Grad Education Candidate

Table of Contents

• Changes

• Welcome Information

• Acronyms

• Belhaven University Vision
• Belhaven University Mission
• Belhaven University Statement of Faith
• Christian Worldview - A Belhaven University & School of Education Distinctive
• Belhaven University School of Education Conceptual Framework
• Accreditation
• Belhaven University Graduate School of Education Quality Assurance Assessment System QAAS
• Graduate School of Education Leadership and Contact Information

• Degrees and Programs Offered in the Graduate School of Education
• Academic Plans
  • Out-of-State Candidate Responsibilities
• Admission Requirements
  • Acceptance of Transfer Credits
• Withdrawal/Drop: Course or a Program
  • Dropping a Course
  • Withdrawing from a Course
  • Program Withdrawal
  • Re-Entry
  • Administrative Withdrawal
• Deregistration
• Course Delivery - Course Sessions - Course Schedules & Rotations
  • Course Attendance
  • Cancellation of a Course Session
  • Candidate’s Responsibilities
• Candidate Course Load
• Grading Policies
  • Incomplete Grades
  • Academic Suspension, Warning, or Probation
• Appeals Policies
  • Chain of Authority for Appeals
• Academic/Grade Appeal Policy
  • Conflict/Grievance Appeal Policy
• Candidate Orientation
• Personal Change of Status
• Candidate Records - Privacy
• Candidate/University Resources
• Textbooks, Course Materials, & Technology
• Transcripts

• Graduate SOE Faculty Policy Statement Regarding Candidate’s Financial Status
• Financial Aid
• Course Verification
  • Course Enrollment
  • Course Participation
• Student Loan Acceptance
• Student Loan Disbursement
  • Disbursement Dates
• Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (SAP)
  • Candidate SAP Status
  • Financial Aid Appeal Process
  • Re-establishing Financial Aid
• Course Withdrawal
• Fees & Expenses
• Financial Regulations
• Other Financial Aid Programs
• Other Financial Policies
• Refund Policy

• Admission Requirements
  • MAT Alt/Cert Teacher Licensure
  • MAT - Non-Licensure
• Plan of Study
  • MAT Alt/Cert Teacher License with Master’s Degree
  • MAT Degree Completion
  • MAT - Non-Licensure with Master’s Degree
• Course Delivery
  • Online Format
  • Dimensions of Learning
• Capstone Paper & Exam
• Assessments & Grading Policy
• Application Process for Mississippi Alternate Route Teacher License
  • Initial, non-renewable 3-year license
  • Renewable 5-year license
• Degree Plan Sheets; Memoranda of Understanding
  • Secondary (7-12) Teaching Certification - Degree Plan Sheet
  • Secondary (7-12) Teaching Certification - Memorandum of Understanding
  • Elementary (K-6) Teaching Certification - Degree Plan Sheet
  • Elementary (K-6) Teaching Certification - Memorandum of Understanding
  • Dimensions I and II - Memorandum of Understanding
  • MAT Non-Licensure Program - Degree Plan Sheet
  • MAT Non-Licensure Program - Memorandum of Understanding

• Admission Requirements
• Assessments & Grading Policy
• Areas of Emphasis
  • Curriculum & Instruction
  • Educational Technology
• M.Ed./Reading Literacy Program with K-6 Endorsement
• Capstone Paper/Exam Requirements
• Degree Plan Sheets; Memoranda of Understanding
  • Curriculum and Instruction -Generalist - Degree Plan Sheet
  • Curriculum and Instruction - Memorandum of Understanding
  • Educational Technology - Degree Plan Sheet
  • Educational Technology - Memorandum of Understanding
  • National Board Degree Plan Sheet - Discontinued
  • National Board - memorandum of Understanding - Discontinued
  • MED/Reading Literacy with K-6 Elementary Education - Degree Plan Sheet
  • MED/Reading Literacy with K-6 Elementary Education - Memorandum of Understanding

• Admission Requirements
• Assessments and Grading Policy
• Internship and Internship Defense Requirements
• Testing Requirements
• Licensure Requirements
• Ed.S to Ed.D. Matriculation
• Degree Plan Sheets; Memoranda of Understanding
  • M.ED.. School Administration - Licensure - Degree Plan Sheet & Memo of Understanding
  • Ed.S. School Administration Licensure Degree Plan Sheet & Memo of Understanding
  • Ed.S. School Administration Non-Licensure Degree Plan Sheet & Memo of Understanding

• Admission Requirements
• Course Delivery
  • Dissertation Handbook
  • Matriculation and Time Frame
• Plan of Study
  • Ed.D. Degree Continuous Enrollment Policy-PHASE IV
  • Residency 2 and the Oral Defense
  • Prospectus Methodology Review
  • Dissertation Chair Person and Committee Member
  • Responsibilities of the Dissertation Committee
  • DEADLINES FOR GRADUATION
  • Oral Defense of the Dissertation
  • Publishing Guidelines
  • Application for Graduation
• Assessments and Grading Policy

• Emergency Procedures
  • Fire Evacuation
  • Severe Weather - Tornado
  • Severe Weather - Ice - Snow - Hurricane
• Alcohol and Drug Policy
• Smoking, Tobacco, and E-Cigarettes Policy
• Title IX Policy
• Sexual Harassment
• Disability Policy
  • Grievance Procedure for Disabled Candidates
• Disciplinary Actions

• Mississippi Educator Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct
• Belhaven Academic Honor Code
• Belhaven Code of Conduct
• Standards on Plagiarism
  • Responsible Research
  • Plagiarism Defined
  • Consequences of Plagiarism
  • Specific Practices to Avoid
• Appeals Process for Academic Concerns, Conflicts, Grievance and/or Violation
  • Chain of Authority for Appeals

• Commencement Ceremony Participation
• Candidate Needs to Change Graduation Date
• Completion of Course Work
• Diplomas
• Graduation Application
• Graduation Dates
• Graduation Fees
• Degrees Posted/Transcripts
• Verification of Degree Completion
• Alumni Association

• APPENDIX A
  • Mississippi Educator Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduc
• APPENDIX B - FORMS
  • Request for Verification of Licensure Eligibility
  • Transcript Requests
  • Withdrawal Form Preview
    
     

ADDITIONS, REVISIONS, & UPDATES TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION CANDIDATE HANDBOOK

The following additions, revisions and/or updates have been included in this version of the Graduate School of Education Candidate Handbook. The effective date of the addition, revision, and/or update is included indicating the date that change/addition will go into effect.

The Belhaven University Graduate School of Education, Dean, Chair, Faculty, and Administrative Assistants welcome you as an Educator Candidate to the Educator Preparation Program. Our degree programs are designed to challenge you and provide a means to assist you in meeting your professional goals as professional leaders in the arena of Education.  All of the Graduate School of Education degree programs and courses are delivered in an online, and at times, a virtual format.  The exception is the Ed.D. Doctoral program which is formatted as an online and virtual program but also includes the requirement that candidates attend two Residency sessions on campus.  Residency sessions are two to three days of orientation and preparation for research and dissertation writing.  The Graduate School of Education faculty and staff are available to assist you in your spiritual, educational, and professional goals.  

May the Lord bless the work of your hands and your mind as you seek to earn an advanced degree in Education.

We are happy you have chosen to be with us!

 

ACRONYMS

DEFINITIONS

Belhaven University prepares candidates academically and spiritually to serve Christ Jesus in their careers, in human relationships, and in the world of ideas. The University develops servant leaders who value integrity, compassion, and justice in all aspects of their lives.

Belhaven University Theme Servant Leaders - To serve, not to be served.

 

Belhaven University affirms the Lordship of Christ over all aspects of life, acknowledges the Bible as the foundational authority for the development of a personal worldview, and recognizes each individual’s career as a calling from God. Each academic department is committed to high academic goals for its candidates and clarifies the implications of biblical truth for its discipline. Belhaven upholds these commitments whether in offering undergraduate or graduate programs; by conventional or technological delivery modes; and in local, national, and international venues. The University requires a liberal arts foundation in each undergraduate degree program, believing that the candidate educated in the liberal arts and sciences is best prepared in order to best prepare candidates to contribute to a diverse, complex, and fast-changing world.

 

• We believe that there is only one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in his ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.
• We believe the Bible to be the inspired, inerrant, and only infallible, authoritative Word of God, which exercises ultimate authority over the individual, the Church, and human reason.
• We believe that justification through Christ is received by repentant sinners through faith alone, without works.
• We believe that God, by his Spirit, progressively transforms the lives of those who are justified by God.   
• We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost: they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.
  
   

Worldview is the set of beliefs through which we interpret the world around us.  Whether or not we are aware of the concept, every thinking individual has a worldview.  It is the lens through which we actively or passively, consciously, or subliminally perceive what is real (metaphysics), what is true, (epistemology), and what is of value (axiology).
 
Our worldview governs our attitudes and assumptions about our lives, our relationships with other humans, and the varied world around us.  As educators, our worldview defines what and how we teach, as  well as how we interact with and how we appreciate a diverse population of learners.   Our worldview is determined by what we accept as knowledge and truth how we interpret ethics and morality at home, in  our lives, in our communities, and the schools.  As educators, our worldview determines how we define strategies in education, how and what we teach, what we consider the purpose of education and schooling to be, and how we find acceptable solutions to the problems we face.  
 
With this understanding, the faculty of the Belhaven University School of Education considers it a foundational principle to promote and articulate a worldview based on the Word of God.  
 
All courses in the School of Education have been developed to illuminate and deepen the Education candidate’s understanding of the general concepts of a biblical Christian worldview and develop critical thinking skills that will provide a framework from which the candidate can perceive, construct, and articulate his/her Christian worldview.  All courses in the School of Education integrate faith and learning by incorporating biblical content and biblical principles related to the subject area and content of the course.  School of Education faculty members integrate the study of a Christian worldview and contrast Christianity with the worldviews of modernity and postmodernism, as well as the educational philosophies and worldviews facing Christian educators in today’s schools and education environments: elementary/secondary schools and higher education.

 

The Belhaven University School of Education serving as the Educator Preparation Provider (EPP) has developed and maintains a conceptual framework that is integrated throughout the undergraduate and graduate educator preparation programs at both the initial and advanced levels.  The EPP Conceptual Framework is the result of collaborative efforts between the faculty, administration, partner schools, and the professional education community to reflect the knowledge based regarding current research, best practices, and state and national standards.   
 
The Conceptual Framework defines six key core values identified from the EPP’s vision and mission and are the foundation for the EPP’s Quality Assurance Assessment System (QAAS). These core values are assessed throughout the program and are continuously evaluated and reviewed by the EPP Graduate Faculty Council to inform areas for EPP and program improvement.  

The School of Education’s Christian worldview distinctive is foundational to the EPP’s six core values.  The Christian worldview is to be found and incorporated throughout the six EPP Conceptual Framework core values.


THE EPP’S SIX KEY CORE VALUES THAT DEFINE THE EPP CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Knowledge of Content          Professional Growth
Assessment                          Instructional Methods
Learning Environments         Professional Dispositions
 

THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION THEME EDUCATOR AS SERVANT LEADER

Learning to Lead - Leading to Serve.

 

Belhaven University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on
Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate, baccalaureate, master, and doctoral degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Belhaven University.  
 
Belhaven University School of Education has received accreditation and program approval through the  
Mississippi Department of Education (MDE).  Based on its approved Educator Preparation Programs, the
School of Education has authorization from MDE to make recommendations for initial and advanced  Mississippi Educator Licensure. The School of Education is currently seeking and in the process of recognition for accreditation through the Council of Accreditation of Education Preparation (CAEP), Washington DC.

 

The Belhaven School of Education has developed a Quality Assurance Assessment System that collects, analyzes, and evaluates data on candidate performance, as well as the EPP’s programs to evaluate and improve the Graduate School of Education and its programs.
 
The Quality Assurance Assessment System has been developed to assess institutional, EPP, state, national professional association, and CAEP educator standards.  The EPP’s QAAS is the means for collecting data and provides information on the success of candidates and the effectiveness of the Graduate School of Education Educator Preparation Programs. The EPP collects both qualitative and quantitative data to assess candidate performance.  Multiple assessments from several sources, such as faculty, candidates,  P-12 personnel and alumni, and from more than one type of assessment are used throughout the programs to provide comprehensive data.  These assessments are continuously reviewed and evaluated to provide data that inform both candidates and the EPP concerning candidate progress the impact on teaching and learning in the schools and identifies areas needing improvement.  
 
Candidates involved in the Graduate School of Education will note that in all courses key assessments have been identified and linked to a combination of area and content assessments including institutional goals and the EPP Conceptual Framework core values, and state, national, and CAEP educator standards.

 

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION LEADERSHIP

Dr. David B. Hand
Dean of the School of Education
Stuart Irby Building - Office RM #104
601.968.8703 - dhand@gmail.edu

Dr. Cindy Wilkins
Graduate School of Education Chair
Stuart Irby Building - Office RM #103 B
601.968.8961 - cwilkins@belhaven.edu

Mrs. Carol Simmons
Administrative Assistant and Certification Officer
Stuart Irby Building - Office RM #104
601.968.8703 - cjsimmions@belhaven.edu

Mrs. Fran Powell
Administrative Assistant
Stuart Irby Building - Office RM #103 A
601.965.7045 - fpowell@belhaven.edu
 

MASTER OF ARTS IN TEACHING DEGREE PROGRAM

Dr. Rebekah Mincey
Director of Master of Arts in Teaching MAT-ALT/CERT
Stuart Irby Building - Office RM #101 C
601.968.5957 - rmincey@belhaven.edu
 

MASTER OF EDUCATION DEGREE PROGRAMS

Dr. Stacey Donaldson
Director of Ed. Tech. & TESOL Programs
Stuart Irby Building - Office RM #108
601.968.9813 - sdonaldson@belhaven.edu
 

SCHOOL LEADERSHIP & ADMINISTRATION DEGREE PROGRAMS

Dr. Mariella Simons
Director of M.Ed./Ed.S. Administrative Preparation Studies
Stuart Irby Building - Office RM #102
601.968.8994 - msimons@gmail.edu
 

DOCTOR OF EDUCATION DEGREE

Dr. James Young II
Director of ED.D. Doctoral Studies
Stuart Irby Building - Office RM #112
601.965.7073 - jyoung@gmail.edu

Dr. Tracey Gregory
ED.D. Doctoral Studies
Stuart Irby Building - Office RM #114 A
601.968.8828 - tgregory@belhaven.edu

Mrs. Jennifer Downey
Research Review & Publications Coordinator Doctoral Studies
Stuart Irby Building - Office RM #114 B
601.968.8863 - jdowney@belhaven.edu

Dr. Catherine Wasson
ED.D. Doctoral Studies
Stuart Irby Building - Office RM #101 D
601.968.5955 - cwasson@belhaven.edu.