General Standards of the Pennsylvania Department of Education for Professional Educator Programs

I. MISSION - The professional educator programs shall have a cooperatively developed mission statement that is based on the needs of the professional educator candidates, public school entities and their students, and consistent with the design of the programs. (354.21) (49.14(4)(i)

II. ASSESSMENT [REPORTING] - The preparing institution shall submit an annual systematic report and a biennial report on candidates and demonstrate that the results are used to modify and improve the professional education programs. (354.22) (49.14(4)(vii)(x)

III. ADMISSIONS - The preparing institution shall document that its procedure for admitting
applicants into its professional education programs confirms that they have met the course, credit and grade
point average or alternative admissions requirements. (354.23) (354.31) (49.14(4)(v)

IV. DESIGN - The preparing institution shall document that the academic content courses for initial preparation programs culminating in a bachelor's degree or higher shall be the same as a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science Degree and shall also include all required electives in the content area that the candidates plan to teach or serve and allow completion in four years. (354.24) (49.14(4)(iii)

V. FIELD EXPERIENCES - The preparing institution shall document that candidates complete a planned sequence of professional education courses and field experiences that integrate academic and professional education content with actual practice in classrooms and schools to create meaningful learning experiences for all students. (354.25)(354.26)(49.14(4)(iv)(viii)

VI. STUDENT TEACHING [INTERNSHIP] - The preparing institution shall document that candidates for initial Instructional I certification complete a 12-week full-time student-teaching experience under the supervision of qualified program faculty and cooperating teachers. (354.25) (49.14(4)(ii))

VII. COLLABORATION - The preparing institution shall document that higher education faculty, public school personnel, and other members of the professional education community collaborate to design, deliver, and facilitate effective programs for the preparation of professional educators and to improve the quality of education in schools. (354.25) (354.41) (49.14(4)(ix)

VIII. ADVISING & MONITORING - The preparing institution shall document its procedure for recruiting and advising students, systematically monitoring their progress, and assessing their competence to begin their professional roles upon completion of the program. (354.32) (354.33) (49.14(4)(vi))

IX. EXIT CRITERIA - The preparing institution shall have a published set of criteria and competencies for exit from each professional education program, that are based on the PA Academic Standards, Specific Program Guidelines and the learning principles for each certificate category. (354.33)
(49.14(4)(iii)

X. FACULTY - The preparing institution shall provide systematic and comprehensive activities to assess and enhance the competence, intellectual vitality and diversity of the faculty. (354.41)