Reading Endorsement

The College of Education offers non-degree programs in three areas:

• Students wishing to add Library Media to an existing master’s degree should contact the Program coordinator for details. Once the requirements are established, the student should meet with the assigned advisor to complete a program of study including necessary course work and required hours. During the completion of the Library Media certification program, the candidate must pass the appropriate section of GACE Content Assessment. Students in the Add-on Library Media Program are not eligible for financial aid.

• This program is designed for graduate students who are already certified educators and have received a master's degree in a different field or concentration. Instead of getting a second master's degree in Instructional Technology, graduate students would only need to take the required courses to achieve Instructional Technology Coordinator certification.

• Candidates in the endorsement programs do not have to take a GACE content test(s) for certification purposes. Students in endorsement programs are not eligible for financial aid unless the endorsement program is included on an official Program of Study for a degree.

• Candidates in the endorsement programs do not have to take a GACE content test(s) for certification purposes. Students in endorsement programs are not eligible for financial aid unless the endorsement program is included on an official Program of Study for a degree.

In addition, a person who holds a baccalaureate degree and a teaching certificate may enroll in graduate courses as an enrichment student for the purposes of self-improvement, certification renewal or enjoyment. Students in enrichment programs are not eligible for financial aid. Should the student later decide to transfer to a degree seeking category, no more than 9 semester hours of credit earned while in this category may be applied toward a graduate degree program and then only if approved by the coordinator of the degree program desired. Students who transfer to a degree program must meet the admissions requirements for that program including passing the Graduate Writing Assessment.

Admission

In order to be admitted to any of the Non-Degree programs, the applicant must:

• Submit the University Admissions Form including application fee, if applicable.
• Submit official transcripts from all colleges/universities attended.
• Have a 2.5 cumulative GPA on all coursework taken before the initiation of the non-degree program.
• If applicable, submit a copy of current Teaching Certificate.
• Submit verification of immunization.
• Receive passing score on the College of Education Graduate Writing Assessment or for admission purposes, applicants to COE graduate programs may submit official scores with the following minimums in lieu of passing the Graduate Writing Assessment:GRE -- 1000 (Verbal and Quantitative) if taken prior to August 1, 2011 or 305 (Verbal and Quantitative combined) if taken on or after August 1, 2011.
• MAT -- 400.
• Applicants who have previously earned a baccalaureate or master's degree from Georgia college will automatically waive the application testing requirement without the need to petition. Students who are currently enrolled in an undergraduate program at Georgia College will have the testing requirement waived upon conferment of their baccalaureate degree.
• For applicants seeking initial Georgia Teacher Certification, the applicant must complete Georgia Pre-service Teacher Certification. The Georgia Professional Standards Commission (PSC) rules state that teacher candidates entering schools for field placement and student teaching need Georgia Pre-Service Teacher Certification. To submit a complete Pre-Service certification application packet, the teacher candidate must have completed Educator Ethics Program Entry GACE 350. The student must also have passed GACE Program Admission Assessment or have ACT or SAT scores high enough to exempt this requirement. Pre-service certification also requires a background check with a clear status.

Note: During the completion of the certification program, the candidate must pass the appropriate section(s) of GACE Content Assessment for the certification area sought. All non-degree programs require the GC Certification Officer to recommend certification.