Policies & Procedures -- C to D

Cadre, Position Description

The Student Teaching Cadre, as a part of the partnership between local cooperating school districts and the University of Northern. The cadre gives local teachers increased responsibilities for the initial preparation of new teachers, and provides more opportunities for the professional growth of teachers through increased professional development opportunities afforded through work on the cadre.

The cadre members in the student teaching centers fulfill a variety of responsibilities in the UNI teacher education program. Those responsibilities may include:

Serving as an advisory committee to the UNI student teacher program
Serving as a resource to student teachers and other cooperating teachers
Serving as a classroom cooperating teacher for student teachers from UNI
Observing student teachers who are working in a classroom other than their own
Providing input on the campus-based program that might include participating in on-campus instruction
Attending advisory meetings that might be in the local area as well as on the Cedar Falls campus
Assisting UNI with conferences, inservice meetings, and workshops that might be held in the local area
Collaborating with university faculty on research of mutual interest
Assisting the coordinator and clinical supervisor with input related to seminars and student teacher supervision

Cadre, Selection Procedures

The selection of cadre members shall include the following:

1. The UNI center coordinator, with assistance from the local district(s) as requested, shall develop criteria for the selection of the student teaching cadre members.

2. The UNI center coordinator (in conjunction with local school districts as appropriate) shall be responsible for the selection of individuals to serve on the student teaching cadre.

3. Eligible candidates should be currently practicing teachers or administrators within the school districts of the UNI student teaching regional centers.

4. Eligible candidates should complete a letter of application or other specified forms to the center coordinator.

5. Cadre members should be appointed to terms of three years, contingent on satisfactory performance. Terms shall be renewable for one or two terms and the selection and retention of cadre members shall be the joint decision of the local districts, the student teaching coordinator, or a combination of the above.

6. There is no stipend for serving on the UNI student teacher cadre.

Calendar

The OSFE/Coordinator calendar shall be adopted each academic year. Special dates and specific events included in the UNI Master Calendar and pertinent to OSFE and the coordinators shall be included.

The proposed calendar shall be prepared by the Department Head or Director and periodically submitted to coordinators for consideration during the spring semester. Proposed revisions agreed upon by a majority of the coordinators shall be recommended for consideration prior to adoption. Agreed upon revisions shall be communicated to all coordinators.

Campus Orientation Meetings

Campus orientation meetings are held in April for fall student teachers and in September for spring student teachers. The orientation session is to inform student teachers of their specific assignments, the name of their cooperating teacher(s), and their assigned school system/building.

Orientation sessions are held at 4:00 p.m. in specified rooms of the Education Center. Notification of each orientation meeting is provided to all applicants at the time of interviews. Students are required to attend the campus orientation meeting.

Center Orientation

Center orientation sessions are arranged prior to student teaching for each semester. Center coordinators make the necessary arrangements and communicate this information to students. Student teachers are not to contact the cooperating teachers until they are instructed to do so by the coordinator.

Certification Application

Application for certification is included with the graduation information provided by the Office of the Registrar.

Claim for Expenses and Reimbursement

Claims for reimbursement of expenses associated with the duties as coordinator shall be submitted to the Office of Student Field Experiences on the official Travel Expense Voucher. Original invoices for lodging and travel by commercial carrier must be attached to the claim.

Separate claims should be submitted for all other monthly expenses at the end of each calendar month. Expenses associated with each approved Request for Absence will be filed on separate claims.

Clinical Supervisor, Position Description

The primary role of the Clinical Supervisor is to serve as the University of Northern Iowa’s field based practitioner for preservice teachers and other such duties as will be assigned by the local school district in cooperation with the center coordinator.

The Clinical Supervisor is directly responsible to the Professor/Coordinator and may hold responsibilities in a local school district.

Responsibility to Include:

To provide classroom supervision for student teachers from the University of Northern Iowa. This will include making classroom visits at least every other week for each teacher assigned to the supervisor
Assist with the mid-term and final evaluations for each student teacher
Work with the UNI Coordinator on the identification and selection of cooperating teachers and the placement of student teachers
Work with the UNI Coordinator and the local district administrators on the selection of cadre members when appropriate.
Assist the UNI Coordinator with the planning and instruction of the student teaching seminar
Work closely with the UNI Coordinator on the facilitation of activities for the cadre

Clinical Supervisor, Selection Procedures

The selection procedure for a clinical supervisor shall be the responsibility of the center coordinator. In some cases, the director of OSFE will also be involved.

When the need arises to hire a clinical supervisor in a center, the coordinator should identify individuals, with a masters degree, who would be highly qualified to provide quality supervision and feedback to students, assist in center responsibilities, and serve as an excellent representative of the University of Northern Iowa.

The center coordinator will make the selection of the clinical supervisor and provide training, inservice, and evaluation.

Clinical Supervisor, Evaluation Procedures

The evaluation procedures for the clinical supervisor should be as follows:

1. The center coordinator should meet with the clinical supervisor at the end of each term of service (semester or year as appropriate) to discuss the individual’s performance.

2. The center coordinator shall provide a written documentation of the clinical supervisor’s performance related to his/her work for the University to the Office of Student Field Experiences.

Coordinator Absence Request

Coordinators are officially on duty during their period of appointment when the university is in session according to the official calendar. Coordinators, due to the nature of their position, are also on duty in accordance with the official school calendar of their cooperating school system(s) except in spring semester when terms of the UNI contract prevails.

In the case of spring break, coordinators can select one of the breaks of a cooperating district as their break instead of the UNI spring break. However, this alternate spring break must not exceed the total number of days provided by the UNI spring break.

Coordinators who are absent from duty during their appointment time whenever the university or the cooperating district are officially in session should file an absence request.

When possible, request for absence should be filed in advance. Absence due to illness, funerals, conferences, or workshops are examples of situations requiring an absence request.

In case of illness, the request should be filed electronically through MyUniverse as promptly as possible following return to duty. To ensure possible income tax credit, the number of calendar days as well as instructional days should be recorded.

Compliance with this absence request is essential for legal purposes (e.g. liability, sick leave benefits, disability, etc.).

Cooperating Teacher

Identification of a cooperating teacher is the responsibility of the UNI coordinator. Students must not contact local districts, administrators, or teachers or make an attempt to secure a student teaching placement.

The administration of the cooperating school system will encourage its most competent and effective teachers to serve as cooperating teachers through demonstrated support of the student teaching program

No teacher in the cooperating school system will be invited by the University to supervise student teachers who have not been recommended as a competent and effective teacher with at least three years of teaching experiences.

Cooperating teachers must meet the selection criteria as jointly established by the University and the cooperating school district.

The local district will involve the University of Northern Iowa directly in the process for selecting and inviting classroom teachers to serve as cooperating teachers as appropriate.

Cooperative Agreement (Contract)

A cooperative agreement contract shall be provided to school systems which have been chosen to host University of Northern Iowa students. This agreement shall be based on CODE OF IOWA Section 262.30.

Course Work and Student Teaching

Enrollment in course work while enrolled in student teaching is not an accepted practice. On occasion, due to extenuating circumstances, it becomes necessary for a student to enroll in a course while student teaching. A student with documentation of a programmatic situation outside the control of the student, can have this restriction waived.

Copies of the appropriate documentation must be provided to the Director of the Office of Student Field Experiences for consideration. If documentation clearly shows that the situation was caused by University issues and not student action, the decision will then be made in consultation with the site coordinator. The student and the center coordinator will be notified of the final decision via email.

Credit Hours

Students will complete 12 hours of credit in student teaching. These credits may be applied toward the 120 hour minimum required for graduation. Some experiences may require a differing amount of hours for individuals who are seeking an special certification (e.g., speech pathology requires 10 hours with the additional hours completed in a clinical setting).

Curriculum Change

The procedure for recommending curricular changes must comply with university policy and follow the curriculum cycle requirements.

Due Process

The student teacher shall be afforded substantive and procedural due process should a disagreement arise from enforcement of policy.

Definitions

1.1. Due process. Due process refers to the standards and procedures which must be followed in dealing with an adverse action brought against an individual by the representatives of the Office of Student Field Experiences. These procedures are meant to provide fair and equitable treatment for the individual by insuring as far as possible against arbitrary, capricious or inequitable actions.

1.2 Substantive due process. Substantive due process means that the reasons for an adverse action must not be arbitrary or capricious; that they must be relevant to the competence of the individual to adequately perform the responsibilities and functions of his/her position; that they must not either directly or by their effect deny the individual the right to exercise any rights under the Constitution or laws of the United States, nor be a retaliation for such exercise. Furthermore, the reasons given must be the genuine reasons, not a subterfuge disguising other, unconstitutional intentions; and finally they must be sufficient to warrant the action taken.

1.3 Procedural due process. Procedural due process means that there must be available procedural safeguards to ensure that any adverse action can be dealt with fairly and equitably so that the individual affected has every opportunity to face his/her accusers, respond to the charges and refute the evidence against him/her.

Appropriate reasons and timely notice will be given before adverse action is taken. In extreme cases, actions on the part of the student may require an immediate response on the part of the local school or the university personnel. In either case, the university representative (i.e., student teaching coordinator) will complete a Notice of Concern documenting the reasons for the action taken and any further action required before being recommended for completion of the program.

CODE OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT AND ETHICS (CHAPTER 25)

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