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Teacher Certification Office

Yearly Report

Covering the

2005-06 Academic Year

Scott Fiedler – Coordinator of Teacher Certification

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Missouri State University


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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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.

http://www.missouristate.edu/

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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 by Telephone



Total Advising Contacts Per Month 123


Per Month

Consultations with Faculty and Staff

Faculty 16

Staff 12

Total Contacts 28


Per Month

Requests for Information

Phone 30

Email 30

Meetings 15

* VI Program Inquiries (New Program) 10

Total Contacts 75


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

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3. Continue to lobby for office expansion to Hill Hall 207, and for a new Administrative

Secretary and a Full-time Academic Advisor.

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