Teacher Education Program (TEP) academic and professional requirements apply to teacher candidates and other students in TEP Majors. For purposes of the TEP Academic and Professional Requirements policies, references to "teacher candidates" include other students in TEP Majors who may not have progressed to full admission to the TEP.

Teacher candidates are enrolled in a licensure preparation program of the University of Iowa College of Education that has approval from the Iowa State Board of Education (Iowa Department of Education) and the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners as preparation for an initial license for teaching in the state of Iowa, with one or more teaching endorsements. Approval of programs is based on state standards. 

To complete a licensure preparation program and be eligible for recommendation for licensure, teacher candidates must display the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that are set out in state standards [in particular, Iowa Administrative Code 281—79.15(256) Teacher candidate knowledge, skills and dispositions standard], as they are represented in Unit standards (requirements of the University of Iowa, the College of Education, the Teacher Education Program, and the program area to which the teacher candidate has been admitted).

Courses and field experiences provide opportunities for teacher candidates to develop and display requisite knowledge, dispositions, and skills. For purposes of TEP academic and professional standards, knowledge, skills, and dispositions are assessed through two sets of criteria:

• TEP Academic Requirements: Minimum course grades and grade-point averages; and
• TEP Professional Requirements: Appropriate professional dispositions.

These TEP Academic and Professional Standards support teacher candidates in reaching their career goals by identifying, implementing, and evaluating the impact of support mechanisms and counseling the teacher candidate about future academic and career options.

Teacher Education Program (TEP) academic requirements are based on TEP Major Courses, to which minimum grade-point average and minimum course grades are applied. Additionally: 

• Teacher candidates must maintain the academic standards of the University of Iowa colleges in which they are enrolled; and 
• Undergraduate teacher candidates in the Co-Requisite Majors [TEP Majors with a co-requisite major of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) in a content area] must maintain minimum grade-point average in the content major. See TEP CLAS Content Major, below.

TEP Major Courses

TEP Major Courses are the basis of TEP academic requirements. Each TEP Major has a defined list of TEP Major Courses. The TEP Major Courses are courses that are aligned with InTASC standards, or that provide essential content knowledge. TEP Major Courses consist of:

• Courses that are designated by the Teacher Education Program faculty as required across all program areas, or across defined subsets of elementary education or secondary education programs; and
• Courses offered in the program area, or other courses that provide essential content knowledge, that are designated by program area faculty.

TEP Major Courses were previously termed "TEP Core Courses."

TEP Major GPA

TEP Major Grade Point Average (TEP Major GPA) is the grade-point average of the list of TEP Major Courses of the teacher candidate's TEP Major. 

TEP Major GPA is an overall cumulative GPA, that is, it includes qualifying transfer courses. Qualifying transfer courses included in the TEP Major GPA are:

• Transfer courses that have approval as equivalents of the TEP Major Courses; and
• For individual teacher candidates, any courses that are approved as substitutes for TEP Major Courses for the individual teacher candidates. The TEP Major GPA is calculated in the degree audit of the TEP Major.

A TEP Major GPA UI Cumulative (consisting only of TEP Major Courses taken at the University of Iowa and excluding equivalent and substitute courses taken at other colleges and universities) is not calculated.

TEP Major Courses minimum grade of C-minus

The TEP requires students to complete each TEP Major Course for a grade of C-minus or better to satisfy requirements of a TEP Major and pre-requisite requirements of other TEP courses.

Needs Improvement

A teacher candidate's performance in a TEP Major Course is classified as Needs Improvement if the course grade was not C-minus or better or was Incomplete. The TEP Major Course remains classified as Needs Improvement until:

• the TEP Major Course is repeated for a grade C-minus or better; or
• another TEP Major Course that satisfies the same program requirement is completed for a grade of C-minus or better; or
• the course grade is changed to a grade C-minus or better, following completion or revision of course assignments as permitted by the course instructor.

TEP CLAS Content Major

Undergraduate teacher candidates in the Co-Requisite Majors [TEP Majors with a co-requisite major of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) in a content area (typically, the main subject the teacher candidate is preparing to teach)] must maintain minimum grade-point average in the CLAS co-requisite major. For purposes of TEP Academic and Professional Standards, the CLAS co-requisite major is termed TEP CLAS Content Major.

The seven TEP Majors with which undergraduate teacher candidates have a TEP CLAS Content Major are:

• Art Education BA
• English Education BA
• Mathematics Education BA
• Music Education BA
• Science Education BA
• Social Studies Education BA
• World Language Education BA

Each of the seven TEP Majors has one or more possible TEP CLAS Content Majors available as a co-requisite. Lists of the TEP CLAS Content Majors can be found in the General Catalog requirements of the seven TEP Majors.

Professional Dispositional Qualities

The Iowa Administrative Code requires teacher candidates to “demonstrate the content, pedagogical, and professional knowledge, skills and dispositions necessary to help all students learn” [Iowa Administrative Code 281-79.15(256)]. 

Teacher Education Program (TEP) faculty at the University of Iowa have adopted a list of dispositional qualities called Professional Dispositional Qualities. The Professional Dispositional Qualities consist of twenty-five qualities, that are grouped into five categories: caring, communication, creative, critical, and professional requirements. This list is based on the “Iowa Dispositions Model: A Framework for Developing Effective Teacher Dispositions” which was developed as a part of an Iowa Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant. See Professional Dispositional Qualities for the list of professional dispositional qualities, a brief description of each, and additional information.

For purposes of TEP Academic and Professional Standards, concerns about Professional Dispositional Qualities of a teacher candidate are documented using the TEP Notice of Concern (see below).

Also, a comprehensive assessment of the Professional Dispositional Qualities is conducted periodically during the Teacher Education Program. During the Teacher Education Program, teacher candidates complete three self-assessments and receive two assessments from program faculty using the form, Assessment of Dispositional Professional Qualities in Teacher Education Program Candidate (PDQ form). Ratings on the PDQ form are for purposes of candidate assessment and program assessment. A PDQ form does not constitute a Notice of Concern, regardless of the level of ratings or the substance of comments the PDQ form contains. Faculty who identify concerns in the course of preparing a PDQ form should submit a Notice of Concern, in addition to providing the PDQ form.

Ratings and comments on the PDQ form may be used as contextual information by faculty or administrators in granting or denying TEP Appeals, applications for Special Site student teaching, or other decisions in which faculty or administrators make professional judgments. 

TEP Notice of Concern

The TEP Notice of Concern is a documentation tool that is available to faculty, instructors, advisors, and staff for reporting dispositions or behaviors (Professional Dispositional Qualities) of teacher candidates and prospective teacher candidates that are not consistent with appropriate professional dispositions for teaching. Faculty, instructors, advisors, and/or staff file the TEP Notice of Concern with the Office of Student Services (Student Support Coordinator). See TEP Progress in the Program and Management of Support Steps and TEP Notices of Concern, below.

The eligibility of a teacher candidate to progress in the program, become eligible for progression to student teaching, complete the program, and become eligible for recommendation for licensure is in part defined by the teacher candidate's academic and professional standing (TEP Standing). There are three levels of TEP Standing:

• TEP Good Standing: The teacher candidate meets academic requirements and professional requirements and may progress normally through the TEP.
• TEP Support: The teacher candidate does not meet expectations in academic requirements or professional requirements. The teacher candidate has additional required Support Steps and some program or field experience options may not be available to the teacher candidate until the Support Step(s) are resolved.
• TEP Probation: The teacher candidate does not meet expectations in one or more academic requirements or professional requirements and has had additional required Support Steps. Despite the additional support steps, the teacher candidate is not eligible to progress to student teaching, and may face future dismissal from the TEP.

Terminology in Referring to Semesters

• Performance Semester: In the context of College of Education Academic Standards and TEP Academic and Professional Standards, the fall or spring semester in which the course grades and grade-point-averages are earned or Notices of Concern are filed, which may include course grades that are earned or Notices of Concern that are filed in the preceding or following summer session or winter session or the period between sessions. For clarity of communication, semesters may be referred to as the "the Fall YYYY Performance Semester."
• Review Semester: The Performance Semester that has ended recently, from which there may be new grade, grade-point-average, or Notice of Concern data that are available for review as part of a Standing Review or TEP Standing Review.
• Probation Semester: A semester that a student or teacher candidate begins or remains on College of Education probation or TEP Probation based on academic or professional performance in one or more previous performance semesters, as determined in a Standing Review or TEP Standing Review based on data from the Review Session. For clarity of communication about the records of students who have had multiple consecutive probation semesters (as a result of successful appeals of TEP Dismissal), the semesters may be referred to as "Probation Semester 1," "Probation Semester 2," and so on.
• Support Semester: A semester that a student or teacher candidate begins or remains on TEP Support based on academic or professional performance in one or more previous performance semesters, as determined in a Standing Review or TEP Standing Review. 

TEP Standing in Student Records

See College of Education Standing.

Criteria for Levels of TEP Standing

Criteria for TEP Good Standing

A teacher candidate is in TEP Good Standing if the teacher candidate meets all academic and professional requirements.

Criteria for TEP Support at Admission

A teacher candidate is on TEP Support in the first semester in the TEP Major if at the time of admission to the TEP Major the teacher candidate has any of the following:

• a UI Cumulative GPA below 2.70; 
• an Overall Cumulative GPA below 2.70; 
• a TEP Major Course with Needs Improvement; or 
• an unresolved TEP Notice of Concern.

Following the first semester in the TEP Major, criteria for TEP Support are stated in Criteria for TEP Support, below.

Criteria for TEP Support 

A teacher candidate is placed on TEP Support if, at a TEP Standing Review, any of the following is true with respect to the teacher candidate:

• has a TEP Major GPA below 2.70; 
• has one TEP Major Course with Needs Improvement; 
• has an unresolved TEP Notice of Concern; or
• dropped a TEP Major Course after the last day to drop of a session, or withdrew from a session's registration that includes a TEP Major Course after the last day to withdraw entire registration without collegiate approval.

Criteria for TEP Probation

A teacher candidate meets the criteria for TEP Probation if, at a TEP Standing Review, any of the following are true with respect to the teacher candidate:

• has a TEP Major GPA below 2.00;
• has two or more unresolved Notices of Concern;
• has more than one TEP Major Course with Needs Improvement; 
• has a TEP Major Course that remains Needs Improvement after the same course is taken a second time; 
• is an Undergraduate-Level Student who is subject to the College of Education’s grade and grade point average requirements and meets the requirements for College of Education Probation; 
• is a Graduate-Level Student who is subject to the College of Education’s grade and grade point average requirements and who meets the requirements for probation in the Graduate College [See Graduate College Academic Standing, Probation, and Dismissal]; 
• is an undergraduate student in one of the Co-Requisite Majors and meets the requirements for academic probation in College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; 
• is an undergraduate student in one of the Co-Requisite Majors and has a Major GPA or UI Major GPA in the TEP CLAS Content Major below 2.00; 
• did not schedule by the defined deadline or did not attend a scheduled TEP Support Meeting; or
• did not sign and return by the defined deadline the Individualized Support Plan developed at the TEP Support Meeting.

TEP Standing Review

Following the end of each fall or spring semester, when final grades for the semester have been posted to student transcripts, the Office of Student Services conducts TEP Standing Review. There is no TEP Standing Review at the close of the summer or winter sessions, but course grades and other academic or professional criteria from summer or winter sessions or periods in between sessions are included in the following TEP Standing Review, and therefore may affect standing.

Determination of TEP Standing

• TEP Good Standing: A teacher candidate who meets the criteria for TEP Good Standing is placed on (or restored to) TEP Good Standing.
• TEP Support: A teacher candidate who meets any of the criteria for TEP Support, but does not meet any of the criteria for TEP Probation, is placed on TEP Support.
• TEP Probation: A teacher candidate who meets the criteria for TEP Probation is placed on TEP Probation. TEP Probation supersedes TEP Support: A teacher candidate who meets criteria for both TEP Support and TEP Probation is placed on TEP Probation.
• TEP Dismissal: A teacher candidate who is on TEP Probation from the Previous TEP Standing Review is dismissed from the Teacher Education Program if the teacher candidate does not meet the criteria for TEP Good Standing or TEP Support at the current TEP Standing Review. 

Change of TEP Standing

TEP Standing may change only at one of the following times:

• TEP Standing Review; or
• Successful TEP Appeal.

Students who have been dismissed from the TEP are no longer teacher candidates: they are no longer eligible to continue teacher preparation or to enroll in restricted courses of the TEP. 

Students who have been dismissed from the TEP may appeal the dismissal under the TEP Appeals policies.

Students who have been dismissed from the TEP are also dismissed from the College of Education unless they are eligible for, choose to apply to, and are admitted to a College of Education non-licensure major. For information on students’ options in cases of dismissal, and consequences of dismissal, see College of Education Academic Standards / Dismissal. See Re-application/Re-admission to TEP for information on the eligibility of former teacher candidates to return to the TEP.

A summary of TEP Progress in the Program is maintained by the Student Support Coordinator for each teacher candidate who is not, or was not on TEP Good Standing at a previous TEP Standing Review. The summary of TEP Progress in the Program is updated and provided to the teacher candidate when:

• a TEP Standing Review has occurred; 
• a Notice of Concern is filed for the teacher candidate; 
• a TEP Support Meeting has occurred; or
• the teacher candidate successfully appealed placement on TEP Support or TEP Probation, received a Notice of Concern, or a requirement for a Support Step.

The summary of TEP Progress in the Program consists of two parts, an Individualized Support Plan, and a Record of Progress in the Program.

Individualized Support Plan

The Individualized Support Plan is intended to assist the teacher candidate with reaching their academic and professional goals by identifying specific Support Steps. The Individualized Support Plan consists of: 

• a list of Notices of Concern that have not been resolved, the related Support Steps, and a notation if an individual Support Step is resolved; and
• the teacher candidate’s current TEP Standing (TEP Support or TEP Probation), a list of each of the TEP Academic and Professional Standards that are not met, and the related Support Steps (whether resolved or not resolved).

Record of Progress in the Program

The Record of Progress in the Program is a list, in reverse chronological order, of:

• the teacher candidate’s TEP Standing for each past semester; and
• each Notice of Concern that has been resolved, including its Support Steps.

Support Steps

Support Steps are actions a teacher candidate is required to take or behaviors a teacher candidate is required to maintain related to the Professional Dispositional Qualities, or academic performance (for example, grades) the teacher candidate is required to achieve. Support Steps are intended to assist a teacher candidate in progressing through their academic and professional goals by identifying specific performance areas that need to be addressed.

Each Support Step is associated either with a Notice of Concern that has been filed for a teacher candidate, or with placement of the teacher candidate in a TEP Standing of TEP Support or TEP Probation. Support Steps are communicated to teacher candidates through the Individualized Support Plan of the summary of TEP Progress in the Program.

Some Support Steps are automatically applied in connection with a defined event. Other Support Steps may be applied at the discretion of the program coordinator or the Student Support Coordinator, as described below.

Automatically applied Support Steps

• TEP Support Meeting: If the teacher candidate is placed on TEP Support or TEP Probation at a TEP Standing Review, the teacher candidate must attend a TEP Support Meeting;
• TEP Support Meeting: If a TEP Notice of Concern is filed for the teacher candidate, the teacher candidate must attend a TEP Support Meeting.
• Sign and Return Individualized Support Plan: Following a TEP Support Meeting, the teacher candidate must sign the Individualized Support Plan and submit it to the Student Support Coordinator to acknowledge receipt and understanding of the academic requirements or professional requirements that have not been met, and the Support Steps that have been required as a result.

Discretionary Support Steps

Discretionary Support Steps are additional Support Steps that are selected on a case-by-case basis by a program coordinator, a program coordinator in consultation with the Student Support Coordinator, or the Student Support Coordinator to apply to a teacher candidate.

Time span for which Support Steps may be required

Program coordinators have discretion to require Support Steps with a limited time span, normally through the end of the current academic session, and no longer than through the end of the next upcoming Spring or Fall semester. Support Steps proposed for a longer time span, or through the end of a teacher candidate’s program, require approval of the Associate Dean for Teacher Education before they may be required of the teacher candidate.

Progression to Student Teaching

Teacher candidates in TEP Good Standing progress to student teaching on application. 

• Teacher candidates on TEP Support for the semester they intend to student teach must receive approval of the program area faculty, and they must agree to a Student Teaching Contract in order to student teach. 
• Students on TEP Support are not eligible for Special Site student teaching placement.
• Students on TEP Probation are not allowed to student teach. 

Teacher candidates may appeal a denial of progression to student teaching as well as denial of a Special Site student teaching placement.

Ineligibility to Progress

A TEP Standing of TEP Good Standing or TEP Support does not guarantee that a teacher candidate will be permitted to complete the student teaching semester or complete the TEP Major. 

In cases of serious legal or ethical violations by a teacher candidate, or significant failure of the teacher candidate to meet the obligations of a practicum student or student teacher, the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education and Educator Preparation may determine that the teacher candidate is no longer eligible for placement in school field experiences. In that case, the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education and Educator Preparation may therefore also determine that the teacher candidate is no longer eligible to progress in the TEP, and therefore that the teacher candidate is dismissed from the TEP.

TEP Notices of Concern and Support Steps are managed by the Student Support Coordinator, who monitors teacher candidate satisfaction of required Support Steps, and updates the Summary of TEP Progress in the Program as appropriate.

Filing of a TEP Notice of Concern

When faculty, instructors, advisors, or staff file a TEP Notice of Concern with the Office of Student Services, the Student Support Coordinator updates the teacher candidates summary of TEP Progress in the Program and sends the teacher candidate a TEP Support Meeting Required notice.

When a TEP Notice of Concern has been filed prior to the teacher candidate’s registration for the coming semester, authorization to register is withheld until the teacher candidate has scheduled and attended the TEP Support Meeting.

Resolution of TEP Notice of Concern

A TEP Notice of Concern may be resolved by either of two means:

• The teacher candidate satisfies all required Support Steps associated with the TEP Notice of Concern, as monitored by the Student Support Coordinator; or
• TEP Appeal: The teacher candidate successfully appeals the TEP Notice of Concern, or successfully appeals all Support Steps that were not resolved that were required in connection with a TEP Notice of Concern.

Dropping a course or withdrawing from a session that is associated with a TEP Notice of Concern, or withdrawing from a session that includes a course that is associated with a TEP Notice of Concern, does not resolve the TEP Notice of Concern.

A TEP Notice of Concern that is not resolved precludes TEP Good Standing, which may result in reduced options within the TEP or may prevent a teacher candidate from progressing in the TEP. Multiple Notices of Concern that are not resolved may result in TEP Probation or dismissal from the TEP. All TEP Notices of Concern, resolved and not resolved, remain part of the teacher candidate’s College of Education record until the teacher candidate has successfully completed the TEP (see TEP Progress in the Program).

Consolidation of Multiple Notices of Concern

With approval of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education and Educator Preparation, the Student Support Coordinator or the program coordinator may consolidate multiple Notices of Concern into a single TEP Notice of Concern if the multiple Notices of Concern were filed for the teacher candidate based on the same incident, behavior, or set of circumstances.

TEP Support Meeting Required

The Student Support Coordinator will generate the TEP Support Meeting Required notice, coordinate the TEP Support Meeting and possible Support Steps with the program coordinator, and schedule the TEP Support Meeting.

Contents

A TEP Support Meeting Required notice will include:

• the reason for the TEP Support Meeting (placement on TEP Support or TEP Probation); 
• instructions for scheduling the TEP Support Meeting; 
• an updated summary of TEP Progress in the Program; and
• consequences for not scheduling and attending the meeting (see TEP Standing — Criteria for TEP Probation, above).