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    Certification Staffing Policy Guidelines (CSPGs)

    ​CSPG 19 - Credits Earned Through In-Service Education, By Examination, and CEU's

    Modified: June 1, 2020

    General Policies

    The Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality evaluates credits earned outside traditional college/university classroom settings to determine applicability towards certificate issuance.

    Eligible Credits

    1. College credit granted on the basis of examination by an approved four-year, degree-granting college/university and included on the college transcript may be used for certification purposes provided such credit does not represent a repetition of previous coursework for which a passing grade has been received.
    2. Credits earned through the completion of PDE-approved continuing professional education courses at the Pennsylvania intermediate units may be used to meet the education requirements established for Level II certification, the Letter of Equivalency for Master’s Degree and the Letter of Equivalency for Career and Technical Master’s Degree.
    3. Correspondence classes completed through the mail, the internet, or video tapes are permissible for certification purposes when they a) appear on an official transcript from an accredited four-year, degree-granting institution detailing course names, numbers, credits, and grades, and b) meet all other established criteria for the requested certificate.

    Ineligible Credits

    The Bureau is unable to accept the following towards certificate issuance:

    1. Continuing Education Units (CEUs)—non-credit measures of continuing education awarded by various organizations, professional societies and some colleges/universities.
    2. In-service education course credits awarded by providers other than the Pennsylvania intermediate units or approved by authorities other than the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality.

    Special Consideration

    PDE-approved continuing professional education courses, in-service credits and CEU’s cannot be evaluated for applications for issuance of initial or additional certificate area(s).

    Reference

    22 Pa. Code §§49.83, 49.191

    This revision supersedes all earlier CSPGs carrying this number and/or addressing this subject. Previous CSPG printing dates on this subject: 1/87, 6/04

    Summary of Changes

    ​Date of Revisions​
    		​Major Changes to CSPG #19
    ​6/2020​Update terminology per Act 76 from "vocational" to "career and  technical"