200 Field Hour Requirement 

200 Required Field Hours for all MAT Candidates

• All MAT candidates must complete 200 field hours and enter them into the KY Educator Credentialiing System (KECS) prior to the practicum final semester course. This is state regulation. 

• ALL MAT candidates should create a KECS account and enter their hours each semester. Tutorials for creating a KECS account may be located here: 

                 KECS Tutorials. 

           Contact teacher.services@wku.edu if you need assistance with KECS. 

• If the MAT candidate is hired as a teacher of record, with an Option 6 certificate, then the candidate does not need to complete the 200 field hours. The teaching position will count toward these 200 hours. However, should the MAT candidate quit teaching before finishing all MAT coursework, then the candidate is required to have evidence of 200 field hours logged in the KECS before the final semester when they take the practicum course. So, it is advisable to enter hours, every semester, regardless of holding an Option 6 teaching job or not. 

• Any MAT candidate who does not have a teaching position with an Option 6 temporary certificate, must complete 200 hours of fieldwork in school settings that are within the certification area being sought, prior to the final semester of MAT coursework. The final semester will be the student teaching semester. The OPES will assist MAT candidates who needs to gain these field hours. Email teacher.services@wku.edu to request assistance or the MAT instructor may assist the candidate.

• Substitute teaching and work in a public K-12 school as a teaching assistant may also count for field hours, as long as the MAT candidate can complete the assignments for the course in the job they hold in the school they work in. This includes Grow Your Own sponsored candidates. There may be assignments that have to occur in a different grade level band. This will be worked out with each Grow Your Own candidate on a case-by-case basis.