Matriculation and Continuation Standards
Requirements for acceptance into the school health education major program include: meeting Hofstra University’s general admissions standards and an interview with the program coordinator for advisement and scheduling. All school health education majors must meet the following criteria to continue in the program:
- A cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or better in the following categories:
- All course work completed at Hofstra
- All required school health education major course work.
- Recommendation of the major adviser.
- Recommendation of the School Health Education Program Coordinator.
Final admission to the program is made by the Chairperson of the Department of Health Professions and Kinesiology upon recommendation of the department faculty.
Student Teaching Prerequisites
After completing at least 19 hours of professional education course work, including the special teaching-methods courses, students may apply for admission into student teaching. Application forms may be obtained from the Office of Field Placement in Hagedorn Hall and returned by May 1 for the succeeding spring semester and February 15 for the succeeding fall semester. Admission criteria are as follows:
- A cumulative GPA of 2.5 on overall course work or permission of adviser;
- No grade lower than C- and no unresolved INC grades in professional education course work;
- A GPA of 2.5 or higher in all course work.
Degree Requirements - Total Semester Hours: 128
In order to ensure that prospective teachers have a broad education in the liberal arts and sciences, all students must complete course work from each of the content areas as described on the distribution sheet for the program. The Bachelor of Science degree program in School Health Education requires 64 hours of study in the liberal arts and sciences. While the student has some flexibility, the following list of course work must be completed as part of those 64 semester hours in liberal arts and sciences. Some of the courses can be found in more than one category.
Candidates for graduation must fulfill the following requirements:
1. Successful Completion of at Least 128 Semester Hours
Successful completion of at least 128 semester hours and a cumulative grade point
average of 2.5 in work completed at Hofstra.
2. Liberal Arts
At least 64 semester hours must be in liberal arts.
3. Residence Requirements
There are two requirements that must ordinarily be completed in residence at
Hofstra: 15 semester hours in the major field of specialization, including student
teaching, and the last 30 hours. The 15 hours need not be included within the
last 30 hours.
Teacher Certification Requirements
Upon the successful completion of a Hofstra state-approved teacher education program, students are eligible for the University’s recommendation for New York state certification. A request for recommendation must be submitted to the Office of Educational Support Services the semester in which the student is graduating. There will be opportunities to attend a certification workshop during the student’s final semester, to receive all the necessary information regarding applying for certification. Students who apply directly to New York state for certification are responsible for learning about and satisfying the certification requirements set by the state. It should be noted that such requirements may differ from those in Hofstra’s registered programs.
All prospective early childhood (Birth-Grade 2), elementary (Grades 1-6), secondary (Grades 7-12) and special subject teachers as well as educational leaders are required to pass the New York State Teachers Certification Examinations (NYSTCE) administered by National Evaluation Systems, Inc., for state certification requirements. Students should consult with the Office of Educational Support Services regarding the appropriate examinations for their area of study.
We anticipate that teacher and school building leader candidates applying for certification on or after May 1st, 2014, will be required to take certain new exams. At the February 2012 meeting, the New York State Board of Regents approved a change to the implementation schedule for the new testing requirements for the initial certification of teachers and school building leaders. Please contact the office of Educational Support Services at Hofstra University at (516) 463-5747 or consult the state website.
For candidates graduating prior to May 2013, it is strongly recommended that students complete the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test (LAST) prior to student teaching, and the Assessment of Teaching Skills Written (ATS-W) and the Content Specialty Test (CST) during student teaching. Students not receiving passing scores on these examinations will not be eligible for certification.
In addition to fulfilling the required courses of study, the Commissioner’s Regulations mandate that all prospective teachers, pupil personnel and education leaders receive instructions regarding:
- Identification of Child Abuse and Maltreatment
- Fire and Arson Prevention
- School Violence Prevention and Intervention
- Prevention of Alcohol, Tobacco and Drug Abuse
- Highway and School Safety/Prevention of Child Abduction
New York state legislation also requires all persons seeking certification in special education, speech and language disabilities or school administrators working in special education, to have training in the area of children with autism.
Hofstra University offers the above listed educational law seminars through the Office of Educational Support Services. All of these seminars must be completed before the conferral of the degree and recommendation for certification.
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