Current through Rules and Regulations filed through March 20, 2024
(1)
Purpose. The Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC)
recognizes only those colleges and universities that have attained
accreditation from specific, GaPSC-accepted accreditation agencies as a minimum
qualitative standard. Additional accreditation requirements apply to colleges
and universities at which educators earn degrees in order to upgrade their
certificates (See GaPSC Rule
505-2-.33 CERTIFICATE UPGRADE).
Accreditation may also be required of P-12 schools and early care centers in
order for certified educator experience earned in those settings to be
considered for certification purposes (See GaPSC Rule
505-2-.25 EXPERIENCE
REQUIREMENTS).
(2)
Acceptable
Postsecondary Accrediting Organizations.
(a) The GaPSC accepts accrediting
organizations that are recognized by either The Council for Higher Education
Accreditation (CHEA) or the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE). These
accrediting organizations, which include a wide range of national, regional,
specialized and professional accrediting bodies, have completed an evaluation
process to verify acceptable levels of quality and performance.
(b) Georgia educators seeking advanced
degrees for a certificate level upgrade must complete degrees that meet
additional requirements found in GaPSC Rule
505-2-.33 CERTIFICATE
UPGRADE.
(c) Electronic links to
the approved accrediting agencies are as follows:
1. Council for Higher Education
Accreditation:
www.chea.org:
(i) National Organizations:
(I) Faith-Related;
(II) Career-Related; and
(III) Programmatic;
(ii) Regional Organizations; and
(iii) Database of Accredited Institutions and
Programs;
2. USDOE:
www.ed.gov:
(i) Regional and National
Institutions;
3.
NCATE/TEAC/CAEP:
http://caepnet.org/;
and
4. Carnegie
Classifications:
http://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu:
(i) Research University/Very High;
and
(ii) Research University/High.
(3)
Acceptable P-12 Accrediting Organizations.
(a) Acceptable P-12 educational settings for
GaPSC-accepted educator experience are outlined in GaPSC Rule
505-2-.25 EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS. As
outlined in that rule, accreditation is required in some circumstances. A list
of acceptable P-12 accrediting organizations is maintained on the GaPSC website
at
www.gapsc.com. The GaPSC also accepts any
P-12 accreditation recognized by the agency that oversees P-12 education in the
state or jurisdiction in which the accredited school is based.
(4)
Acceptable Early Care
Accrediting Organizations.
(a)
Acceptable early care educational settings for GaPSC-accepted educator
experience are outlined in GaPSC Rule
505-2-.25 EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS. As
outlined in that rule, accreditation is required in some circumstances. A list
of acceptable early care accrediting organizations is maintained on the GaPSC
website at
www.gapsc.com.The GaPSC also
accepts any early care accreditation recognized by the agency that oversees
early care in the state or jurisdiction in which the accredited early care
center is based.
(5)
Accreditation Requirements. In order to be accepted for
certification purposes in Georgia, degrees and educator preparation programs
must be completed at a GaPSC-accepted accredited institution that held
acceptable accreditation at the time the individual was admitted to the
program.
(a) Out-of-state approved programs
(See GaPSC Rule
505-2-.22 CERTIFICATION BY
STATE-APPROVED PROGRAM) completed at the bachelor's degree level at an
institution that is not GaPSC-approved as accredited will not be subject to the
validation requirement.
(6)
Validation of Non-Accredited
Degrees. Validation of a bachelor's degree from non GaPSC-accepted
institutions must be accomplished by completing course work at a GaPSC-accepted
accredited graduate school. Also, a degree from a currently accepted accredited
institution must be validated if it was earned at a time when that institution
was not accredited.
(a) To validate a
bachelor's degree from a college with accreditation not accepted by GaPSC, the
applicant must have earned nine (9) semester hours of acceptable graduate
credit at a GaPSC-accepted accredited graduate school. All course work for
validation must be earned with a grade of "B" or better in each course. The
course work must be earned in the field in which certification is sought or
toward a planned master's or higher degree program.
(b) If a master's or higher-level degree was
earned at an institution with accreditation not accepted by the GaPSC, the
degree will not be accepted for certification purposes under any conditions.
These degrees cannot be validated.
O.C.G.A. §
20-2-200.
