Gwynedd Mercy University 2025-2026 University Catalog 107
Should the student contract a contagious disease, such as measles, mumps, whooping cough, or other, a note from a physician indicating the name of the illness and the quarantine period is required. The student teacher must inform the cooperating teacher, university supervisor, and Coordinator of Field Placements( CFP). The CFP will inform the Dean, who will appropriately communicate a message to the Health Services Office for further action.
During the 16-week placement, the student teacher follows the morning arrival time and the afternoon departure time of the cooperating teacher in the placement school. This is the time that is specified in the district’ s teacher contract or professional agreement. While the student is not required to attend any activities beyond the hours of the contracted teacher workday, such experiences will help with professional growth, i. e., School Board meeting, PTA meeting.
Academic Progress, Probation and Program Dismissal:
• The student must have a minimum GPA of 3.0.
• Any grade below a C + in a course within the major must be repeated.
• The student must have completed at least six credits in college level mathematics and at least three credits in college level composition and three credits in English.
• Secondary education students must apply to the discipline program, as well as the College of Arts, Sciences, and Professional Studies( certification) by the 48 – 60 credit mark.
• If the above criteria are not met by the 48 – 60 credit mark, students will either remain in or move to the BS in Education Studies or choose to change their major. Secondary students will change their major to their content area only.
Course Withdrawal Policies: Same as the University.
Experiential Learning: Teacher Apprentice Program( TAP); Pre-Student Teaching and Student Teaching Students are responsible for their own transportation to and from off-campus experiential learning opportunities.
Application: Applications for Pre-Student and Student Teaching are due on February 1 st of the year prior to Pre- Student Teaching. Students should carefully rank their placement choices from the list of approved schools on the back of the application. The Field Placement Coordinator will attempt to secure the student’ s first choice of placement. If the first-choice school is unavailable, the Placement Coordinator will move to the second placement choice. Once a placement request has been submitted to a school district, placement requests may not be altered unless a school district cannot supply a placement.
Pre-Student and Student Teaching: Approval to pre-student or student teach is not automatically granted upon completion of academic requirements. If weakness or deficiencies are noted in subject matter, knowledge, pedagogy, communications, or interpersonal skills, the Dean may require the student to take corrective action, such as additional coursework, additional practicum, personal counseling, or pursue another major.
The Privilege of Pre-Student Teaching: The student will be granted the privilege of entering into prestudent teaching only if the following requirements are met:
• Formal acceptance into the relevant certification programs;