Education — Middle and Secondary Level

New students are normally required to complete the College's placement test prior to their enrollment. Students identified as needing developmental work must satisfactorily complete the appropriate developmental English and mathematics courses as part of the program.
All students are required to take two mathematics courses. Students in the Humanities concentration are required to take MATH 161: Pre-Calculus I and MATH 162: Pre-Calculus II. Students in the Math/Science concentration begin their mathematics sequence with MATH 171: Calculus I and MATH 172: Calculus II. Students who have not tested into this level of mathematics must either take the prerequisite math courses (FNMT 118 or equivalent for MATH 161 and MATH 162 with a grade of C or better for MATH 171) or have taken their equivalents at another college either before enrolling or while enrolled in the program.
Because students will be required to observe and work with children the Program requires students to meet the requirements of the Child Protective Services Law, 23 Pa. C.S.A., section 6344 (relating to prospective childcare personnel). Students must therefore present up-to-date Pennsylvania criminal history reports, Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history reports, Department of Public Welfare (child abuse) reports, and health clearances, clearly stating that they are eligible to work with children. (Up-to-date clearance is defined as being no more than 12 months old on the first day of working with children.) Failure to produce up-to-date clearances or a change of clearance status may result in a student's removal from the program. A student who believes that an error of fact has been made in his/her removal may appeal that decision. Information regarding the appeal procedure will be provided with the letter of removal.

To qualify for the Associate in Arts (A.A.) Degree in Education: Middle and Secondary Level, a student must complete a minimum of 61 credit hours as described in the following course sequence. Depending on the courses taken, students in the Math/Science concentration may earn additional credits. In addition, the student must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.0, and a minimum grade of "C" in all Education courses. During their matriculation in the program, it is strongly recommended that students meet with a designated Education academic advisor to choose their courses.
Students whose behavior is viewed as inconsistent with professional standards may be dropped from the curriculum pending a departmental hearing.

Education: Middle and Secondary Level provides two opportunities for students. It offers a pathway for students to earn an Associate in Arts degree in education, which is now required for many entry-level jobs in Pennsylvania K-12 schools. It also serves as a first step for those students who wish to transfer to four-year schools so that they may earn their baccalaureate degrees in education. The program offers two levels (Middle and Secondary) with two areas of concentration for each level (Math/Science and Humanities).
The Education: Middle and Secondary Level program prepares students for transfer to baccalaureate-degree granting institutions by introducing them to the field of education while guiding them through a coherent and well-rounded sequence of courses. Within each concentration, there are several possible subject areas in which to specialize; therefore, students choose from a list of content electives in those subjects.
After successful completion of this curriculum, students receive an Associate in Arts (A.A.) degree. Most graduates then transfer to a four-year institution where they earn a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts in Education and are eligible for certification to teach at the middle or secondary levels, in areas related to their concentration.
Because transfer institutions require specific courses, it is highly recommended that students consult catalogues of schools to which they might transfer along with transfer information available in the Counseling Center, as well as their advisor, to make appropriate course selections.
According to Pennsylvania mandates, under Chapter 354, students need a 3.0 GPA for entry into upper-level education courses and teacher certification programs at four-year schools. In addition, they must pass the Pre-Professional Academic Performance Assessment (PAPA) before being admitted into these upper-level courses at four-year schools.
Note for Students in Middle Level: The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) requires candidates for 4th-8th grade teacher certification to earn 66 credits across four content areas: mathematics, science, English/language arts/reading and social studies. Students will not earn all the necessary content electives in this A.A. program. Depending on their transfer institution, students may apply the credits earned in their content electives towards those 66 content area credits. General education courses required by the program may also apply. Students must take additional content area courses at their transfer institution to fulfill that institution's requirements for content courses.