Information for Educational Specialist - Administration students seeking principalship certification
Please contact Dr. Tom Frankman, Associate Dean of Academic Services at tom.frankman@williamwoods.edu or 573-592-1166 if you have any questions.
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This message explains the route available for students in William Woods University’s Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) program that wish to earn Missouri certification as an Elementary Principal (K-8) or Secondary Principal (7-12).
Required Courses
There are three courses needed in addition to the Specialist - Administration program of study to meet course requirements for Missouri principalship certification.
Those courses at William Woods are:
EDU 535 (or 536) - Elementary (or Secondary) Administration
EDU 545 (or 546) - Elementary (or Secondary) Curriculum
EDU 598 (or 599) - Elementary (or Secondary) Field Experience
This group of courses is referred to as "principalship courses" elsewhere in this message. You would also need to pass the state's principalship examination and hold teaching certification at the initial level or higher for the university to recommend you to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for building-level certification.
Each of the principalship courses are three credits. The administration and curriculum courses are six weeks long and part of our Master of Education - Administration program of study. They must be completed before beginning the field experience course, which is 10 weeks long.
Schedule of Course Sections
A list of upcoming sections of the administration and curriculum courses is attached. You may take these courses in either order. If you see sections that you wish to enroll in, please e-mail me so that the registration can be processed. Since most of our MED and EdS courses are offered on Wednesday evenings, you may find it most convenient to take the three principalship courses after completing your EdS program.
You are required to take the EDU 598 or 599 course and to begin logging hours for your principalship field experience after finishing the field experience course in your specialist program (EDU 697) and after finishing the principalship administration (EDU 535 or 536) and curriculum (EDU 545 or 546) courses.
The primary reason for this timing of the principalship field experience is that you will be meeting the state’s other principalship certification requirements through the rest of the specialist program’s courses, the administration course and the curriculum course. The field experience is designed to be the conclusion of that certification sequence. We encourage you to take the ISLLC exam after your field experience so that you will have addressed all of the competencies before you take the examination.
The offices of the Registrar and of the Dean of Education coordinate to schedule sections of EDU 598 and EDU 599. Sections of this course do not start in June or July because of the general lack of applicable building-level field experience opportunities during those months.
How to Enroll
If you wish to register for principalship courses, please send me an email identifying the location and dates and I will process your request for the Registrar's office. Please note that you might not be eligible for most types of financial aid if you take the principalship courses before you begin taking your cohort courses because you need to be registered for courses in the degree program (not just accepted into it) for financial aid eligibility.
Financial Aid Information
There are factors involving your graduation date and financial aid regulations that you may need to consider if you take the principalship courses. If you choose to graduate with your EdS cohort, any principalship courses you took after then would likely not be eligible for federal financial aid. This is because the three courses would not be considered part of a degree program, a designation necessary for federal financial aid eligibility.
Under WWU’s implementation of the new federal guidelines, you will need to complete at least nine credit hours (credits) every 21 weeks to be a full-time student for aid purposes. Each 21-week block is called a “payment period” and there are two payment periods in each 42-week aid calendar year. You will also need to complete 18 credits each calendar year for full-time aid eligibility.
Please note when you select dates for your principalship courses that courses that begin in one payment period and end in another are not eligible for aid.
Degree Option
You have the option of changing your William Woods degree program to Specialist with Principalship Certification and graduating after you complete the principalship courses. Which route you take will reflect your personal priorities. Some students wish to have the specialist degree at the earliest possible date for professional and/or financial (i.e., salary scale) reasons. Others prefer to wait so that they can take advantage of the additional financial aid options for the principalship courses.
Please note that this is an option. You are not required to change your degree to Specialist with Principal certification to take the principalship courses or to be recommended for building-level certification by William Woods.
Michelle Payne, our financial aid coordinator, can provide additional information concerning financial aid. She may be reached at mpayne1@williamwoods.edu or at 573-592-4215.
Special Education Director Option
William Woods also offers coursework needed for certification as a Special Education Director (K-12). The administration and curriculum courses for this certification are taught online twice a year and are eight weeks long. The schedule of upcoming sections of these courses is available on our website. Please contact me if you are interested in this building-level certification. If you send me an email identifying the sections that you wish to join, I will gladly take care of the registration paperwork.
