Teacher Certification Office
Yearly Report
Covering the
2005-06 Academic Year
Scott Fiedler – Coordinator of Teacher Certification
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Missouri State University
Teacher Certification Office
Yearly Report: 2005-06 Academic Year
Section I – Major Changes this Academic Year
A. Staffing Changes
1. VIP Graduate Assistant re-located
B. Budget Information
1. Yearly Office Supply Budget
2. Transcript Analysis Fee Budge
C. Addition of New Certification Programs since 2002
1. VIP Alternative Certification Program Approval
2. Severely Developmentally Disabled – Alternative Certification Program
3. Future Directions:
i. Elementary Education at Crowder College
ii. Expand MAT to either West Plains or Northeast area
D. Teacher’s Aide Rule Changes
E. Office Projects
1. Website re-designed
2. Post bac Guide to Teacher Certification re-designed
3. Community College Agreements Established
4. Yearly Program Changes Reported to DESE
5. Office database expanded and query system developed
6. Monitoring of BSED Graduates who have not passed Praxis II
7. Credit Card Processing
Section II – Student Data
A. Certified Students Since Summer, 2002 by year (both BSED and Post Bac/Masters)
B. Active Students According to the Teacher Certification Office Fall, 2003 vs Fall 2005
1. Active Students in our database – Totals since 2002
2. Active Students by Program Type
3. New Students Requesting an Analysis, Fall04 – Summer05
4. Active vs. Inactive Students
5. Students Registered for classes by area
C. Deleted Students
1. Total Deleted Students per year since 2002
D. Students on a Provisional Certificate
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1. Yearly totals since 2002
2. Currently teaching on a provisional by area
E. Teachers Aide Rule/One Block Waivers
1. Yearly Totals since 2002
2. Totals by area
Section III – Office Workload
A. Number of Analysis completed
1. Yearly Totals of new analysis per year since 2002
2. Yearly totals of updates per year since 2002
3. Combined Totals
B. Front Office Staff
1. Average Phone calls per day
2. Number of new transcripts received per day
3. Transcript Analysis Requests processed per day
C. Coordinator Work Load
1. Advising Appointments (30 day period)
2. Consultations with Faculty/Staff (30 day period)
3. Student requests for information (30 day period)
4. Certification Issues (30 day period)
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INTRODUCTION
For the 4th
straight year, the Teacher Certification Office has seen a steady increase in the
number of students interested in pursuing teacher certification at the Post Baccalaureate or
Master’s Level. The Mater of Arts in Teaching (MAT) is now the second largest Masters
program at Missouri State, closely followed by the Special Education Alternative Certification
Track (SEACT) which has grown from a handful of students to over 100 in only 3 years. The
new Visually Impaired certification program has resulted in an increase of over 100 students in
it’s first year and is now serving students in 7 states and 2 countries, and the new Severely
Disabled certification program, while intended to be a small program, will also cause in increase
in overall numbers.
In 2002, the Teacher Certification Office worked with approximately 350 students seeking
certification. That number has grown to a consistent 900-950 in 2006. The purpose of this
report is to highlight the changes, recognize the accomplishments, and provide the data related to
the work done by the Teacher Certification Office during the 2005-06 academic year.
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Teacher Certification Office
Missouri State University
Section #1
Major Changes During 2005-06
This section of the yearly report describes the major changes that have occurred within the
Teacher Certification Office within the last academic year.
A. Staffing Changes
In 2005 an additional Graduate Assistant was added to the Teacher Certification Office in
response to the addition of the new nation-wide Visually Impaired Certification Program. The
primary responsibility of this graduate assistant was to monitor the recruitment application and
selection process for all students pursuing Visually Impaired certification at Missouri State
University. Due to the rapid growth of this new program and the complex nature of a nation-
wide web-based program, this position required that the GA spend all 20 hours per week
monitoring the program.
During the 2004-05 academic year, office traffic again increased as a larger number of students
contacted the Teacher Certification Office for information regarding our certification programs.
Therefore, an additional student worker was also added to the office staff to assist in the
additional workload.
Therefore, in fall 2005 the staffing pattern was changed to the following:
Coordinator of Teacher Certification
Teacher Certification Assistant - Transcript Analyst
Graduate Assistant – Office Administration
Graduate Assistant – Data Management and Student Tracking
Graduate Assistant – Visually Impaired Certification Program Tracking
Student Worker – 15 hours/week: Data Entry and General Office Work
Student Worker – 20 hours/week: Special Projects, office traffic.
Unfortunately, at the end of spring 2006 it was learned that the Graduate Assistant position for
the VIP program would be moved back to the Associate Dean’s Office and would have shared
responsibilities with that office. Immediately this change affected our ability to effectively work
with these students in a consistent and timely manner. As of fall 2006 this graduate student will
now be working with both the VIP program and the Special Education and Elementary
Education Master’s Programs, which will further pull this employee from the VIP program.
Due to the continuing increase in office traffic and number of active students in our post bac and
masters level certification programs and the amount of money spent on student workers and
graduate assistants simply to handle daily office traffic, the Teacher Certification Office is
requesting that a Full Time Administrative Secretary position be added. This would
eliminate the need for one Graduate Assistant and one Student Worker, and would allow for our
office to work much more effectively and consistently with incoming students.
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B. Budget Information
The Teacher Certification Office currently operates on the following budgets:
Office Supply Budget: 1015-11-0305 This budget is used for daily office expenses
such as phone and data lines, long distance, office supplies, postage and printing.
o Total budgeted for 2005-06: $2,200.00
o Total Expenditures for 2005-06: $6,500.00
Transcript Analysis Fees: 1017-11-0335 This budget is used for all student worker
salary, one Graduate Assistant salary, travel expenses, and any major equipment
purchases.
o Account balance July 1, 2005: $ -14,580.00
o Deposits 2005-06: $ 18,485.00
o Expenditures 2005-06: $ 21,107.00
o Balance as of June 30, 2006: $ -18,629.00
o Student wages paid in 2005-06 $ 18,440.00 The obvious conclusion is that if the Teacher Certification Office did not have to pay for
two student workers and one Graduate Assistant out of the Transcript Analysis Budget,
our income would far exceed our expenses and we would not have a negative balance.
Transcript Analysis Deposits: 1016-00-1245 This account is used to deposit money
from Transcript Analysis fees (see deposits above).
C. Addition of New Certification Programs since 2002 In the 2005-06, the Teacher Certification Office was responsible for monitoring and
administering the following programs:
26 Initial Certification Programs
7 Added Certificate Programs
4 Alternative Certification Program (MAT, SEACT, SDD, VIP)
Visually Impaired (Blind and Partially Sighted) Alternative Certification Program:
In November 2005 Missouri State received formal approval from DESE to add Blind and
Partially Sighted (Visually Impaired) (Birth – Grade 12) as an “Alternative Certification
Program”. This program immediately increased the workload of the Teacher Certification Office
staff. To begin this program, the following activities were completed:
Website: New VIP Program website developed to include information for currently
certified teachers, new Teacher Education candidates and those interested in Project
Diverse as a funding source for this program.
Publications: Academic Program guide, DESE Certification Matrix and Transcript
Analysis template. Also developed new application materials including form letters and
a “Declaration of Intent” form.
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During the 2005-06 academic year, the number of students pursuing certification in Visually
Impaired has grew rapidly. The following table provides data regarding the change in students
pursuing this certification: Table 1
Academic Year Active Students Enrolled
Students
# of States
Represented
2004-05 20 7 2
2005-06 30 15 5
Fall, 2006 (Official
Census)
91 48 7
Percent Increase
Since 2004
355% 586% 250%
Because this program serves students adding certification and earning initial certification, the
following table provides data regarding the number of students actively pursuing certification
in each area: Table 2
Academic Year VIP (Initial
Certification)
VIP Added (Adding
Certification)
Fall, 2006 (official Census) 34 57
Severely Developmentally Disabled (SDD) Alternative Certification Program
In July 2006 Missouri State received formal approval from DESE to add Severely
Developmentally Disabled (SDD) (Birth – Grade 12) as an “Alternative Certification Program”.
This program has also increased the workload of the Teacher Certification Office staff. To begin
this program, the following activities will be completed fall 2006:
Website: New SDD Program website developed to include both recruitment and
application materials for those interested in pursuing this certification program.
Publications: An Academic Program guide, DESE Certification Matrix and Transcript
Analysis template are under development fall 2006. Information on this program was
also added to the Post Baccalaureate Guide to Teacher Certification
DESE Certification Matrix and MOSTEP Matrix: Both a Certification Matrix and a
MOSTEP Matrix were developed and will now need to be maintained long-term.
Future Directions:
Currently there are discussions within the College of Education to expand certification programs
at both the undergraduate and Post Bac/Masters Level. The following programs may be
expanded within the next year:
Elementary/Middle School Education at Crowder College
MAT Program in West Plains or somewhere Northeast
SEACT Program in Joplin
D. Teacher’s Aide Rule Changes for 2006-07
Students who enroll in EDC150 beginning Spring 2006 are no longer allowed to get “Prior
Experience Credit” for student teaching utilizing the Teacher’s Aide Rule. Instead, they are
required to enroll in alternative student teaching coursework (EDC199 and EDC499 or program
equivalent). During EDC199, the Coordinator of Teacher Certification is responsible for
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observing them in the classroom for a minimum of 2 hours to verify that they are performing
duties that qualify them for credit. Students are also required to complete a teaching journal and
a time log for the semester they are enrolled in EDC199.
During Spring 2006, 1 student enrolled in EDC199 and was supervised by the Coordinator of
Teacher Certification. Fall 2006, 11 students have registered for EDC199 and are being
supervised. These students are located throughout Southwest Missouri, and several of them are
over 100 miles from Springfield. If this program continues to grow as anticipated, other
resources will need to be utilized to supervise these students.
E. Office Projects Completed
During the 2005-06 academic year, several projects were completed by the Teacher Certification
Office staff:
1. Website Re-Designed: In Summer 2006, the Teacher Certification Office moved their
website to a new address: www.missouristate.edu so that prospective students would be
able to find it more easily. This address also worked better in publications than the
previous web address that was very long and difficult to type. The staff then participated
in a day-long retreat to re-design the entire website to make it more user-friendly and
organized. Once the re-design concept was developed, the entire site (over 100 pages)
was moved to webpress. This process took approximately 2 months.
2. Post Baccalaureate Guide to Teacher Certification: This publication is reprinted
every two years. Due to the large number of changes to certification programs at the post
bac and masters level during the last two years, the entire guide needed to be re-designed
and several new pages were added. The new guides were available in August, 2006.
3. Community College Agreements/PEU Codes Established: In 2005, a new system of
PEU codes were developed to aid in the transfer of education courses from Community
Colleges. Once established, the staff in the Teacher Certification Office began the
process of contacting all of the Community Colleges with education programs to re-
evaluate those courses and update our articulation agreement. An advising worksheet
was then developed for each community college program displaying which courses
students should complete as part of their AA degree in order to transfer easily to Missouri
State’s Elementary Education program. These agreements will now be maintained long-
term by the Teacher Certification Office.
4. Yearly Program Changes Reported to DESE: In spring 2005 it was determined that
the College of Education should communicate all program changes to DESE on a yearly
basis. This responsibility fell under the Teacher Certification Office. In May 2005 all of
the program changes since the DESE/NCATE visit were brought to DESE for review and
approval. This has now become a yearly process, and changes that occurred during the
2005-06 academic year will be brought to DESE during fall 2006. The Teacher
Certification Office will continue to track ALL curricular changes effecting certification
programs, and will report those changes yearly to DESE.
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5. Office Database Expanded and Query System Developed: In 2004 the Teacher
Certification Office developed a web-based database to track all paperwork processes and
students pursuing certification at the post bac or masters level. It was then determined
that the database could track all data needed for reporting purposes in the MAT, SEACT,
VIP and SDD programs. Therefore, the database underwent a major update to include
this information. Once completed, a new query system was then developed so that data
could easily be extracted from the database. This process, in conjunction with Web
Services at Missouri State was took approximately 9 months to complete.
6. Monitoring of BSED Graduates Missing Praxis II Exam: During spring, 2006 it was
discovered that the Degree Check Office at Missouri State had been holding the
“Application for Missouri Teachers Certificate” for all BSED Graduate who had not
passed Praxis. However, no one in that office or in the College of Education was
following up with any of those students to encourage them to attempt the Praxis II again
or to determine their intent. Therefore, in Spring 2006 the Teacher Certification Office
assumed responsibility for the tracking of all students who have graduated but did not
pass Praxis. As of Fall, 2006 we have tracked 62 students. The Table Below provides
data regarding these 62 students:
Status Number of
Students
Have Passed Praxis and are now Certified 15
Have chosen not to pursue certification 9
Still attempting to pass Praxis and become certified 15
Attempted to contact, but have received no response 23
7. Credit Card Processing: In February 2005, it was determined that the number of
requests from students to pay their Transcript Analysis Fee by credit card had increased
to the point where it was necessary to investigate the possibility of accepting credit card
payments in the Teacher Certification Office. After brief discussions with Financial
Services, it was determined that we could easily incorporate credit card payments into our
current transcript analysis process. In February 2005 the Teacher Certification Office
began processing Credit Card Payments in person and over the phone. Due to the low
volume of transactions in comparison to Financial Services, it was also determined that
the Teacher Certification Office would not be charged for any of the credit card
processing fees. New processes were developed for the processing of individual cards
over the phone and in person, each staff member was trained to process credit cards, and
the Transcript Analyst agreed to coordinate the deposits and all other record-keeping
associated with this process.
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Section #2
2005-06 Student Data
The purpose of this section is to provide demographic and enrollment data for the students in the
post baccalaureate and masters level certification programs.
Table 3a
Certified Students Per Academic Year (Fall, Spring, Summer)
Academic Year Post Bac/MAT
Students Certified
Undergraduate
Students Certified
Total Students
Certified
2002-03 111 417 528
2003-04 137 382 519
2004-05 134 390 524
2005-06 115 412 527
Table 3b
Students actively seeking certification through the Teacher Certification Office
Academic Year Active Students Percent Increase Over
Previous Year
2002-03 477* n/a
2003-04 460* (**) -4%
2004-05 706 35%
2005-06 761 7%
Fall 2006 (census) 960 21%
*based on CECT Codes in Missouri State Database
** Slight decrease was due to the removal of old CECT codes from inactive and deleted students
Table 3c
Active Students by Program Type:
Program 2005-06 2006-07
Post Bac 551 624
MAT 86 105
MAT-Joplin 16 31
MSED 13 27
SEACT 66 77
VIP 0 22
ADDED 29 95
Table 4
New Students requesting at least one analysis, including those admitted to Alternative
Certification Programs (MAT, SEACT, VIP, SDD)
Academic Year Number of New
Analysis
2004-05 300
2005-06 824
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Active vs. Inactive Students
Each Fall, the Teacher Certification Office staff reviews each student file to determine which
students have had no activity in the last 3 semesters. Activity would include any of the
following:
Requesting an analysis
Requesting an update to an analysis
Taking at least one course at Missouri State
Taking a course at another institution for certification and transferring it to Missouri State
Table 5
Active vs. Inactive Students
Table 6
Active Post Bac and Masters Students Registered for Classes at Missouri State
Year Total Active Total
Registered
Percent
Registered
2002-03 325 290 89%
2003-04 441 340 77%
2004-05 706 275 39%
2005-06 761 368 48%
Fall 2006 960 444 46%
As the numbers above indicate, since the requests for certification has risen very quickly we have
been unable to provide the quality service required to assist a large percentage of students in
registering for classes. While fewer than 50% of active students are registered at Missouri State,
the rest fall into the following categories:
1. Those taking correspondence or online courses at another institution to meet
deficiencies
2. Those who requested an analysis after classes started, and are waiting until the
following semester to start classes
3. Those who are sitting out for a semester, but will be returning
4. Those who have decided not to complete the program, but have not notified our
office.
I believe this indicates an area of needed improvement in our office. However, the
Coordinator of Teacher Certification is the only advisor in this office, and currently has over
400 advisees. Unless a full-time Academic Advisor is hired for this office, the percentage of
registered students will remain low.
Year Active Inactive Percent of Students
Inactive
Fall, 2002 325 No data n/a
Fall. 2003 441 No data n/a
Fall, 2004 706 256 36%
Fall, 2005 761 269 35%
Fall, 2006 960 322 34%
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Deleted Students
Each fall, the Teacher Certification Office staff reviews all “inactive” student files to determine
which files have had no activity in the last three years. Those files are then deleted. If a
student’s file is deleted, they must submit all new materials if they wish to pursue certification in
the future. Table 7
Deleted Students Since the 2002-03 Academic Year
Year Students Deleted
2002-03 912
2003-04 278
2004-05 236
2005-06 202
This indicates an area that is in need of improvement. We lost 36% of our total post bac
certification student population in 2004 and 21% in 2005. This can only be improved through
the acquisition of additional staff to follow up with these students.
Students on a Provisional Certificate
Changes in the TAC rule in 2003 have allowed students to teach while pursuing certification
through DESE. At the same time, we requested and received approval to consider all post bac
and masters level certification students “alternative” certification students. Therefore, all were
eligible for Provisional Certification. The following tables provide data regarding provisional
certificates at Missouri State:
Number of students currently teaching on a Provisional Certificate broken down by area:
(Both Confirmed by DESE and pending approval but teaching)
Teaching Area Number of Students Fall, 2006
Early Childhood Education 2
Early Childhood Special Education 1
Elementary Education 6
Cross-Categorical Special Education 55
Blind and Partially Sighted 4
Middle School Education 22
Secondary Education
Year
Number of
Students
Recommended
for Provisional
Percent Increase
over the Prior Year
2002-2003 11
2003-2004 74 573%
2004-2005 120 62%
2005-06 102 -15%
Total 307
Students Who Requested a
Provisional Certificate
Actively
Teaching on a
Certificate
164
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Agriculture 1
Art (K-12) 7
Business (9-12) 15
Biology – Categorical 1
Biology – Unified Science 5
Chemistry – Categorical 0
Chemistry – Unified Science 2
Earth Science – Categorical 1
English (9-12) 10
French (K-12) 1
German (K-12) 0
Journalism (9-12) 0
Mathematics (9-12) 12
Music – Instrumental (K-12) 3
Music – Vocal/Choral (K-12) 2
Physical Education (K-12) 1
Physics – Categorical (9-12) 0
Physics – Unified Science (9-12) 1
Social Studies (9-12) 3
Spanish (K-12) 3
Speech/Theatre (9-12) 1
TESOL (K-12) 2
Vocational Family and Consumer Science 3
Total 164
Teacher’s Aide Rule/One Block Waiver
The addition of the Teacher’s Aide Rule has allowed a number of students to pursue certification
while working in the public schools as either a Teacher’s Aide or as a teacher on a Provisional
Certificate. This program has also added a significant work load to the Teacher Certification
Office staff. Beginning Spring 2006, all students pursuing credit for student teaching utilizing
the Teacher’s Aide Rule are required to register for EDC199 and be supervised in the classroom
by the Coordinator of Teacher Certification. During fall 2006, 11 students enrolled in EDC199
and will be visited in classrooms throughout Southwest Missouri.
The following tables provide data regarding the Teacher’s Aide Rule and One-Block Waivers:
* It should be noted that the number of TAR and OBW requests approved is typically very high because the
Coordinator of Teacher Certification meets with each student who applies for a waiver before any
paperwork is completed. Only those students who have relevant experience and a good chance of being
approved are actually encouraged to apply for the TAR or OWB.
Teachers Aide Rule (TAR) Requested Per Year
Year #
Requested
Approved
1 Block
Approved
2 Blocks
Denied Pending %
Approved
2002-03 54* 20* 18* 8* 8* 85%*
2003-04
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2004-05
2005-06 28 14 12 2 0 93%
* Data is not available by year.
Teachers Aide Rule (TAR) by Area
Overall Totals – Since Program Began in 2002/03 academic year
Area # Requested # Approved # Denied % Approved
Early Childhood 21 19 2 90%
Elementary 26 22 4 85%
Special Education 9 6 3 67%
Middle School 3 3 0 100%
Secondary Education 17 15 2 88%
Totals 76 65 11 86%
One Block Waivers (OBW) Requested Per Year since program began in 2002/03 academic
year
Year # Requested # Approved # Denied % Approved
2002-03 No Data No Data No Data No Data
2003-04 6 5 1 83%
2004-05
2005-06 0 0 0 n/a
Teacher’s Aide Rule and One Block Waivers (OBW) approved per group since program
began in 2002/2003 academic year
Group Approved Denied % Approved
Post
Bac/Masters 46 9 81%
Undergraduate 24 3 88%
Total 70 12 83%
Section #3
Office Workload
The purpose of this section is to highlight the actual workload of the Teacher Certification
Office. Work load will be broken down per employee, and data pertaining to the volume of
work completed will be reported.
Transcript Analyst:
The Teacher Certification Office completes a Transcript Analysis for each student expressing
interest in teacher certification, whether or not that student ever pursues coursework for
certification. Historically, approximately 50% of those who receive an analysis are actually
taking coursework that semester. Therefore, the number of students receiving an analysis
from our office is typically double that of enrolled students with a CECT (Teacher Certification)
code.
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Prior to 2002, Transcript Analysis was completed ONLY by the Director of Teacher
Certification. Due to increased volume of requests, a Graduate Assistant was hired during the
2002-03 academic year to assist with this process. Quickly, transcript analysis became that GA’s
only responsibility. In summer 2005, it was determined that the responsibility of transcript
analysis needed to be shifted to a full-time employee who would work in the Teacher
Certification Office for more than 1-2 years. Since there is a significant learning curve in this
position, a long-term employee was needed. Therefore, the Administrative Secretary position
was changed to a Transcript Analyst position.
Work Load of the Transcript Analyst:
This person is also responsible for monitoring the office budget, completing all deposits and
credit card processing, and assisting with office traffic as needed. The following table highlights
the number of analysis completed per year:
Number of Analysis Complete Per Year since 2002
Academic Year New Analysis Updates Total Analysis
2002-03 147 120 267
2003-04 214 198 412
2004-05 450 294 744
2005-06 824 537 1361
Number of Analysis Completed in 2005-06 Per Employee
Employee Analysis Completed
Brooke Turner (Graduate Assistant) 71
Carrol Vaught (Graduate Assistant) 54
Cindy Yoest (Graduate Assistant) 9
Jane Peterson (Graduate Assistant 10
Jennifer Jensen (Transcript Analyst) 648
Mary Hall (Student Worker) 248
Scott Fiedler (Coordinator) 164
Not Indicated 157
Transcript Analysis Fee Income by Fiscal Year:
Year Total Income
2002-03 $ 9,635.00
2003-04 $ 7,305.00*
2004-05 $ 12,245.00
2005-06 $ 19,140.75
* July 2004: Transcript Analysis fees increased from $25 to $40, and the number of analysis
requested per student was limited to 3.
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Fiscal Year Income by Month
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Months
Do
llars
FY 02 - 03
FY 03 - 04
FY 04 - 05
FY 05 - 06
Graduate Assistants:
The Graduate Assistants are primarily responsible for all daily office traffic including answering
phones and scheduling appointments, processing all incoming and out-going mail, receiving and
sending faxes, and providing potential students with information on our Post Bac and Masters
level certification programs.
Currently, the GA’s are also responsible for the maintenance and enhancement of our office
database, and all updates to our Academic Program Guides, analysis templates, and certification
Matrix’s (as directed by the Coordinator).
Workload of the Graduate Assistants:
The following table highlights the amount of office traffic handled by the Graduate Assistants:
Office Traffic by area per month
Responsibility Average # of
Contacts Per
Month
Average Time
Spent per
Contact
Total
Minutes Per
Month
Phone Calls Received 410 10 minutes 4100
Phone Calls Made 80 10 minutes 800
Appointments Scheduled 43 2 minutes 86
Walk-Ins requesting
Information
43 15 minutes 645
Transcripts Received and
Processed
97 15 minutes 1455
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New Student Applications
Processed
47 20 minutes 940
Out of State Applications
Processed
8 15 minutes 120
Totals Per Month 728 8146
Based on the above data, the current amount of office traffic currently uses almost all of the time
worked by our two Graduate Assistants. This prevents them from completing any other tasks for
our office. Since office traffic does not decrease during break periods, this adds a great deal of
extra responsibility to the Transcript Analyst and Coordinator during times the Graduate
Assistants are not on contract.
1 hour = 60 minutes
20 hours per week = 1,200 minutes per week
Multiply by 4 weeks per month = 4,800 minutes per GA
Multiply by 2 GA’s = 9,600 Minutes per month available
Coordinator of Teacher Certification:
The Coordinator of Teacher Certification is responsible for the overall administration of all
Teacher Certification programs at both the Post Baccalaureate and Masters level. Some specific
responsibilities currently include:
Academic Advising for all post bac certification students
Academic Advising for ½ of the MAT students
Respond to potential students to discuss certification programs through email, phone and
meetings on campus for all post bac and masters programs
Maintain all printed publications relating to teacher certification (Post Bac Guide to
Teacher Certification)
Complete transcript analysis as needed (overflow)
Serve as an non-voting member on the following committees
Professional Education Committee
PEC Screening Committee
College of Education Exceptions Committee
BSED Oversight Committee
Early Childhood Program Screening Committee (voting member)
Coordinate the articulation of all Community College Education coursework
Monitor all BSED programs for compliance with DESE certification Requirements
Assist faculty and staff in proposing new certification programs to DESE
Report yearly to DESE regarding all changes in certification programs offered at
Missouri State
Respond to students, faculty and staff regarding issues relating to certification
Supervise full time staff and graduate assistants
Web developer for the Teacher Certification Office. Also the web developer for the
Advisement Center, and the Student Services Office as needed.
Process all applications for certification, Out of State Verification Forms, Provisional
Applications
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Administer the Teacher’s Aide Rule and One-Block Waiver policy. Teacher of Record
for EDC199, and student teaching supervision for approximately 15 students per
semester.
Coordinator Workflow:
The following chart highlights the volume of student, faculty and staff contact by the
Coordinator of Teacher Certification.
Responsibility Average Contacts
per Month
Advising Meetings
Advising Post Bac Students 50
Advising MAT Students 15
Advising through Mail
Advising Post Bac Students 25
Advising MAT Students 10
Advising by Telephone
Advising Post Bac Students 20
Advising MAT Students 3
Total Advising Contacts Per Month 123
Responsibility Average Contacts
Per Month
Consultations with Faculty and Staff
Faculty 16
Staff 12
Total Contacts 28
Responsibility Average Contacts
Per Month
Requests for Information
Phone 30
Email 30
Meetings 15
* VI Program Inquiries (New Program) 10
Total Contacts 75
Responsibility Average Contacts
Per Month
Certification Issues
Phone 23
Email/Correspondence 14
Meetings 8
Total Contacts 45
Total contacts in an average 30 day period: 271
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Conclusions Based on the data collected from the 2005-06 academic year, the following conclusions can be
made regarding the work load of the Teacher Certification Office (TCO):
1. The maximum student workload the Teacher Certification Office can maintain and provide
quality customer service to the students with the current staffing pattern is approximately 700
students. Currently, the TCO is serving over 900 students. This was determined based on the
following:
A. Our enrollment rate for active students is only approximately 50%, and approximately
35% of our students are “inactive”. Currently, we have no staff to contact students to
encourage and support their enrollment
B. The advisement load for the Coordinator of Teacher Certification is averaging 450
students. That constitutes the largest advising load in the College of Education.
C. Judy Gregg, who has been designated as an additional advisor for our office consistently
reports to our staff that she cannot see students for weeks at a time because of her work
load placing student teachers and practicum students.
D. Judy Pickering, who has also been designated as an additional advisor for our office is
completely booked during spring and fall advising seasons and has only met with two
post bac students fall 2006 due to scheduling difficulties.
2. No new programs can be added to the Teacher Certification Office workload without adding
an additional full-time Academic Advisor, which would release the Coordinator of Teacher
Certification to administer these additional programs.
3. The online VIP program will need to practice controlled growth. Currently, this program is
growing at a rate of 355% over two years, and even with a dedicated Graduate Assistant this
program is requiring a great deal of administrative support from our staff because it is being
offered nation-wide. Unless the program is capped at 100, additional support staff will be
needed.
4. The largest need currently is for the Teacher Certification Office to obtain funding for a full-
time Administrative Secretary. On any given day, up to 5 different employees may answer the
office telephone, and we are being forced to use Graduate Assistants and Student Workers to
explain complicated post bac and masters level certification programs to students. Since the
average length of employment for a GA or student worker in our office is 18 months, we are
constantly training new staff. With an average 6 month learning curve, we believe students are
getting very inconsistent and sometimes inaccurate information.
Future Directions The Teacher Certification Office is currently working toward completion of the following goals
for the 2006-07 academic year:
1. Re-write the Teacher Certification Office Policy and Procedures Manual. This document
will easily reach 100 pages in length.
2. Complete an updated MoSTEP Matrix for ALL teacher certification programs, and
permanently house them on the TCO website