Recent Changes in the Master's Equivalency
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Date: October 25, 2007
To: All LEAs, IU Directors, Superintendents, Human Resource Directors, Career and Technical Centers and Scotland School
From: Terry Barnaby, Director, Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality
Subject: Letter of Equivalency for Master's Degree Proposal
Letter of Equivalency for Master's Degree
The Master's degree equivalency was created to provide professionals with the opportunity to tailor graduate coursework to their needs and to their professional work. For this reason, the law creating the Letter of Equivalency was specific in the requirements necessary:
"The Letter of Equivalency for Master's Degree is issued to persons holding a valid Instructional I, Instructional II, Educational Specialist I, Educational Specialist II certificate, Vocational Instructional I, Vocational Instructional II certificate or their equivalents, upon the accumulation of 36 semester hours of graduate level credit. A minimum of 18 academic graduate credits shall be earned in the content area of the applicant's primary teaching assignment at a college or university approved to offer graduate work. A maximum of the 18 graduate credits requirement may be satisfied through an intermediate unit in-service program approved by the Secretary for meeting master's equivalency requirements." [22 Pa. Code § 49.191(2)]
The Department has been accepting any academic graduate credits towards an educator's Master Equivalency regardless of whether or not they were related to the content area of the educator's primary teaching assignment, despite the clear requirements of the law. This practice was accepted by both the educational community and the Department. The need to ensure that educators are both highly qualified and well prepared to meet the requirements of NCLB caused the Department of Education to review this practice and the appropriate regulations.
As a result, the Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality will no longer accept 18 of the 36 graduate credits submitted by an educator that are not in an educator's certified content area. The Department will permit the required 18 academic graduate credits to be in any certified content area held by the educator rather than in just the content area of the educator's primary teaching assignment. We are doing so because the Department recognizes that educators who hold multiple certifications may in fact be placed in a teaching assignment from year to year in any of the certification areas held and believes that allowing an educator to take graduate courses in any content area for which they are certified is in keeping with the overall intent of § 49.191(2).
The Department further recognizes that there are many educators who are currently working toward a Master's Equivalency and that they may be currently taking courses under the previous policy and practice. It is not the Department's intent to cause undue hardship for these educators. Therefore, all courses begun after November 1, 2007 for the purpose of applying for a letter of Masters Equivalency must meet the requirements as articulated in the Pa. Code and in the paragraph above.
To: All LEAs, IU Directors, Superintendents, Human Resource Directors, Career and Technical Centers and Scotland School
From: Terry Barnaby, Director, Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality
Subject: Letter of Equivalency for Master's Degree Proposal
Letter of Equivalency for Master's Degree
The Master's degree equivalency was created to provide professionals with the opportunity to tailor graduate coursework to their needs and to their professional work. For this reason, the law creating the Letter of Equivalency was specific in the requirements necessary:
"The Letter of Equivalency for Master's Degree is issued to persons holding a valid Instructional I, Instructional II, Educational Specialist I, Educational Specialist II certificate, Vocational Instructional I, Vocational Instructional II certificate or their equivalents, upon the accumulation of 36 semester hours of graduate level credit. A minimum of 18 academic graduate credits shall be earned in the content area of the applicant's primary teaching assignment at a college or university approved to offer graduate work. A maximum of the 18 graduate credits requirement may be satisfied through an intermediate unit in-service program approved by the Secretary for meeting master's equivalency requirements." [22 Pa. Code § 49.191(2)]
The Department has been accepting any academic graduate credits towards an educator's Master Equivalency regardless of whether or not they were related to the content area of the educator's primary teaching assignment, despite the clear requirements of the law. This practice was accepted by both the educational community and the Department. The need to ensure that educators are both highly qualified and well prepared to meet the requirements of NCLB caused the Department of Education to review this practice and the appropriate regulations.
As a result, the Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality will no longer accept 18 of the 36 graduate credits submitted by an educator that are not in an educator's certified content area. The Department will permit the required 18 academic graduate credits to be in any certified content area held by the educator rather than in just the content area of the educator's primary teaching assignment. We are doing so because the Department recognizes that educators who hold multiple certifications may in fact be placed in a teaching assignment from year to year in any of the certification areas held and believes that allowing an educator to take graduate courses in any content area for which they are certified is in keeping with the overall intent of § 49.191(2).
The Department further recognizes that there are many educators who are currently working toward a Master's Equivalency and that they may be currently taking courses under the previous policy and practice. It is not the Department's intent to cause undue hardship for these educators. Therefore, all courses begun after November 1, 2007 for the purpose of applying for a letter of Masters Equivalency must meet the requirements as articulated in the Pa. Code and in the paragraph above.
