School of Education Professional Education Program Admissions

The following requirements must be met BEFORE applying to the Professional Education Program. 

• 24 Credits completed  Pass/fail credits, and courses below the 100 level are not included in the 24 credit requirement. Advanced Placement (AP), CLEP, retroactive credits and credits by exam are included in the 24 credit requirement (if approved at UWSP).
• 2.60 Cumulative GPA from all accredited institutions attended
  NOTE: 2.75 cumulative GPA is required in order to student teach.Students who do not meet this requirement should read the exception policy.
• Freshman English Requirement
  • Receive a B- or better in English 101 or 150 OR
  • Receive a 2.50 in English 101/102 or 101/202 OR
  • Receive a B- or better in English 250 OR
  • Test out of English 101 through department test-out exam or receive credit by examination. This does not include AP credit given for English 101 if English 150 is required. OR
  • Meet with the Tutoring-Learning Center Writing Workshop tutors for at least five, 1/2 hour sessions SINCE you completed either English 101 or 150. Contact the Tutoring-Learning Center to schedule your sessions and for more information on Writing Lab.
    • Purpose: Writing Workshop is intended for students who have not met the UWSP Professional Education Program application requirement of a B- or above in English 101 or 150. The program’s purpose is to address specific learning gaps in writing informed by your individual goals and needs.
    • Scheduling Requirement: Attend 5 separate, 30-minute sessions with no more than one session per week with one writing tutor in the TLC. Note, the TLC is closed during the first week of the semester, finals and breaks.
    • Writing Requirement: Bring writing every session. This includes old writing that you would like to analyze, new writing for classes, business writing for job/scholarship applications, etc.
• A completed bachelor’s degree
• Be currently enrolled in ENGL 101 or 150 (if you apply using this criteria, you can only be conditionally admitted to the Program and must receive a B- or better in ENGL 101 or 150 by the end of the semester for full admission to the Program).
• Criminal Background Check – REQUIRED OF ALL APPLICANTS
  
  • You must have a completed Viewpoint screening within the last 6 months, a “Pre-Clinical Background Check” (or Recheck)
    • There is a fee associated with this. If you need the link to “Recheck” in Viewpoint, email request to soeacac@uwsp.edu. If your pre-clinical background check is more than 6 months old, do a recheck. A recheck costs less than a second pre-clinical background check.
• Major/Minor Department Requirements
  • Each department, outside of the School of Education, has the ability to establish their own, additional admission requirements. It is the student’s responsibility to see the department of major(s) and minor(s) for additional requirements.
• Conduct Disclosure
  • Please be aware that you will be asked to self-disclose previous conduct-related matters during the School of Education application process. The existence of on-campus behavioral issues and/or a criminal record do not constitute an automatic bar to admission and will be considered only as it/they substantially relate(s) to the duties and responsibilities of the program and eventual licensure.
  • It is strongly recommended that students seeking admission to the Professional Education Program practice positive role-modeling behavior early in, and consistently throughout, their student career. It is important to note that students are responsible for their own behavior, as well as the behavior of their guests on campus.
  • Students with multiple, recent, and/or serious conduct histories may be required to meet with a committee in the Professional Education Program to discuss their behavior in order to determine admission status.
• Disposition Expectations
  • Students admitted to the Professional Education Program will be expected to meet disposition expectations throughout the academic program.

Students who have been denied from the Program and those who have missed the deadline to apply to the Program have the ability to submit an appeal. The department of the major will have final approval on appeals submitted to the School of Education. Once the appeal deadline is past, the School of Education will send the major department a copy of their students’ appeals. If an appeal is granted, students will be allowed to enroll in courses requiring admission. (Appeals do not count against the limit of 2 program applications.)

Appeal Deadlines: April 1 and Nov. 1 by 4 p.m.

If a deadline falls on a Saturday or Sunday, appeals are due no later than 4:00pm the Friday prior to the deadline.

Students who are denied admission can choose to submit a Letter of Appeal that includes the following:

1. Required Information:
   1. Name, address, phone number
   2. 1st or 2nd Denial
   3. Major/Minor program denied
   4. Semester you would be student teaching (Plan this out – do not guess)
2. You may choose to include some of the following:
   1. Why you feel you would be a good teacher
   2. Extenuating circumstances that may have influenced any of the criteria used for admission in your major (i.e. illness, death in the family, etc.)
   3. Any new information that would speak for your specific situation
   4. Experience working with children
   5. Resubmit revised materials you may have submitted to the department of your major (Secondary majors/minors only)
   6. Reference Letters
      1. Most students include reference letters from someone knowledgeable about the teaching profession
      2. Secondary students also often include reference letters from someone who can recommend them in their field of study.

Students who are applying late to the program through the appeal process must submit the following:

1. Required Materials:
   a. Cover letter explaining why they were unable to apply by the deadline
   b. Completed application packet, including all required documents
   c. Secondary/K-12 programs that require additional materials-these materials should be delivered/sent to the department of the major with a cover letter indicating that you are applying late to the Professional Education Program through the appeal process.

Appeal deadlines vary, however, students who are denied admission will be notified of the appeal deadline in their letter of denial. Late Letters of Appeal will not be accepted.

Students who meet the following criteria you may apply for an exception of the 2.60 grade point requirements by using the Exception Application available in the School of Education Academic and Career Advising Center. Students who are granted an exception are allowed to apply to the Professional Education Program without meeting the application requirement.

The Department of Public Instruction limits us to granting exceptions to 10% of our PEP admitted student population.

• Students will be ranked using 50% overall GPA and 50% largest score deviation.
• Final exception decisions will be determined by the SOE. Exception approvals are not appealable.

The deadlines to submit an Exception Application​ are Sept. 11 and Feb. 7. If a deadline falls on a weekend, the applications are due the Friday prior.

Requirements to apply for an Exception​

Grade Point Average (GPA of 2.75 cumulative GPA will be required at time of student teaching)

• You have completed at least 24 hours of instruction with a grade point of 2.60 or higher.
• Your grades show significant improvement over a minimum of 2 consecutive semesters (3.00 or higher).

Results will be emailed/mailed within 5 working days of deadlines. Requests with incomplete paperwork will not be processed.