Preparation for the Elementary Provisional Teaching Certificate requires the following courses for a minimum total of 29 hours:

EDU 295 Technology for the classroom Teacher
EDU 297 Foundations of Education
EDU 299 Educational Psychology
EDU 333 Contemporary Problems in Education
EDU 444 Explicit Phonics Reading Instruction
EDU 456 Teaching the Exceptional Child
EDU 481 The Teaching of Reading in the Elementary Content Areas
EDU 491 Teaching Methods in the Elementary School
EDU 555 Elementary Directed Teaching in Grades K-8

Admission to Teacher Education and to Directed Teaching

I. Admission to Teacher Education cannot be granted unless all the following conditions are met:

A. A cumulative grade-point average of 2.850.

B. The successful completion of the following courses, none of which may be audited:

1) English 101, 102
2) Speech 255
3) History 104, 105
4) Psychology 101
5) Education 295, 297, 299
6) Philosophy 105 or Religion 105
7) Biology 102, 200 or 300
8) Science 101, Chemistry 101 or 303, or Physics 101 or 201
9) Mathematics 105 or a higher mathematics course
10) Art 203 or 204, Music 204 or Theatre 200
11) Classical Studies 301, 302 or 310, or English 310, 320, 330, 340, 350, 360 or 370; or a 400-level modern foreign language literature course
12) Political Science 101 

C. The successful completion of all three parts of the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification's Basic Skills Test. Candidates for admission to Teacher Education must arrange to take this test so that test results are received prior to the beginning of that semester in which they plan to take courses restricted to students who have been admitted in writing to the Teacher Education Program. (Restricted courses are numbered 400 or higher.)

D. Completion of the Teacher Education application, including evidence of successful group work with children and, upon request, evidence of good citizenship.

E. Completed applications for admission to Teacher Education must be received by the Director of Teacher Education prior to enrollment in restricted courses.

II. Admission to Directed Teaching cannot be granted unless all the following conditions are met:

A. Previous admission to the Teacher Education Program.

B. The successful completion of all prerequisite Teacher Education Coursework.

C. Continued adherence to the admission standards of the program.

III. Under exceptional circumstances, directed teaching may take place external to the Hillsdale area. To qualify, a student must meet strict criteria established by the Teacher Education Program. (See the Director of Teacher Education for further information.) Directed teaching external to the Hillsdale area will not be permitted unless all other College coursework is completed. This requirement pertains to courses needed for the major(s) or minor(s) as well as courses needed to complete the Teacher Education Program.

Certification

Hillsdale College's Teacher Education Program is fully approved by the Michigan State Board of Education for the preparation of students to teach in Michigan's public and independent schools. Accordingly, all Teacher Education students must take and pass the State of Michigan's minimum number of Michigan Test for Teacher Certification subject-area tests (in their teaching majors and minors) before certification can be recommended. All students seeking elementary certification must also take and pass the State's Comprehensive Elementary Education Examination.

Students must note that admission to Teacher Education does not automatically guarantee admission to Directed Teaching; nor do admission to Teacher Education and admission to Directed Teaching automatically entail the recommendation of the College's certification officer; nor does the successful completion of these prerequisites guarantee certification, which lies ultimately with the Office of Teacher Preparation and Certification in the Department of Education of the State of Michigan. Students must also note that, when the State of Michigan School Code is modified, Hillsdale College must respond with corresponding course work changes to maintain its Teacher Education Program approval.

The Michigan Department of Education and Hillsdale College's Certification Officer will not designate any student a "program completer" of the Teacher Education Program until the student "has accomplished both (a) all institutional academic and other requirements such as to establish eligibility for recommendation for certification and (b) taken/passed the minimum number of state certification tests for the teaching field desired."

The minimum number of state certification tests for the K-8 Elementary Provisional teaching Certificate without an Early Childhood Education endorsement is one test. the minimum number of state certification tests for the K-8 Elementary Provisional teaching Certificate with an Early Childhood Education endorsement is two tests. The minimum number of state certification tests for the 7-12 Secondary Provisional Teaching Certificate is two tests, except in the case of music which, as a comprehensive endorsement, requires no minor and hence no second certification test.

Beginning July 1, 2004, all candidates for a Michigan Provisional Teaching Certificate must successfully complete a course approved by the State Department of Education in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, including a test demonstration on a mannequin, and hold a valid certification in these topics issued by the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, or a comparable organization or institution approved by the State Department of Education.

Hillsdale College adheres to the requirements of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Elementary Provisional Teaching Certificate Requirements*

1. A major field of concentration that consists of no fewer than 30 credit hours in English, history, or mathematics; or no fewer than 37 credit hours in elementary integrated science.

2. A minor field of concentration of no fewer than 20 credit hours beyond the second year of study in French, German, Spanish; English (if not chosen as major), history (if not chosen as major), or mathematics (if not chosen as a major); or no fewer than 24 credit hours in physical education or 28 credit hours in elementary integrated science (if not chosen as a major).

*These provisions pertain to students who apply to the Teacher Education Program under the existing state standards for elementary certification. Any student applying to TEP after November 30, 2011, will be subject to revised standards for elementary certification that were passed by the State Board of Education in January 2008. Course requirements leading to elementary certification will be substantially different under the new standards. Students intending to be certified under the existing standards must be admitted to the program no later than November 30, 2011. See the director of Teacher Education for details.