Gwynedd Mercy University 2026-2027 University Catalog
Attendance and Punctuality: Students are required to attend courses and field placements every day and to be punctual, prepared, and enthusiastic about the tasks.
Absences, late arrivals or early departures are not acceptable during student teaching. In an extreme emergency, the student must:
• Obtain approval from the Coordinator of Field Placements to be absent.
• Inform the cooperating teacher, university supervisor, and seminar professor.
• Work with the university supervisor to make up the absence. Any absence( s) will be reviewed by the program faculty to determine whether the final student teaching grade will be impacted. Without approval by the coordinator, an absence, lateness, or early departure may result in removal from student teaching and an inability to become certified.
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, Fall Festival, Spring Fling.
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, Math 103 + 104, and at least three credits in college level composition and three credits in English, ENG 100 + 101.
• 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
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