UTK's internship program has several progression requirements, called Gateways, that candidates must reach in order to advance toward completion of the program. Program faculty are expected to meet with candidates and file a ProCADs Area for Refinement plan if a candidate fails to meet Gateway expectations.
As a highly respected educator preparation program, The Office of Professional Licensure (OPL) has a competitive and selective admissions process. Given the enormity of responsibilities placed upon educators, multiple considerations—including both quantitative and qualitative factors—are considered in the holistic admissions process. Admission to teacher education is the first Gateway of the internship program.
Candidates wishing to pursue teacher licensure through an internship pathway must first apply for admission to the teacher education program. This application process is explained in detail here.
Applicants complete the Teacher Education Application: demographic data, essay questions, and ProCADS self-assessment
Applicants complete Risk Management Procedures: Background Check VECHHS and fingerprinting, Verification of professional responsibilities of being a mandatory reporter and professional liability insurance
Applicant GPA and prerequisite coursework are verified
Qualified applicants are reviewed by a Board of Admissions. Applicants may be contacted by the Board of Admissions for an interview
Admissions boards report the Admissions decisions, Projected Licensure Area, Projected Internship Date
Students who have been admitted to a teacher education program and who are wanting to change programs or pathways MUST reapply before being admitted to the new program.
Applicants must complete multiple steps in the admissions process, including completion of the teacher education information form, completion of a ProCADs self-assessment and Essay Questions, completion of risk management procedures including a background check, review of GPA and prerequisite coursework, and participation in an Admissions Board Review/Interview. If the applicant is recommended for admission, projected licensure areas and a projected internship date will be assigned.
Following admission to a teacher education program, OPL and the appropriate academic department provide candidates with multiple, embedded, and increasing opportunities throughout the program, in both coursework and clinical experiences, to grow the skills and dispositions necessary for 21st-century teaching and learning.
Progression through the program is closely monitored and checked at each Gateway.
Verification of progress and success towards Core Course Completion and HAL uploads
Verification of successful completion of Program Area and Content Area required coursework
Verification that candidates have satisfactorily completed Field Experiences/Practicum (including required observations uploaded to HAL)
Candidates participate in mandatory Internship Orientation including completion of ProCADS/Ethics Training
The semester before starting the professional internship, OPL will ensure that candidates are ready to progress to the internship by conducting a pre-internship progression review. This typically happens during the spring semester before candidates begin their internship in the following fall. This verification process includes the following:
1) OPL verifies progress toward Core Course Completion and the HAL uploads for Core Courses. Details regarding the required core courses and the associated mandatory HAL uploads are below:
● Core Course: Educational Psychology (EDPY) 301 or 501- Professional Studies: Applied Educational Psychology. Application of concepts, principles, techniques, and models from educational psychology to facilitate student learning and creation of effective classroom environments. This course requires completion of artifacts that must be uploaded to HAL. Candidates must post both artifacts to HAL in order to satisfactorily complete this course.
● Core Course: Educational Technology (ETEC) 386 or 586- Integrating Technology into the Curriculum. Use of technology to support teaching and learning; designed to prepare teacher preparation students to integrate a variety of computer-based technologies into the PreK-12 curriculum and adapt these technologies for diverse populations, including students with mild disabilities as well as ESL students. This course requires completion of artifacts that must be uploaded to HAL. Candidates must post both artifacts to HAL in order to satisfactorily complete this course.
● Core Course: Special Education (SPED) 303 or 503 - Professional Studies, Special Education and Diverse Learners. Characteristics and needs of students with disabilities and diverse learners with emphasis on educational implications. Techniques, strategies, and resources for teaching and assessing students with diverse learning, behavioral, medical, and/or sociocultural characteristics, and the requirements of special education and other relevant laws. This course requires completion of artifacts that must be uploaded to HAL. Candidates must post both artifacts to HAL in order to satisfactorily complete this course.
2) OPL verifies progress toward completion of required coursework including core educational courses.
3) OPL verifies that candidates have completed field/practicum experiences.
4) Candidates must attend a required orientation that clearly communicates expectations of the internship experience.
Candidates who do not meet all of the above Gateway requirements will not be eligible to progress to the internship year.
Candidates who are not ready to progress to the internship year can request to defer until they have met the above requirements. It is the candidate’s responsibility to notify their program coordinator as soon as you are made aware that a deferral is necessary. As each candidate’s reasons for requesting a deferral are different, this is a decision that should be made after conversations with Dr. Jalea Adams, program coordinator, and/or academic advisor. The program coordinator and/or advisor will contact the Office of School Based Experiences with this update.
Candidates who decide to withdraw from the teacher education program need to complete the Withdrawal Request form. The decision to withdraw from the program should not be taken lightly, as readmission into the program is not guaranteed. It is suggested that candidates discuss their options with Dr. Jalea Adams, program coordinator, and/or academic advisor before making the decision to withdraw from the program.
All Interns must be in Good Academic Standing with the University
All Interns must successfully complete the Praxis Content Exam prior to the start of their internship
All interns must meet the requirements/risk management procedures of the host school or district
Graduate level interns MUST be admitted to graduate school
TIGER Tracker Documentation for Internship Year
Prior to the start of the internship, candidates must complete the Internship Initiation Gateway. This is typically verified in the weeks preceding the start date of the internship. The start date of the internship varies as it is determined by the start date of teachers in the host school/district. The Internship Initiation Gateway includes the following:
1) All Interns must be in Good Academic Standing with the University.
This is inclusive to courses (including summer term) taken prior to internship. You must satisfactorily pass degree and licensure courses taken prior to internship. If you you have not met this gateway, you will need to meet with your advisor to discuss options.
2) Interns must successfully complete the Praxis Content Exam prior to the start of their internship. If the licensure program requires more than one Praxis exam, at least one exam must be successfully completed at the start of the internship. Students who do not successfully complete at least one Praxis exam by the start of the internship will be issued a ProCADS support plan and/or removed from their internship placement until Praxis is completed. As per TN State Board of Education Policy 5.105, students with select undergraduate majors and a qualifying GPA may qualify for an exemption from the Content Area Praxis requirement.
3) To prepare for these internship settings, most host schools and districts have requirements that the candidates must meet. These can include filling out paperwork for the district, registering as an intern, and/or completing additional drug screens and background checks. Any such requirements of the district hosting the intern must be completed before the intern can participate in the internship placement. Details regarding host district requirements will be provided to candidates along with internship placements. If the candidate does not successfully complete any part of a school districts' onboarding process, this could result in the inability to complete the internship.
4) Graduate Level Interns must be accepted to UTK’s Graduate School.
Applying to UTK Graduate School: https://gradschool.utk.edu/admissions/applying-to-graduate-school/. Please contact your academic advisor or BeATeacher@utk.edu for more information.
5) TIGER Tracker Documentation for Internship Year
Teacher Candidates in UTK’s professional internship program will be observed, supervised, and mentored using the Tennessee Integrated Guidelines for Educator Readiness (TIGER) model and Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model (TEAM) rubrics. At the start of the internship, each intern will be provided with a clinical supervision tracker document. Interns must ensure that this document is maintained throughout the academic year, as it serves as evidence of meeting the clinical practice requirements outlined by the Tennessee State Board of Education policy 5.504.
OPL verifies completion of required TEAM observations and associated TIGER Tracker documentation
OPL verifies completion of ProCADs (candidate self-assessment, instructor and mentor teacher assessments)
OPL verifies completion of TIGER mid-year conference
The internship consists of two semesters. All interns must successfully complete their first semester (both coursework and clinical experiences) to progress to the second semester of their internship
1) OPL verifies completion of required TEAM Observations and associated TIGER Tracker documentation. A required component of the Internship clinical experience is participation in Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model (TEAM) observations using the TIGER model. While interns may be placed in a school that uses a different state-approved model, all observations for the teacher preparation program must use the TIGER model. Information regarding the state-approved TEAM rubrics can be found here: https://team-tn.org/. Information regarding UTK's TIGER model can be found in the Clinical Supervision Tracker Document.
2) Candidate completes ProCADs self-evaluation, supervisor and mentor teacher complete ProCADs evaluation. ProCADs documentation is maintained in the TIGER tracker document.
3) OPL verifies completion of TIGER mid-year conference. TIGER mid-year conference documentation is maintained in the TIGER tracker document. Once finalized, official scores of the mid-year conference must be entered onto the document.
OPL and departmental instructional teams verify successful completion of one semester of internship courses and clinical experiences. If a candidate fails to successfully complete their first semester of internship, a meeting will be held with the candidate to discuss options moving forward.
Interns must pass all state-required exams
OPL confirms completion of required coursework and licensure artifacts
OPL confirms successful completion of Internship including completion of clinical supervision tracker document and TIGER summative evaluation.
OPL verifies GPA (cumulative and content area)
Intern must complete graduation and licensure requirements (Undergraduates must graduate to qualify for a Practitioner License)
To receive the Practitioner license:
1) Interns must pass state-required exams. The state of Tennessee requires that teachers demonstrate proficiency through multiple exams (see TN Board policy 5.105 for current required examination information). Information on the Praxis Exams required for licensure is available here. Note: Interns will NOT be required to take the Principles of Learning and Teaching Praxis exam. Interns should refer to their licensure areas for the required content knowledge assessments for specific endorsement areas; candidates seeking multiple licensure areas should note that they are required to take multiple Praxis exams. Failure to successfully pass state required exams will result in the inability to issue the practitioner licensure.
2) Interns must complete required courses and applicable licensure artifacts. OPL will verify this via transcript and review prior to issuance of the practitioner licensure.
3) OPL confirms successful completion of required clinical experiences. Successful completion of required clinical experiences including required supervision/observations is verified within the TIGER tracker document. TIGER summative evaluation scores must be uploaded to HAL.
4) Interns must be verified to be in good GPA standing. Interns must maintain a 2.75 cumulative GPA, a 2.50 content/subject area GPA, and a 2.80 GPA in professional education courses. A grade of “C” or above must be received in all professional education courses. Keep in mind that some licensure programs have GPA requirements that differ from the 2.50 content GPA.
5) Intern must complete graduation and licensure requirements (Undergraduates must graduate to qualify for a Practitioner License). The state TNCompass system requires an official transcript in order to issue professional licensure.
If one or more of the above Gateway requirements have not been met, the candidate will not be recommended for the practitioner licensure. At the discretion of the instructional team, the intern may be granted a 6 month extension from the completion of the internship to complete licensure requirements. However, this delay can have multiple negative consequences such as:
a) interfering with the interns ability to be hired as a teacher
b) jeopardizing the intern’s ability to receive credit for the internship year on the Tennessee teacher pay scale.
Due to frequent changes in State Board of Education requirements for teacher licensure, additional coursework, assessments, and/or clinical experiences may be required if the intern does not complete all licensure requirements within 6 months from the completion of the internship.
6) It is recommended that you receive Tennessee Licensure even if you plan to move out of state. UT’s teacher education programs are designed to lead to teacher licensure in the State of Tennessee. If you are seeking teacher licensure in a state other than Tennessee, it is highly recommended that you research licensure requirements in the state that you wish to achieve teacher licensure. Please know that due to national teacher licensure reciprocity considerations, you are not exempt from UT’s licensure requirements even if you express interest in teacher licensure in a state outside of Tennessee. UT highly recommends that you achieve licensure in the state of Tennessee even if you are seeking licensure outside of Tennessee, as transferring teacher licensure from one state to another is more feasible than achieving initial teacher licensure in a state outside of Tennessee. In order to facilitate interstate and international reciprocity, UT’s teacher licensure programs are accredited by CAEP (the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation) and Tennessee is a member of NASDTEC interstate compact (National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification).
Follow-Up To Program Completion
OPL wants to hear from student teachers following program completion! We value the input of our former student teachers and use this input to improve our preparation programs and the experiences of future student teachers. Former student teachers will receive survey invitations to evaluate multiple aspects of the program. We will ask them to complete these surveys to provide valuable information regarding our UTK supervisors, our mentor teachers, and our teacher preparation program requirements.
Additionally, we also look forward to having former UTK student teachers continue to be a part of the teacher preparation program and serve as mentor teachers when they have enough experience and expertise to serve in this capacity.