Overview

The Post Baccalaureate Certification Program will provide an alternative pathway to teaching for these individuals who have not completed a teacher preparation curriculum but have considerable life experiences, career achievements, and academic backgrounds that are relevant for teaching in specific content areas (currently approved by the West Virginia Department of Education for Concord University) in grades PreK-Adult, 5-Adult or 9-Adult.
Concord’s Post Baccalaureate Certification Program has the following features:

• Prior to admission to the Post Baccalaureate Certification Program, candidates must have a Bachelor’s Degree in liberal arts, fine arts, business and other professional fields with an overall GPA of 2.75 from a regionally accredited higher education institution and satisfy Concord’s GRE cut score requirement.   
• The program requires candidates to complete 21 semester credit hours in courses that satisfy the speaking and listening skills, technology objectives and Praxis II objectives that are required in West Virginia Board of Education Policy 5100 - Approval of Educational Personnel Preparation Programs.
• Using the academic content of an undergraduate or graduate degree as a specialization area, the Post Baccalaureate Certification Program provides the professional education courses and clinical experiences to prepare individuals for teaching in grades PreK-Adult, 5-Adult or 9-Adult.
• Concord University will conduct a transcript analysis to determine content preparation (additional courses may be required to meet certification requirements).
• Content specializations will be restricted to the content areas currently approved by the West Virginia Department of Education for Concord University.
• Transcripts of candidates seeking a certification in business or social studies will be examined to ensure comprehensiveness.
• Candidates must successfully pass the PPST, PLT and the required Praxis II Content Specialization Test for the area of endorsement for which the candidate seeks certification prior to being admitted to student teaching.
• The Praxis I requirement is satisfied by a previously earned masters degree or higher, or an enhanced ACT score of 26 or higher, or a re-centered SAT score of 1125 or higher.
• In order for program completers to become fully certified they must also undergo a criminal background check.
• Program completers will be recommended for teacher certification. 
• This program is not designed for individuals seeking certifications in elementary or special education.

The Post Baccalaureate Certification Program will be reviewed using NCATE’s guidelines for Initial Teacher Education Certification Programs.