You Must have a conferred Bachelor's Degree with a minimum 2.5 GPA overall or a 2.5 GPA in last 60 clock hours. If the applicant does not meet this GPA or is seeking a certification where no college work was obtained, the applicant must take and pass a Pre-Admission Content Test (PACT).

There are a total of four (4) phases in regards to the certification process:

1. Admissions
2. Coursework
3. Clinical Teaching or Internship
4. Finalizing Standard Certification

Please see the following certification process info sheet for complete details as well as program contact information.

If your country is designated as English speaking by the Texas Education Agency, you do not have to take the TOEFL. If your country is not on the list, yes, you must take the TOEFL-iBT.

Please see the following website for further information.

Yes, you must achieve minimum scores in the following areas:

• Speaking - 24
• Listening - 22
• Reading - 22
• Writing - 21

TOEFL scores are valid for two years. More information and the registration portal may be found at https://www.ets.org/toefl/

Students must complete the official ACC program application which can be found here. Students must also provide their official transcripts, sent digitally, to Karin.Miller@austincc.edu as well as complete a face-to-face interview.

You can start the program in the fall, spring, or summer ACC session (semester). Classes are held Monday-Thursday from 6:00 pm - 9:30 pm, and held either virtually or face-to-face.

A certification plan is available which outlines completion of your specific program. The teacher certification program is a two-year program:

The first year is completion of required state curriculum, 30 hours of field based experiences and required testing for state licensure. All must be completed prior to clinical teaching or internship.

The second year is completion of an internship or clinical teaching, as defined below.

• Clinical teaching is a 14-week, non-paid experience in an approved TEA private, charter, or public school.
• An internship involves having a contract with an approved TEA private, charter, or public school for one academic year or 180 day as teacher of record. The candidate receives first year's teacher salary, benefits, and teacher retirement.

Both of these experiences are completed under the supervision of the ACC Teacher Certification Program.

Student Complaint Procedures

Student complaints may include (but are not limited to) issues regarding classroom instruction, college services and offices as well as discrimination based on race, color, gender, religion, age, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation. Grade disputes and sexual or sexual harassment complaints are handled separately.

Please refer to the following document for detailed information:
Alternative Teacher Certification Complaint Policies & Procedure

Certification plans are available that outline course requirements for Fall-Spring and Summer enrollment. The teacher certification program is a two-year program.

The first year is completion of required state curriculum, 30 hours of field-based experiences and required testing for state licensure. All must be completed prior to clinical teaching or internship.

The second year is completion of an internship or clinical teaching, as defined below.

• Clinical teaching is a 14-week, non-paid experience in an approved TEA private, charter, or public school.
• An internship involves having a contract with an approved TEA private, charter, or public school for one academic year or 180 days as teacher of record. The candidate receives first year's teacher salary, benefits, and teacher retirement.

Both of these experiences are completed under the supervision of the ACC Teacher Certification Program.

According to TAC 19 Section 228.35(1)(5)(A), each educator preparation program is required to develop and implement specific criteria and procedures that allow:

• (a) Military service members or military veteran candidates to credit verified military service, training, or education toward the training, education, work experience or related requirements (other than certification examinations) for educator certification requirements, provided that the military service, training, or education is directly related to the certificate being sought.

ACC Teacher Certification program will waive the $100 Application fee with proof of military association.

Kindergarten and Elementary School Teachers

Overall employment of kindergarten and elementary school teachers is projected to grow 7 percent from 2020 to 2030, about as fast as the average for all occupations.

About 124,300 openings for kindergarten and elementary school teachers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

Middle School Teachers

The median annual wage for middle school teachers was $60,810 in May 2020.Employment of middle school teachers is projected to grow 7 percent from 2020 to 2030, about as fast as the average for all occupations.

About 48,400 openings for middle school teachers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

High School Teachers

The median annual wage for high school teachers was $62,870 in May 2020. Employment of high school teachers is projected to grow 8 percent from 2020 to 2030, about as fast as the average for all occupations.

About 77,400 openings for high school teachers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

Source: Texas Workforce Commission Information

If the conferred degree is from out-of-country, the out-of-country transcript must be evaluated for equivalency to a US degree by an approved TEA transcript evaluation. The transcript evaluation company located in Austin, Texas is:

Foreign Credentials Service of America
1910 Justin Ln.
Austin, TX 78757

Phone: (512) 459-8428
Fax: (512) 459-4565
Email: info@foreigncredentials.org

Military:

ACC WILL evaluate and accept any coursework recorded on an official transcript completed while in the military if it is pertinent to the certification area sought by the candidate.

Colleges and Universities:

ACC WILL evaluate and accept any coursework recorded on an official transcript completed at other colleges and universities if it relates to the certification area being sought by the candidate. ACC will also accept any field-based experiences with proper documentation.

Alternative Certification Programs:

ACC WILL NOT accept any coursework from an alternative certification program. However, with proper documentation, ACC will accept any field-based experiences completed.

Candidates who are admitted to the ACC Teacher Certification Program are expected to demonstrate both academic and specified non-academic standards that are necessary to be competent teachers. The intent is to ensure that the candidates recommended for teacher certification can effectively and independently carry out the duties for which they are being prepared. We will hold you to your signed agreements and program policies. You will be placed on probation or asked to leave the Teacher Certification Program based on, but not limited to, the reasons listed below.

Reasons for Discipline or Dismissal

• Failure to abide by the Texas Educator's Code of Ethics
• Poor attendance (classes, field experience, internship/clinical teaching placements, etc.)
• Incomplete or unsatisfactory coursework
• Uncorrected Fitness to Teach incident(s)
• Failure to complete 30 clock hours of field-based experiences on time
• Unsatisfactory progress toward completion of the program
• Failure to meet clinical teaching or internship requirements
• Failure to maintain financial responsibilities to ACC
• Failure to pass TExES examinations
• Falsification of application or program information
• Failure to disclose criminal activity

If a candidate resigns from the program or is released by the program, the following must be completed within 5 working days.

1. In the event of resignation from the program, written notice to the program coordinator or to the admissions officer is required.
2. In the event of release by the program, the program will send an official letter to the candidate stating the reason for release.
3. An exit interview must be held with an ACC staff member.
4. All materials (books, technology, etc.) must be returned. If not, the candidate will be billed for the costs of the materials and grades withheld.