Frequently Asked Questions

The Teacher Education Program is designed to be completed during the last two years of a student’s bachelor’s degree. The first education class, EDUC 3320 or 3321, can be taken once a student has at least 60 earned hours and is a junior. This semester is referred to as Block 1. In some cases, students with a minimum of 54 credit hours and qualifying GPAs may be granted an exception. Academic departments must submit a four‑semester completion plan to the Director of ECAS for approval to take Block 1 without 60 earned hours.

Students must be admitted into the Teacher Ed Program before taking Block 2. The program concludes with either a full semester of clinical teaching during Block 4 or a yearlong residency completed during blocks 3 and 4, now referred to as TR1 and TR2.

View this PowerPoint for an overview of the TEP. Teacher Education Program Overview

Tarleton DOES NOT conduct a criminal history background check. District-specific background check consent forms will be completed in each Block course and uploaded into the Educator Portal. The school district(s) where you conduct your field placements will perform a name/DOB check; negative marks that turn up may disqualify you from being allowed on school grounds. As part of the teacher certification application at TEA once you have completed the program, you will submit your fingerprints and a full criminal history review will be conducted.

Teachers are held to a higher standard. One area looked at closely is criminal history.

• If you do not have a criminal history, now is not the time to get one. If you do have a significant criminal history, you may need to rethink your career goals.

• In every class that includes field experiences, you will be asked to fill out a criminal history background check consent form. School districts will perform a name/DOB check. If there are any ‘hits’, they may elect not to allow you in their schools.

• When you apply for your standard certification through the Texas Education Agency (TEA), you will submit electronic fingerprints and a national criminal history review will be performed. The results could prevent you from being certified.

• As an additional hurdle, hiring school districts will have access to the results of your national criminal history check. Even though an infraction may not have kept you from being able to complete your field experiences and become certified, the school district may decide not to hire you.

Possibly. Criminal histories are evaluated on a case-by-case basis by considering the following factors:

• the nature and seriousness of the crime;
• the relationship of the crime to the purposes that certification is required to become a professional educator;

• the extent to which certification might offer an opportunity to engage in further criminal activity of the same  type as that in which the person previously had been involved;
• the relationship of the crime to the ability, capacity, or fitness required to perform the duties of a professional educator; 
• the extent of the applicant’s past criminal activity;

• the age of the person when the crime was committed;

• the amount of time that has elapsed since the person’s last criminal activity;

• the conduct and work activity of the person before and after the criminal activity;

• if the person has completed the terms of their probation or deferred adjudication;

• the evidence of rehabilitation; and

• other evidence, including letters of recommendation.

Students should have 60 earned hours by the start of classes, not before registering for Block 1. Check your transcript and make sure all transfer hours are showing. If not, request a new transcript be sent to Tarleton. If a student is currently enrolled in coursework at another institution or is having issues getting transfer work posted, an unofficial copy of the transcript may be accepted as temporary proof the student has the required number of hours.

 In some cases, students with a minimum of 54 credit hours and qualifying GPAs may be granted an exception. Academic departments must submit a four‑semester completion plan to the Director of ECAS for approval to take Block 1 without 60 earned hours.

Applications are normally completed while in Block 1 (or the summer after). Applications are accepted each semester. Spring applications are due by February 15th, Summer by July 1st, and Fall by October 15th. If the deadline falls on a day the university is closed, applications will be accepted until 5pm on the next day Tarleton is open. See all deadlines on the Apply Now page.

Log on to the educator portal at http://educators.tarleton.edu.

Applications are submitted in the Educator Portal. All deadlines and additional instructions can be found at Apply Now!

Please email the following form and all screening documentation to the certification officer. https://www.tarleton.edu/eps/wp-content/uploads/sites/225/2025/09/PortalScreeningSec.pdf

The Apply Now page lists the first day to submit your application for each term (Spring, Summer, Fall). You must wait until this date to submit your application.

See the instructions on the TEA website for creating your TEAL account and a link to request help. https://tea.texas.gov/texas-educators/certification/educator-certification-online-system

Requirements must be completed by the end of the application semester, but the applications must be submitted by each due date (Feb 15, July 1, or Oct 15).  See Apply Now! section for exact dates. There may be additional requirements that are department-specific.

Waiting until you have met the requirement is not an excuse for submitting an application late.

If you are denied admission into the Teacher Education Program, you will need to reapply with a new application by the next due date. You will have to pay an additional application fee.

Unless your department requires that admission requirements be met before they will sign off on your application/screening, you should go ahead and apply to the program if you will have the deficiencies corrected by the end of the application semester. In other words, if you are currently retaking a content course in which you earned a D, you should go ahead and apply during that semester. If you do not have a 2.75 GPA in one or more areas but your current courses could raise you above a 2.75 at the end of the semester, you should go ahead and apply.

If you have a D/F in any courses that are required to be a C or better and are not currently retaking it, or it has been shown not to be mathematically possible for you to get a 2.75, you should not submit your application. You are charged a $35 application fee every time you apply, so you do not want to submit an application knowing it will be denied.

Certificate plans are used to track your progress through the TEP and ensure you meet/maintain all requirements. Secondary/All Level students are required to submit a signed copy with their application, but we encourage all students to keep/update their own copy. The Certification Officer will update all student certificate plans after grades are posted for each semester.

The plans are set up as Excel worksheets. Enter in the letter grades from your transcript. If you have taken the course and it is on your certificate plan, you must enter in the grade, even if it is a D/F/P. If you are using a degree evaluation, you must check all sections, including Fall Through courses.

Courses highlighted in yellow are required for admission. The letter grade box beside them will remain red until the course has been taken. If a course is required to be a C or better, the letter grade box will turn red if a D/F is entered to let you know it must be retaken.

GPAs used by the TEP are posted in the lower left.

Find your certificate plan on the Certifications Offered page. Choose your certification level (elementary, middle school, secondary/all-level), change the year tab to the one that matches your degree plan, and then click on your certification area.

You have the full application semester to meet admission requirements. If you are taking the missing courses or enrolled in coursework to bring up your GPA, you can apply that same semester. If not, you will need to wait to apply. Make sure to check the Apply Now page to see the exact ‘end of semester’ date that requirements are due.

• Example: John only has 2 ENGL courses and is not enrolled in another one. Admission to the TEP requires 3 ENGL courses with a C or better.
  • If John can find an ENGL course that will have the grade posted by the posted ‘end of semester’ date, he can go ahead and apply. The course does not have to be taken at Tarleton, but proof of the final grade must be submitted by the due date (a copy of the unofficial transcript will work temporarily).
  • If John cannot enroll in an ENGL course that will have a grade posted by the end of semester due date, John will need to wait to apply until he is taking the missing course. John will not be able to take Block 2 until he has been admitted, so this could postpone him a semester (if he is not able to apply in the Summer).
• Example: Jane currently has a 2.7 in her content area, but she is enrolled in 2 content courses.
  • Jane should go ahead and apply to the program if she believes the grades she will receive in those courses will bring her GPA up above a 2.75. To check this, Jane should fill out her certificate plan and then plug in the grades she expects to receive. GPAs are populated in the lower left.
  • If Jane plugs in all As and the GPAs are still not a 2.75, Jane should not apply. Jane will not be able to take Block 2 until she has been admitted, so this could postpone her a semester (if she is not able to apply in the Summer).

A TEP Flag is internal documentation of evaluation of student performance in coursework, field experiences, and in the TEP. The first flag is discussed only with the issuer and the student. A second flag requires a meeting with the Department or College Committee. A third flag is almost always grounds for dismissal from the program.

Students must be in good standing in the TEP before clinical teaching or TR2.

Retention in the Teacher Education Program requires maintenance of standards required for admission, plus evidence of satisfactory academic progress and professional development. The student will receive email notification from Educator Preparation Services if the criteria for admission and retention are not maintained. The student will be placed on probation for a period of one long semester. If the deficiency is not corrected by the end of the probationary period, the student will be removed from the program. Students must then reapply for admission to the Teacher Education Program to be eligible for enrollment in additional professional education courses.

In order to retain full admission in the Teacher Education Program, students must maintain continuous enrollment in the university and demonstrate progress towards completing all certification requirements. Failure to attend for two consecutive long semesters or graduating non-certified constitutes automatic withdrawal from the program. If a student changes their major/concentration to one that does not lead to teacher certification at Tarleton, they will be removed from the program after one completed long semester under the new major/concentration. If a student is removed from the program for one of these reasons, the student must reapply for admission to the Teacher Education Program when reenrolling at Tarleton or changing their major/concentration back. Educator Preparation Services kindly requests that any student no longer planning to complete the Teacher Education Program at Tarleton submit a Request to Withdraw from the Teacher Education Program form.

Certain courses are required to be a C or better (see Certificate Plan). The following applies to those specific courses:

• D/F when applying to the program – You must be currently retaking the course when you apply. You cannot be admitted until the D/F is replaced with a C or better.

• D/F while admitted – You will be placed on TEP probation for one long semester and given the chance to retake the course. If you make a C or better, you will be returned to good standing. If you do not replace the D/F by the end of your TEP probation semester, you will be dropped from the program.

You must be in good standing before clinical teaching/TR2.

You will be placed in a local school or childcare center for your field placements. For 1000 and 2000 level courses, your assignment will be based mostly on availability; TEA does not have requirements about field placements for those courses. Students in 3000 and 4000 level courses have TEA requirements for field placements and are given priority in placements. You may be required to drive up to 60 miles from your home campus for your placement. Every effort is made to place students close to their campuses, but placements are contingent on school district availability.

Tarleton offers two pathways to certification:
 Yearlong residency: Students earning degrees through the College of Education
 Semester-long clinical teaching: Students earning degrees through COANR, COSM, COLFA

You must be admitted to the program prior to the first day of Block 2. Any student not meeting this requirement will be contacted by email and instructed to drop the course.

• For Fall Block 2, you may register when registration opens in the Spring as long as you will be applying to the program (and be able to meet all admission requirements) in the Spring or Summer prior.

• For Spring Block 2, you may register when registration opens in the Fall as long as you will be applying to the program (and be able to meet all admission requirements) in the Fall semester prior.

Clinical teaching applications are due one year prior to the semester in which you plan to clinical teach. Requirements, application, and deadlines.

An email will be sent out towards the end of the clinical teaching/TR2 semester with instructions to apply. Do not apply early. You will not be eligible for certification recommendation until your degree has been conferred and posted on your transcript.

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