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Post-Certification Students




Returning Students

Students have six years from the date of their first course to finish their coursework at NLU.  If you have left the program and wish to re-enter, you may follow the steps outlined in the Procedures for Completing Program Out of Sequence document.  Make sure to contact your advisor as well so that they can help you through the process. If you are not sure who your advisor is (or if that person is no longer with the university), please refer to the Cluster Advisor List.

If you leave the program for over a year after finishing your cluster coursework, you will need to re-enroll at the university by going to Student Services on any campus and filling out a Re-Entry Formor by faxing the Re-Entry Form to the Office of the Registrar, at (847) 465-4746.Please be aware that when you re-enroll, you will be responsible for completing the new program requirements, which may entail taking extra hours of coursework.

Remember that you cannot register online.  Instead, you must register by using the blue form in the Quarterly or by downloading the Graduate Registration Form and then faxing it to the Office of the Registrar, at (847) 465-4746. 



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Registration Information for Students Who Entered Before the Summer of 2006

Course requirements have changed for students who entered their cluster before the Summer of 2006.

Use the following charts to determine what courses you need to take:

 Previously Required Courses

      New Required Courses    


 EPS 510 (2) or EPS 541 (2)
 ESR 506 (2)
 ESR 507 (2)


 SEC 525 (4)
 ESR 514 (3)

ESR 506 and ESR 507 will only be available until Fall 2008.  It is strongly recommended that if you have taken one of these courses that you take the other one by Fall 2008.  If you do not register for ESR 506 or ESR 507 by that time, you will have to take ESR 514 instead.

              If you've already taken...             

 ...then register for...
(ESR 506/ESR 507 Available Until Fall 2008)

 None of the Previously Required Courses.

 SEC 525 (register for 4 semester hours)
and
ESR 514 (3)

 
ESR 506 (2) or ESR 507 (2)


 ESR 506 (2) or ESR 507 (2)
and
SEC 525 (3)



ESR 506 (2) and ESR 507 (2)



 SEC 525 (3)

 EPS 510 (2) or EPS 541 (2)

 ESR 514 (3)
and
SEC 525 (3)

 
EPS 510 (2) or EPS 541 (2)
and
 ESR 506 (2) or ESR 507 (2)

 ESR 506 (2) or ESR 507 (2)
and
Independent Study (1) or Workshop (1)

Contact Wilma Stiltz if you need additional assistance.

In addition to the above coursework, you are still responsible for taking two elective courses from one of the areas listed below:

 Reading*  ESL
 Middle Level**
 Special Education***
 RLR 502 or
 CIL 500
 MLE 500   SPE 501
 RLR 503 and
 CIL 505
 MLE 502
 SPE 506
 RLL 522* or
 
 
 RLL 528*
   
 
For a full list of course descriptions, click here: Course Descriptions.
Only ESR 506, ESR 507, and EPS 541 are offered online!

*Students taking the 5 semester hours of Reading electives will need one extra semester hour.  More Information...
**These courses are necessary for Middle School endorsement.  More Information...
***Students can be eligible for a Special Education endorsement.  More Information...

Students have six years from the date of their first course to finish the MAT Program.

How do I register for Noncluster Coursework?

Non-cluster coursework leads to the M.A.T. degree.  To register for a course outside of a cluster, please fill out the blue sheet in the Quarterly or download the following document:  Graduate Registration Form.  Then fax it to the Office of Registrar, at (847) 465-4746.

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Registration Information for Students Who Entered After the Summer of 2006:

You need to register for four courses:


  • ESR 514: Research in Action (3)
  • SEC 525: American Urban Education (3) (Register for 4 s.h. if you are a returning student and entered your cluster before the Summer of 2006.)
  • Two elective courses in one area, described in the table below:
 Reading*  ESL
 Middle Level**
 Special Education***
 RLR 502 or
 CIL 500
 MLE 500   SPE 501
 RLR 503 and
 CIL 505
 MLE 502
 SPE 506
 RLL 522* or
 

 RLL 528*
   

For a full list of course descriptions, click here: Course Descriptions.

*Students taking the 5 semester hours of Reading electives will need one extra semester hour.  More Information...
**These courses are necessary for Middle School endorsement.  More Information...
***Students can be eligible for a Special Education endorsement.  More Information...

Students have six years from the date of their first course to finish the MAT Program.

How do I register for Noncluster Coursework?
Non-cluster coursework leads to the M.A.T. degree.  To register for a course outside of a cluster, please fill out the blue sheet in the Quarterly or download the following document:  Graduate Registration Form.  Then fax it to the Office of Registrar, at (847) 465-4746.

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Advisors
Your advisor is assigned when you are enrolled in the SEC 502/FND 504 course sequence your first term.  The instructor of that class is your advisor for the remainder of your time at NLU.  The exception to this rule is: If the instructor is not a full-time member of the Secondary Education department, he or she will inform your class on the first evening of class of the name of your cluster's advisor.  The following is a list of advisors for all of the clusters since Fall 2003:  Cluster Advisor List
.

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Test Information
Candidates in the Secondary Education program are required to take a variety of tests to gain admission to the program and be eligible for a teaching certificate.  The Illinois Certification Testing System (ICTS) is online at http://www.icts.nesinc.com.  All registration, practice tests, test frameworks, and study guides are provided here. The tests and links to information are listed below:
  • Miller Analogies Test
    • Information can be found from your enrollment representative on campus
  • Illinois Subject Area Exams
    • Each subject area has its own test.  In Illinois, there are a variety of tests available.  For example, if you are notified by NLU that you are qualified to teach psychology, you must take the psychology test, not the history or geography test, even though all of these areas fall within the same general area, social studies.  If you have questions about which exam you should take, contact the NLU Transcript Evaluators to find out precisely which exam will be right for you.
    • A list of content-area tests can be found at: http://www.icts.nesinc.com/IL13_testselection.asp.
    • The Secondary Education Department recommends the study guides from the Advanced Placement test in their subject area.  They are published by Princeton Review, Kaplan, and many other presses.  They are available at most bookstores in the reference or test preparation sections.
  • APT Test
    • This is a test of teaching pedagogy skills.  The Secondary Education Department recommends students take the APT after the first methods course of your program.  You are free to take it any time during the program, but the first methods course prepares students well for the exam.  Study guides, practice questions, test dates, registration, and test frameworks are online at: http://www.icts.nesinc.com.
    • Most Secondary Education students will register for the APT: 6-12 test, but those going for certification in Foreign Language should take the APT:K-12 test, because they are earning a Type 10 license.
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Subject Area Endorsements
The determination of which subject area you are qualified to teach is done by the Transcript Evaluation team for the National College of Education at National-Louis University.  The NLU Transcript Evaluators will examine your transcripts to tell you what you will be eligible to teach.  Each subject area has a unique course description requirement that will allow you to be a "highly qualified" candidate.  The Endorsement Sheet will give you an idea of the courses you will be able to teach based on your transcripts.  Testing also determines your teaching eligibility.

The Secondary Education program requires students to have an undergraduate major or graduate degree or 32 semester hours in a content area.  Those hours must be spread across a variety of coursework to meet distribution requirements.  The NLU Transcript Evaluators can help students determine if they meet the distribution requirements for a given subject area.  Students may unofficially determine their subject area by reviewing transcripts and using the Endorsement Sheet.

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Course Substitution
Students needing to substitute a course, for whatever reason, should fill out a Student Adjustment Form and send it to their advisor to obtain a signature.  Students should then fax the form to the Secondary Education department administrative assistant, Wilma Stiltz, at (224) 233-2294.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
 Have a question about being a post-certification student?  Visit our FAQs page!


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Last modified on: 2008-10-01 12:52:00 by: Gina Sammarco _co-aspen.nl.edu_