directly to the Office of Extension and Distance Education for part-time Elementary Ed programs or to the Appalachian State University Center for full-time programs. (Currently, the application for admission should not be submitted via Appalachian's online application form.)
Part
I: Admission to the University
Acceptance to Appalachian's off-campus cohorts is based upon University Admission Requirements. In general, transfer
students are considered for admission to the University based upon prior academic performance and hours accomplished.
A cumulative grade point average of 2.0 (as calculated
by Appalachian) on all transferable coursework taken
within the three previous years is required to be
admitted. All grades earned in transferable courses
within the last three years, including repeated courses,
are used in calculating the grade point average. (College
course work taken in excess of three years ago will
be considered for transfer, but the grades in this
coursework are not used in determining the cumulative
gpa for admission purposes.)
Students less than 24 years of age who have not completed
the high school Minimum Course Requirements (MCR) must
accomplish one of the following:
- Receive the associate in arts, the associate in science, the associate in fine arts, the baccalaureate or any higher degree
- Complete the 44-hour general education core,
- Complete at least six (6) semester hours in degree-credit in each of the following subjects: English, mathematics, the natural sciences, and social/behavioral sciences. Additionally, for students who graduated from high school in 2004 and beyond, six semester hours in a foreign language would be required.
Individuals seeking to enter an off-campus undergraduate program must, also, present an appropriate number of transfer hours prior to beginning the respective cohort:
For part-time cohorts: At least 30 semester hours of transferable work are required
For full-time cohorts: At least 45 semester hours of transferable and program applicable course work are required.
The application for admission (completed in its entirety) along with official copies of transcripts (i.e, a transcript from each college attended as well as a high school transcript) must be submitted to the Office of Extension and Distance Education. There is a $50 application fee. Applicants
will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis
according to the date the application and all supporting
documents (which reflect the applicant is admissible) are received; however, priority consideration for admission will
be offered an applicant who applies by the cohort
application deadline and has successfully completed
PRAXIS I.
Part
II: Admission to Teacher Education
After a student begins the off-campus program, s/he must meet the requirements for admission to teacher education. Admission to teacher education is generally required by the end of the first year in the off-campus program. In order to be admitted to
teacher education the student must:
1. Complete at least 45 semester hours of coursework
2. Earn a cumulative grade point average of at least
2.50 on Appalachian work; at least 12 semester hours
of Appalachian course work must be presented at the
time of consideration (and teacher education majors
must maintain the 2.50 minimum gpa thereafter)
3. Attain acceptable scores on PRAXIS I, as set by
the NC State Department of Public Instruction (i.e.,
One must earn a cumulative score of at least 522 on the three PRAXIS I test areas or earn individual scores on the three test areas as follows: Reading = 176, Writing = 173, Math = 173. If one has taken the SAT or ACT, certain scores on either of these exams may exampt them from the PRAXIS I requirement. Please contact the Office of Extension and Distance Education for more details.)
4. Complete the Candidate for Professional Licensure
(CPL)
5. Complete CI/SPE 2800 and ENG 1000 (or its equivalent)
with a grad of "C" or better
6. Complete the speech clinical assessment
7. Ensure declaration of appropriate academic concentration/s
