Education
Greenville University has been preparing educators to teach God’s children in our culturally diverse world since 1929. This legacy continues today as we prepare future teachers to create classroom environments that promote cooperation and responsibility, support self-worth, affirm the dignity of all students, and stimulate learning. We focus our programs around robust, practical classroom experiences. These experiences begin during freshman year and are paired intentionally with coursework until the student’s senior year.
In keeping with the institutional mission, preparing teachers to address character-education and the social and emotional learning needs of students in their future classrooms is a significant marker in our program. This preparation is accomplished with our faith and learning integration, which is embedded into each of our courses.
The teacher education program includes a planned sequence of courses in professional preparation for teaching. The coursework includes field and clinical assignments within public or accredited private schools to provide candidates with a balance of theoretical and practical experiences. Students interested in Teacher Education should enroll in EDUC 110 Introduction to Educational Practice in the fall semester of their freshman year.
The education program is accredited by the Illinois State Board of Education, which participates in an interstate licensure agreement with 37 other states and the District of Columbia. In 2014, Greenville University received accreditation under the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) standards. Now Greenville University is accredited through the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). Institutional memberships include the American and Illinois Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, the Illinois Association of Colleges for Teacher Education in Private Colleges, the American and Illinois Association for School, College and University Staffing, and the Association of Christian Schools International.
Admission Requirements to the School of Education for Licensure
Students wanting to major in education and receive their teaching license in the state of Illinois must be admitted to Greenville University's teacher education program. An application should be submitted upon successful completion of
EDUC 110.
Admission is contingent upon:
- Successful completion of EDUC 110 with a grade of “C-” or higher,
- Attaining a minimum grade point average of 2.75 in cumulative institutional coursework,
- A grade of “C-” or higher in all coursework required for licensure (includes transfer credit), and
- Receipt of a favorable criminal background check (Illinois State Police).
Once the requirements listed above are verified, the student's file will be presented to the Committee on Teacher Education (COTE) for admissions consideration. Acceptance will be communicated to students by COTE. All students must be admitted to the program by COTE before they begin upper division EDUC coursework.
In addition to admission to the program, students must also apply and be admitted to the professional internship (student teaching). To qualify for the professional internship, students must:
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Have a minimum grade point average of 2.75 in their professional and specialization coursework,
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Have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0,
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Complete the appropriate clinical methods courses,
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Complete EDUC 400 Early Experience,
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Receive a passing score on the ISBE content test associated with their major/specialization, and
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Receive a passing cut score on any state requirements for basic skills.
Student teachers are placed with qualified cooperating teachers and are supervised by a qualified individual from the University. Student teachers will follow the schedule of the designated school district for the duration of the experience.
Substitution and Waiver Policy
Teacher candidates may complete requirements for any of the seven licensable areas offered by Greenville University. Requirements for all teaching majors are detailed in the Traditional Undergraduate Guide to Teacher Education, which is available in the School of Education Office. The following pages list requirements for early childhood education, elementary education, middle grades education, secondary education, special education, physical education, Spanish education, and educational studies. To meet the requirements for state licensure, the number of major credits a student in the education programs must complete varies. Occasionally, there are instances when a student may need to substitute or be granted a waiver for a course due to time conflicts in the schedule or because a course is not offered every term.
All advisors of education majors have the authority to substitute or waive up to six credits of general education courses due to scheduling conflicts so as to enable students with a single major to complete the teacher education program in a timely fashion (four years or two years in the case of transfer students who enter with over 65 credits of transfer coursework). The Dean of General Education will approve each request to ensure that all possible substitutions and scheduling options have been explored.
Courses that cannot be waived or substituted include ENGL 105 Writing and Critical inquiry, PHED 103 Wellness: Health and Fitness, EXPF 120 Experience New Student Orientation, EXPF 220 Experience: Skills for Success, EXPF 222: Experience: DC, THEO 110 Christian Thought and Life, UNIV 301 Science and Christianity, EDUC 482 Student Teaching Seminar (which fulfills the EXPF 320 requirement), and Biblical Studies.
Undergraduate Teacher Education Course Location Policy
After a student begins a program, the student needs to consult with their advisor on all matters of scheduling. The general education Christian Foundations/UNIV requirements for residential and online students are different and are not interchangeable. If a student is completing primarily online coursework, the student must meet the UNIV requirements for that program. If a student wants to graduate from the residential program the student must meet the Christian Foundations requirements for the traditional program.
Professional Internship Cancellation Policy
Applications for the Professional Internship (Student Teaching) must be received by the dates set by the Director of Clinical Practice. Typically, this is two semesters prior to student teaching. If a student rescinds their application necessitating the cancellation of a student teaching placement during the semester prior to their student teaching semester, the following fees will apply according to the date of withdraw.
Cancellation by:
February 1 or September 1--No Fee
March 31 or October 31--$250
After April 1 or November 1--$600
The cancellation fee may be waived for emergency situations that will be decided on a case by case basis by petition to the Director of Clinical Practice.