Courses (inservice and graduate) MUST BE APPROVED by the Board of Education and listed on PD Express for the district to honor the course credit and for you to receive credit for completing the course.
DO NOT ENROLL in a course (inservice or graduate) unless it has been approved by the Board of Education and is listed on PD Express.
Course proposals need to be submitted 20 days prior to the start date of the course in order to be approved and for you to take the course.
You must sign up on PD Express before the course starts.
Proposals are only good for 1 school year. The new course cycle begins July 1 of each year.
Remember, there is a 3 year expiration on all completed courses. The district will not accept hours or credits from any courses (inservice or graduate) that are older than 3 years from the board approval date of the course.
Submit completed course certificates as soon as possible. To avoid missing deadline dates, missing out on potential payment, and having your certificates expire, submit your certificates as soon as possible.
Maintain your own records. You are responsible for providing proof of your submissions. Always keep a folder (physical or digital) for copies of any certificates, submission forms, and other documents for future reference.
It is extremely important that you view your transcript on PD Express after being hired and from time to time thereafter to confirm that it is accurate. As your transcript is a running record of your advancement on the salary schedule, you need to make sure it is correct to ensure you're receiving the correct payment for all the courses (graduate and inservice) you have worked so hard to complete. This also includes credits from any master's degrees or greater that you have.
Directions on how to view your transcript are located on the PD Express page on this website. Should you see any errors in your transcript contact the district office to request help in resolving the issue. It is important that you have all the necessary documentation to validate the correction should the district office require it.
If you are a Teacher, carefully read pages 57 - 61 of your contract to understand the requirements and guidelines for salary advancement as a teacher.
If you are a Teaching Assistant, carefully read page 12 of your contract to understand the requirements and guidelines for salary advancement as a teaching assistant.
Both Teachers and Teaching Assistants should read Board of Education policy numbers 9200 and 9201 to understand additional requirements and guidelines for salary advancement as established by the Board of Education. These board policies are located on the district’s website and can be accessed via the links above.
Print out or download the board policies listed above for future reference. Always keep a folder (physical or digital) for copies of any certificates, submission forms, and other documents for future reference. Make copies of everything you submit to district office in case your documents get lost, are not processed, or processed incorrectly. You are responsible for providing proof of your submissions. Make multiple copies of both the inservice and graduate credit submission forms so you have them on hand when needed for future credit submissions.
Make sure that you understand and are aware of specific dates and timelines for credit submissions, credit payment amounts and options, and all requirements for credits to be approved and accepted.
Courses (inservice and graduate) MUST BE APPROVED by the Board of Education and listed on PD Express for the district to honor the course credit and for you to receive credit for completing the course.
All inservice and graduate course requests must be proposed through PD Express twenty (20) days before the Board of Education meeting at which the request will be reviewed and considered for approval.
Courses will not be approved if the start date is prior to Board of Education approval.
Courses sponsored by outside institutions / agencies must meet South Colonie Central School District parameters and timelines, and must also be accompanied by that institution / agency’s certificate of completion (e.g., My Learning Plan/ Frontline, Creative Teachers, etc.) for the participant to receive course credit. Staff are required to enroll for courses in PD Express as well as the outside institutions / agencies.
NOTE: Proposals with several different titles and dates proposed as one course will not be accepted for consideration. Each course title needs to be proposed individually by title and approved by the Board of Education. If more than one day of attendance is required to complete the course, the proposal needs to list all of the dates required.
Not all graduate courses and programs will be approved by the Board of Education for members to take for salary advancement. There is specific criteria that the Board of Education considers before approving or denying a submission.
Does the institution offering the course or program have a physical location?
Is the institution offering the course or program a 3rd party institution, making the offering “through” another institution?
Is the institution offering the course or program an accredited institution?
As you look to select graduate courses and programs for approval, remember to consider and evaluate this criteria before making your decision and submission. Doing so will only increase the likelihood that your submission will be approved. For a complete and detailed explanation of the criteria listed above read the Graduate Credits section of Board Policy 9200 R2.
Separately, if you are currently enrolled in or have completed a graduate program to earn your master's degree before your hire date, these credits will be accepted by the district for schedule advancement even though the program / courses have not been approved by the Board of Education and posted on PD Express.
Teachers seeking to move from Schedule III to Schedule IV, must also be credited with a second Master's Degree or a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study from an accredited college or university with a minimum program degree or certificate requirement of 12 graduate credits.
NOTE:
You must submit the program you are interested in taking on PD Express and await approval by the Board of Education before enrolling (just like with inservice and graduate courses).
It is always recommended you receive approval from the district office before submitting the program on PD Express to confirm it will be accepted to fulfill the necessary requirements to advance from schedule III to schedule IV.
In addition, the certificate program must focus on a topic that is both education related and advances your knowledge of the education profession. For example, an elementary teacher cannot receive a certificate in advanced study for accounting and expect the district to accept this certificate as it does not in any way relate to elementary education.
Below are several examples of certificate programs offered by SUNY Albany. Additional information about these specific certificate programs can be found on the UAlbany website, here: https://www.albany.edu/graduatebulletin/programs.html#graduate_certificates.
Graduate Certificates
English as a Foreign Language (1508) (Admissions Suspended)
English Studies (1501)
Global Health Studies (1214)
Health Disparities (1214)
Online Learning and Teaching (0829)
Teacher Leadership (0899)
Teaching Composition (1599)
No. Under most circumstances book study courses will not be approved.
Some courses from outside institutions can be taken for either inservice or graduate credit. It is important to know which type of credit the course has been approved for on PD Express before registering. While the number of "hours" should be one indicator as to which type of credit the course was approved for, this is not always a reliable indicator as it can be incorrectly submitted by the proposer. Below are several indicators to check on when confirming the type of credit a course has been approved for.
On the main screen of the course catalog, the second part of the Course Proposal number that comes after every course title will begin with either a capital letter "I" or "G", with "I" indicating it was approved for Inservice credit and "G" indicating it was approved for Graduate credit.
In the course details screen, the second part of both the Course Proposal number and Session number will begin with either a capital letter "I" or "G", with "I" indicating it was approved for Inservice credit and "G" indicating it was approved for Graduate credit.
Also further down in the course details screen you will see another field, marked as "G / I", again with the appropriate letter listed next to this field indicating approval for Inservice or Graduate credit.
If your supervisor or administrator organizes a course and the course is not listed on PD Express DO NOT EXPECT the district to honor the credit as a valid submission. Even if your supervisor or administrator tells you that you will still receive credit for attending, DO NOT EXPECT the district to honor the credit as a valid submission. If the course is not listed on PD Express, you may still attend the course for informational purposes, but again, understand that you MAY NOT RECEIVE credit for attending the course.
If your supervisor or administrator tells you that they will register you on PD Express for a course DO NOT RELY ON THEM to do so. Always register for courses yourself before the start date of a course in order to receive credit.
Once a course has been approved by the Board of Education, you can expect it will be listed on PD Express within 5-7 days. Do not assume that you will be able to register for a course on PD Express the day immediately following its approval. If an approved course does not appear after 7 days following its approval, contact the district office to resolve the issue.
No. You must register for the course on PD Express before the course starts.
No. Courses MUST BE listed on PD Express for the district to honor the course credit and for you to receive credit for completing the course.
Separately, if you are currently enrolled in or have completed a graduate program to earn your master's degree before your hire date, these credits will be accepted by the district for schedule advancement even though the program / courses have not been approved by the Board of Education and posted on PD Express.
No. Only courses offering 3 or more hours of credit can be submitted for approval. Courses offering only 1 or 2 hours of credit will not be accepted for submission and will not be approved by the district. If a course requires meeting for multiple 1 hour + sessions, these sessions must be combined to yield 3 or more hours of credit which must also be reflected on the certificate of completion issued to participants. Certificates of completion for less than 3 hours will not be accepted for submission by the district.
15 inservice hours is equivalent to one inservice credit. Inservice courses are typically offered as 3, 6, 9, 12, or 15 hours.
Graduate courses are typically 15, 30, or 45 hours. Typically for graduate credits, 1 credit is equal to 15 hours.
No. Inservice hours can only be submitted in increments of 15 hours.
Any hours submitted less than 15 hours will not be accepted.
Any hours submitted beyond 15 hours and not totaling an additional 15 hours will be forfeited.
For example: Submitting 17 hours will result in the submission of 1 inservice credit and the forfeiting of 2 hours. It is in your best interest to organize your inservice hours in batches of 15 hours when submitting them to maximize their value.
Yes. As per Board of Education policy 9201, there is a 3 year expiration on all completed courses. The district will not accept hours or credits from any courses (inservice or graduate) that are older than 3 years from the board approval date of the course.
Credits can be submitted toward salary advancement for a payment of $41 per credit, or credits can be submitted for a one time payment of $138.
Additional information about these two options can be found on pages 57-61 in your contract.
The district has defined the full school year as being made up of 2 halves or semesters. The first half/ semester runs from September - January. The second half/ semester runs from February to June.
You are paid the full amount of $41 per credit for submissions made during the first half/ semester of the year, and you are paid half that amount, or $20.50 per credit, for submissions made during the second half/ semester of the year.
NOTE: All inservice credits submitted by the second half /semester deadline will be listed on your salary notification agreement received in September/ October and become part of your salary each year thereafter at the full amount of $41 per credit.
No. Waiting to submit the credit(s) will only lose you money. If completed in time, submit the credit(s) before the second half/ semester deadline even if you will only receive half of the payment. Half the money is better than no money. And remember, any credits submitted in the second half/ semester of the year will become part of your salary the following year, and each year thereafter at the full amount of $41 per credit.
Inservice Credits
Must be completed and submitted by October 1st to receive the full $41 payment (towards salary) which is paid out in November/ December.
Must be completed and submitted by April 1st to receive a half payment of $20.50 which is paid out in May/ June.
All inservice credits submitted by April 1st will be listed on your salary notification agreement received in September/ October and become part of your salary each year thereafter at the full amount of $41 per credit.
Graduate Credits
Must be completed and submitted by September 1st, with an official transcript submitted by November 1st to receive the full $41 payment which is paid out in November/ December.
Must be completed and submitted by January 31st, with an official transcript submitted by April 1st to receive a half payment of $20.50 which is paid out in May/ June.
All graduate credits submitted by April 1st will be listed on your salary notification agreement received in September/ October and become part of your salary each year thereafter at the full amount of $41 per credit.
To Move Salary Schedules
All credits and transcripts must be completed and submitted by November 1st to advance to the next salary schedule for the first half of the year. When the paperwork is processed, payroll receives a memo to issue a retroactive payment back to September 1st.
All credits and transcripts must be completed and submitted by January 31st to advance to the next salary schedule for the second half of the year. When the paperwork is processed, payroll receives a memo to issue a retroactive payment back to February 1st.
All credits and transcripts must be completed and submitted by November 1st to advance to the next salary schedule for the first half of the year. When the paperwork is processed, payroll receives a memo to issue a retroactive payment back to September 1st.
All credits and transcripts must be completed and submitted by January 31st to advance to the next salary schedule for the second half of the year. When the paperwork is processed, payroll receives a memo to issue a retroactive payment back to February 1st.
Below are the months when you can expect to receive specific payment for inservice and graduate credits. Payment for the credits will happen once the processing of submissions is complete. If you do not receive payments for the credits during the corresponding months or within a reasonable time frame thereafter, please contact the payroll department at the District Office for questions and to help resolve your issues.
Payments for in-service credits submitted in the current year usually occur in November and May.
Payments for graduate credits submitted in the current year usually occur in January and June.
As per the SCTA contract, if you are a teacher and are currently on Step 15, you must have taken 6 credits of professional development within the last 5 years in order to move to Step 16 and beyond. You will be notified by district office in December if you have not yet fulfilled this requirement.
This requirement begins July 1 of the year you start Step 11. You can not use inservice credits that were completed before July 1 of the school year you start Step 11.
Yes. Credits earned as a TA and applied toward salary advancement (not one-time payments) can be carried over towards salary advancement as a teacher if a TA transitions into a teaching position within the district. Again, this only applies to credits earned working as a TA within the district.
Hours and credits earned as a Long Term Replacement (LTR) can be kept to be put towards salary advancement if an LTR is hired as a teacher or TA within the district. However, as a Long Term Replacement (LTR), if an individual is hesitant to keep any inservice hours out of concern for not being hired in a teaching position within the district, they can submit the hours for a one-time payment.
Please Note: Once hired as a teacher or TA, they must submit any credits earned during their time as an LTR within 3
years from the board approval date of the course.
Separately, any hours or credits earned as a Long Term Substitute CANNOT be put towards salary advancement in a teaching position within the district NOR can they be submitted for a one-time payment.
Absolutely. NYSUT offers a variety of courses, both in person and online through their Education & Learning Trust (ELT). Many of these courses are also CTLE approved. If you are planning on taking one of their courses, why not submit it for approval through PD Express and receive inservice credit that can be used toward salary advancement at the same time. NYSUT ELT course offerings can be found on the NYSUT website here.
About NYSUT Education & Learning Trust
Learn from the best with NYSUT Education & Learning Trust (ELT), a nonprofit professional learning organization which for over 40 years has served NYSUT members who have dedicated their lives to education. Our mission is to provide research-based, innovative, and collaborative opportunities to enhance professional learning. Available for all educators (teachers, school-related professionals, etc), ELT programs are modeled on research-based practices and classroom application. ELT instructors are experienced, highly qualified practitioners.
Union leaders, school district officials, and Teacher Center directors have come to depend on ELT’s dynamic training. Our model of “members teaching members” assures that our best practices are put to use immediately in the classroom and school environment.
Whether utilized by individual members seeking to increase professional knowledge and meet certification requirements, or by teacher centers and districts to offer convenient, flexible training to a group of educators, these on-demands sessions are not to be missed!
In compliance with New York State Education Department, NYSUT Education & Learning Trust has been approved as a sponsor to provide professional learning for Continuing Teacher Leader Education (CTLE) hours.
All information about NYSUT on this website has been approved and provided by NYSUT. Additional information is available at https://www.nysut.org.