The M.Ed. Steering Committee

M.Ed. policies and procedures are determined by the “M.Ed. Steering Committee.”  This committee meets regularly.  Its members include (but are not limited to): one Academic Senate faculty member, the Director or Associate Director of the Teacher Education Program, and the M.Ed. coordinator.

Requirements for pursuing the M.Ed. with the teaching credential

Institutional and state requirements for the teaching credential must be satisfied in order for any candidate to pursue the M.Ed.  Institutional requirements include satisfactory completion of all coursework assignments (including but not limited to Ed 265) and satisfactory completion of student teaching. Examples of state requirements include successful documentation of subject matter competency (e.g., waivers, PRAXIS or CSET) as well as state-mandated CBEST and RICA examinations.

Any student who is not current and in good standing with credential requirements at the end of Winter quarter is advised to postpone the M.Ed. The spirit of this policy is to support the candidate’s successful completion of state and institutional credential requirements without the additional pressure of the M.Ed.

If a candidate has not satisfied the institutional and state requirements by the end of Spring quarter of the credential year, that candidate cannot pursue the M.Ed. that summer.

In the Ed 265 course (Foundations of Inquiry), you will be required to meet several milestones (see Class 1 slides). If you have not met one of the milestones on time, you will be unable to continue forward with the M.Ed. this year. If you miss more than one Ed 265 session, you may be in jeopardy of passing the course. The course is a pre-requisite for the M.Ed. degree, and is essential to the process. If the M.Ed. course conflicts with another course (as it has in the past with BCLAD), we will help you find solutions, but please know you are only allowed to miss one Ed 265 class.

Exceptions to requirements

An ad hoc “appeals committee” will consider possible exceptions to the above-stated “requirements” policy on a case-by-case basis.  If a candidate is not in good standing at the end of Winter quarter, but will likely complete all institutional and state requirements for the credential by the end of Spring quarter, s/he can appeal her/his case.  The appeals committee consists of a small panel of instructors and faculty. The candidate will be notified at the end of winter quarter regarding eligibility to have her/his case reviewed by the appeals committee.  If the candidate is eligible, s/he will be asked to address:

1.how  s/he has met the institutional requirements of the credential program;

2.how s/he has met and will continue to meet the requirements of the M.Ed., including work completed on artifact collection and analysis, theoretical framing ideas, research, collegial interactions, collegial meetings, etc. 

Procedures for other concerns

There is a procedure in place for dealing with concerns or problems that may arise during the M.Ed. inquiry process, including issues in M.Ed. groups.  Any M.Ed. candidate or M.Ed. facilitator who has a concern should send an email to Jen and Jason (jscalzo@education.ucsb.edu ; raley@education.ucsb.edu) . In the email, the concerned party should address the following:

1.A description of the issue

2.An explanation of what has been done thus far to attempt to resolve the issue

3.Proposed solutions to the issue

The M.Ed. steering committee will schedule a time when the people involved can discuss the issues and work toward resolution. The spirit of this policy is to work together in a way that supports collaboration and resolution in a way that is equitable and fair to all those who may be involved.