Post-Baccalaureates

(Students already holding a bachelor’s degree)

Post-baccalaureate candidates must request a certification plan.

The application forms for a plan and the application for admittance into teacher education and a check-list can be located on the Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Certification website (College of Education & Health Professions).

Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Certification Plans

Post-baccalaureate candidates requiring this service must secure certification plans from the Educator Preparation Office in the College of Education & Health Professions. A service charge of $25.00 is required for a candidate requested certification plan. The candidate is required to complete a clinical teaching experience in a full-year residency. However, an internship is made available to candidates who secure a teaching position, in the area and at the level that they are seeking certification, in an accredited school.

Deficiency Plans and Internships
The College of Education & Health Professions also offers teacher certification programs for those teachers-in-service who are teaching in accredited schools. The school district where they are employed must request an official deficiency plan in writing. The candidate must serve an internship. Full-year residency option (To serve an internship, you must contact the Educator Preparation Office, complete all necessary paperwork, enroll in the appropriate courses and apply for a Probationary Certificate through TEA.)

The basic requirements for securing a certificate in this manner are similar to those listed for undergraduate students. The candidates are permitted to substitute equivalent semester hours of a one-year Internship in a school accredited by the Texas Education Agency for the required six semester hours of clinical teaching.

The teaching areas available for post-baccalaureate candidates are identical to the specialization fields accessible to undergraduate candidates. Each Post-Baccalaureate Certification Plan is individualized depending on the individual’s coursework in their bachelor’s degree.  A minimum of twelve semester hours must be completed at UH-Victoria as part of any certification or endorsement program for students who have a degree from UHV. A minimum of eighteen semester hours must be completed at UH-Victoria as part of any certification or endorsement program for students who have a degree from another institution. Course work that is ten years old or older must be approved by the Certification Officer. The candidate must be admitted to the Teacher Education Program. See the College of Education & Health Professions website for the teacher education program along with a checklist and application for a certification program.

Teacher certification candidates must pass all UHV courses required for teacher certification with a “C” or better. All teacher certification transactions and /or inquiries for UH-Victoria are made through the Educator Preparation Office in the College of Education & Health Professions.

All candidates seeking certification are required to successfully complete all TExES Academy Program requirements.

VOICE - Victoria Online Initial Certification for Educators

The VOICE program is an accelerated university-based route to teacher certification for all grades designed to meet the requirements of “Every Student Succeeds Act.” Coursework is offered online and candidates participate in a school-based field experience with university supervision. To be accepted into this program, applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree completion.

• GPA of 2.5

• Official transcripts from all previous universities on file in the Admissions Office.

• Pass a Pre-Admission Certification Test (PACT) for admission to the VOICE Program in the following cases:

o If the applicant has a GPA below a 2.5, candidate must take the GRE or

o If the applicant has not completed at least 12 semester credit hours in the subject area of the certificate the applicant is seeking (15 hours if seeking certification in math or science above 7th grade).

• Provide criminal background check results.

• Maintained a 2.50 GPA in last 60 hours of university coursework.

• Provide a letter of standing if you were previously in an Initial Teacher Certification Program.

• There is a non-refundable $65 service charge to apply for this program. Due dates for applications are the same as the university’s application dates. Applications received after the due date are charged an extra $100 late fee. Late application due dates correspond with UHV application due dates.

• Maintain a 3.0 GPA in the VOICE program with no more than two “C’s” to be retained in the program. Graduate course program requirements apply. Any grade lower than a “C” must be repeated.

• All Teacher Certification candidates must pass all UHV courses required for teacher certification with a “C” or better after June 1, 2008.

• According to Texas Administrative Code 228.35 - candidate must complete 50 clock hours of field-based observation to be completed prior to residency or internship. Appropriate activities include substitute teaching, hours spent as a classroom aide or classroom observations in an accredited school. Up to 15 hours may be virtual observations of TEA-accredited classrooms. See Educator Preparation Office for documentation requirements.

• According to Texas Administrative Code 228.35 - candidate must complete 150 clock hours of training prior to clinical teaching or internship. Completion of 4 VOICE courses will fulfill this requirement.

• Just prior to starting the residency option or the internship option, students must pass their content-area exam(s). Candidates pursuing certification in EC-6 or Grades 4 - 8, must also take the TExES Science of Teaching Reading exam (#293) as well as content-area exams before residency or internship.

• Candidates who choose the internship option and wish to be hired in a district that requires ESL certification of its teachers, those candidates must also take two specified ESLN courses on their certification plan before taking and passing the ESL Supplementary certification exam prior to beginning the internship.

VOICE Course Rotation - please see this webpage for course rotation.

VOICE Course Number	Course Description
CUIN 6314	The Professional Educator
CUIN 6320	Models of Teaching
CUIN 6312	Human Growth and Learning
LITY 6334	The Foundations of Development Reading*
SPED 6321 or ESLN 6314	Introduction to Special Education OR Principles of Second Language Teaching **
CUIN 6316	Internship/Residency I
CUIN 6317	Internship/Residency II
ESLN 6312	Principles of Second Language Teaching**
ESLN 6314	Teaching English as a Second Language**

With faculty advisor approval, VOICE candidates may use up to 9 hours of VOICE courses (CUIN 6312 , CUIN 6314 , or CUIN 6320  and another CUIN graduate course toward a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction: Elementary Education, Education Technology, Literacy Studies, Reading Specialist, Elementary Mathematics, Elementary Science, or Elementary Science/Math. For information about these degrees, consult with a certification analyst.

VOICE candidates may also begin their teacher certification program pursuing a master’s degree in Elementary through Grade Eight with Teacher Certification, a Master’s in Secondary Education with Teacher Certification or a master’s degree in English as a Second Language/Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESL/TESOL), a master’s degree in Early Childhood, master’s degree in Education Technology.

*Required for EC-6 and 4-8 certifications to prepare for the TExES #293 Science of Teaching Reading exam.

**Either course is required for Secondary certification.

**If completing the internship options, some districts require ESL certification.  ESLN 6312 and ESLN 6314 are required to prepare for this exam.