Traditional Program Admissions
Application Due Dates
Thursday, February 9th, 2012 – Admissions Orientation/Q&A 3:30pm in R1
Wednesday, February 29th, 2012- Oral Speech Competency 3:30pm, Time subject to change/Location to be announced
Thursday, February 27, 2012 – Application Documents Due by 4:00 PM in the School of Education Office
Thursday, March 15th, 2012 – Admissions Interviews 7:00pm – 9:00pm, Location and specific appointment times will be sent via email
Application Overview
Thank you for your interest in applying for formal admission to the School of Education at Northwest University. We congratulate you on your educational progress to date, because we as fellow educators personally understand what an effort that has required! Over the last several years, you have completed the following (with a few possible exceptions). First, you have satisfied your General Education Requirements and the Bible Studies Core. You have also completed your chosen endorsement courses, and Phase I of the Education Professional Requirements. You are now at the point in your preparation for state teacher certification where it is time to learn to actually teach.
If you have completed all of the above, you are ready to formally apply to the School of Education Professional Program by following the process outlined below. Upon acceptance into the program, you will begin a four-semester (elementary) or three-semester (secondary) plan cul-minating in full-time student teaching and Washington State certification.
Application Process
- Meet all competency requirements
- Pass the WEST-B Exam
- Satisfy the Oral Competency Requirement
- Complete all application forms
- Submit letter of reference from Northwest University Faculty member (Can not be a School of Education Faculty)
- Submit Reflection Paper
- Complete Interview with Faculty/Practitioner Panel
Competency Requirements
GER Competency
- You must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.00 during the time prior to admission and also after admission to program. – You may get no grade lower than a ”C” in three core courses within the GERs; these are: ENGL 1013, 2603 and MATH 1513 (Elementary) or the Math requirement (Secondary); and no grade lower than a “B-“ in COMM 1212.
Foundations (Phase I) Course Competency
- You must have maintained a cumulative GPA of 2.67 in the GER Competency courses, with no individual course grade lower than a “C.”
Competency Requirements
Foundation Competency
- You must complete Foundation (Phase I) courses in the Educational Professional Requirement Sequence. . The courses are: Foundations of Education and Lab (EDUC 2012 and 2011), Lifespan Psychology (PSYC 2563), and Educational Psychology (PSYC 2553).
- You must have maintained a cumulative GPA of 2.67 in the four Foundations courses, with no individual course grade lower than a “C.”
- Professorial Recommendation: the three course professors in the Foundations sequence completed a Likert Scale Rating form at the conclusion of each course. The form asked that the evaluator rate a number of professional criteria such as scholarship, attendance, ini-tiative, appearance, poise, composition/communication skills, and others on a 1-4 scale. You must have obtained an overall rating average of 2.5 or above.
Competency Requirements
WEST-B: Basic Skills
You must pass the WEST-B Exams in Mathematics, Reading and Writing. These tests are administered by the Professional Educator Standards Board. The link to test dates and registration is below.
Competency Requirement
Oral Competency Requirement
Each applicant is required to give a five to ten minute speech on the topic: “My Reasons for Deciding to
Become A Teacher.” The links below provide the overview for the speech and the evaluation rubric.
Oral Competency Speech Guide
Oral Competency Speech Scoring Guide
Northwest University Faculty Recommendation
Please request that a non-Education faculty member write a letter of reference on your behalf and submit it to the School of Education Office. The letter should contain the following:
-Length of acquaintance
-Overview of academic skills you have demonstrated
-Dispositions they have seen that indicate you will be successful as a teacher
Reflection Paper
If you have taken Foundations of Education here at Northwest University, you have completed this requirement and may just need to edit and update your paper. If not, you may access the guidelines for the paper at the link below.
Reflection Paper Guide
Reflection Paper Scoring Guide
Admissions Interview
This is the final event in the admissions process. The interview is conducted by the School of Education Faculty in cooperation with our Professional Education Advisory Board and field practitioners.
Application Forms Checklist
Links to documents provided below
- Application Template
- Self-Analysis Paper (See information above)
- Faculty Reference (See information above)
- Response to Code of Ethics, Moral Character and Personal Fitness Policies, Dual Competency Acknowledgement, and Student Agreement to Follow Cooperating School Policy (Read policies in links below before signing)
- OSPI Character and Fitness Supplement
- Recent Experience with Children and Youth (To be completed by individual who supervised you in a position of leadership with children or youth in the age group you desire to teach)
- Program Completion Plan
Application to Program
Response Form
Recent Experience with Children or Youth
OSPI Character and Fitness Supplement
Code of Ethics
Moral Character & Fitness Policy
After Admission
Practicum Placement
The School of Education currently places students in both public and private school for practicum experience. We work with twelve school districts and five private school systems.
The School of Education maintains a current file of those schools and teachers who are willing to mentor a student teacher. The Placement Supervisor maintains contacts with these schools and places students appropriately. ALL PLACEMENTS ARE COMPLETED THROUGH THE PLACEMENT SUPERVISOR.
After Admission
Fingerprinting
During your first semester after admission, you will be fingerprinted. You will need to make an appointment with the Puget Sound ESD in Renton to be fingerprinted. The contact and cost information is available on their website at the link below.