Policies Regarding Team 3 TE Courses

Policy on Grades of Incomplete

Team 3 teacher candidates may receive an "incomplete" in a Teacher Education course offered by Team 3 (i.e. TE 301, 401, 402, 501, 801, 802, 502, 803, 804) if illness or other personal circumstances have made it impossible to complete the work of the course on time.  Since each course is a prerequisite for the next course in the sequence, it is Team 3 policy that incompletes should be completed by the beginning of the next semester.  That is, incompletes for fall semester courses must be completed by the first day of spring semester.  Incompletes for spring semester courses must be completed by the first day of fall semester unless the teacher candidate takes courses during the summer.  In this circumstance, incompletes in spring semester courses must be completed by the first day of summer semester if the teacher candidate is in the Post BA program, or by the mid-term of the summer session in which the teacher candidate is enrolled if the teacher candidate is a regular five-year program student.

There may be unusual circumstances, such as an extended illness, that would lead to a student receiving an incomplete in a course with the condition that the course be repeated the next time it is offered.  Under such circumstances, it would be the individual instructor's responsibility to set the conditions and time for satisfactory completion of the course.  It would also be the instructor's responsibility to communicate any unusual conditions, such as  time extensions, to the registrar's office.  Even in these circumstances, students are expected to complete a course before beginning the next course in the program sequence.

Participation in Team 3 Classes

As you begin your professional career in teaching, we want to support you in recognizing your responsibility to contributing to the learning of others.  This includes not only the students in schools that you will work with, but also your colleagues on Team 3 who will accompany you through your teacher education program.  Much of your learning about teaching will occur in a social context, that is, in the company of others who are learning to teach as well.  Your Team 3 teacher education courses depend on the participation of everyone so that you not only benefit from hearing other people's perspectives and ideas, but you also assume responsibility for contributing to the learning of your professional colleagues.  

It is the policy of Team 3 that everyone is expected to participate in class discussions, activities, assignments and other events.  Participation can take many forms such as contributing to whole-group and small-group discussions in class; completing assignments in a timely manner so that you can contribute your interpretations and thinking about topics, concepts, and issues being considered; joining in cooperative group tasks; attending special Team 3 events; etc.  Your active involvement in your classes and in other Team 3 happenings will be vital to your own learning as well as to those who are learning with you.   Your participation will contribute to your course grade.

Assignments-Due Policy

Assignments for your Team 3 courses are expected to be completed in a timely manner.  They are due on the date designated by your course instructor.  If you have circumstances that prohibit you from turning in an assignment on time, you need to talk to your instructor about your situation and establish an alternative due date if necessary.   Turning in an assignment late without prior approval from the course instructor will jeopardize your grade on the assignment.

Independent Study Policy

On occasion, Team 3 students may seek independent study or field study credits from Team 3 faculty as part of their academic program.  These credits may be sought for a variety of reasons, such as the need for one or two credits to bring the total number of credits a student carries to full-time status, thus allowing the student to receive full financial aid.  Other students may want to study in an area of interest beyond what the program offers in our regular courses.  Under most circumstances, full-time faculty negotiate independent studies on an individual basis without the need to refer to a student's connection to Team 3's program.  A project agreement form for an independent study must be on file in the College of Education's Student Affairs Office. 

There may be situations, however, when a Team 3 student requests an independent study that is dependent on Team 3 relationships such as a field study that requires time in schools.  Under these circumstances, it would be expected that the sponsoring faculty member would discuss the nature of the study with other Team 3 faculty or staff who are responsible for field experiences so that any additional field time and assignments that are expected to be accomplished in the field site can be arranged in a manner that complements Team 3 fieldwork and relationships with schools.   

Independent studies will not substitute for our regular teacher education courses offered by Team 3.  That is, TE 301, 401, 402, 501, 502, 801, 802, 803, and 804 cannot be taken as independent study credits nor should they be offered on an individual basis to a student.  A student's learning in these courses depends on interaction with peers in a group setting.

Team 3's policy is that only full-time regular or temporary faculty may be the instructor of record for an independent study.  It is assumed this type of teaching can be incorporated into a full-time load at the discretion of the sponsoring faculty person.  There may be occasions when a part-time staff person or graduate assistant would lead an independent study under the guidance of a faculty member.  However, part-time staff and graduate assistants usually do not have load time for leading independent studies as an integral part of their responsibilities,  nor are there funds allocated for overload work for part-time staff and graduate assistants for this purpose.