Resources & Information

Educator Disposition Assessment (EDA)

Clinical Experiences

West Virginia Teacher Performance Assessment (WVTPA)

Programmatic Standards

Standard 1 – Content and Pedagogical Knowledge

Key Assessment Data

Additional Information

Standard 2 – Clinical Partnerships and Practice

Standard 3 – Candidates Quality, Recruitment and Selectivity 

Standard 4 – Program Impact

Standard 5 – Provider Quality Assurance and Continuous Improvement

Candidates enrolled in education courses are required to complete annual background checks through CastleBranch before they can participate in an early clinical experience. Background checks must be ordered by the third Friday of the semester in which clinical experience participation is needed. Background checks can take up to 3 weeks from the order date to be processed by CastleBranch; please place orders on time to prevent delay in beginning a clinical experience. Background checks are valid for 1 academic year from order placement.

Candidates will NOT be permitted to participate in an early clinical experience until a background check has been ordered, the results have been received by the CU Department of Education, and the background check has been reviewed and cleared.  Once your background check has been received and cleared, your early clinical experience will be assigned in LiveText. If your background check is unsatisfactory, you will be notified by our Office and your clinical experience(s) will be placed on hold. This hold will result in a referral to the Admission, Retention, and Dismissal Committee (ARD) to review the charges listed on the background check. If cleared by the ARD Committee, you will be allowed to begin your clinical experience(s). Minor traffic violations/charges (speeding tickets, expired insurance/registration, faulty equipment, failure to yield/stop, etc.) will appear on this background check, but will not result in ARD committee review. Repeated charges, felonies, and charges related to drug/alcohol use will result in ARD review; it’s possible that the charges would prevent you from obtaining your initial teaching license through the WVDE.

Students must cover the cost of the background check themselves; it is not included in course fees. Our partnership with CastleBranch provides a discounted rate of $50 for the initial check, and $25 for each follow-up check. Should you need assistance with this cost, please apply for the CU Gap Fund through the Center for Academic and Career Development. CU Gap Fund applications can take around a month to process. Please inform our office if you applied for assistance so that we know your background check will be delayed. Official results will be provided directly from CastleBranch to the CU Department of Education Office via our online administrator account; there is no need to send our office a copy of your results.

Candidates who are currently employed by a school system, daycare or head-start facility do not need to order a CastleBranch background check. These candidates will need to provide the CU Department of Education Office with a copy of the background check results completed for employment by the third Friday of the semester. If this background check was not completed within 1 year form the last day of the semester, a CastleBranch background check will be required.

Candidates who are participating in a clinical experience within a county that requires a separate background check, can use that background check in leiu of one through CastleBranch. These candidates will need to provide the CU Department of Education Office with a copy of the background check results prior to participation in a clinical experience.

How to order a CastleBranch background check:

  1. Go to https://discover.castlebranch.com  – select ‘PLACE ORDER’
    • If this is your first CastleBranch background check for a CU clinical experience, use package code DL01 or DL01ac ($50 initial check fee)
    • If you have already completed a CastleBranch background check for a CU clinical experience, CastleBanch will accept discount package code DL01re ($25 follow-up check fee)
  2. Select the ‘Please Select’ drop-down, then select the ‘Teacher Education’ drop-down, then select ‘DL01:Background Check’
  3. On the ‘Package Review’ screen check ‘I have read order instructions’ at the bottom of the screen. Select ‘Click to Continue’
  4. On the ‘Please Review’ screen check ‘I have read, understand and agree to the Terms and Conditions of Use’. Select continue
  5. ORDER SCREEN #1 Complete the Personal Information & Personal Identifiers sections (double check to make sure your SSN is correct!). Select continue
  6. ORDER SCREEN #2 Create your username & password (please use your @mycu email address). Select create account
  7. ORDER SCREEN #3 Select your current County from the drop-down menu. All other fields should already be populated with your name. Select next
  8. ORDER SCREEN #4 Select ‘No thanks, continue with my order’ (if you really want a badge, you can order one, but it isn’t really needed). Select next
  9. ORDER SCREEN #5 Review your personal information. Select next
  10. ORDER SCREEN #6 Enter your payment information. Select submit
  11. ORDER SCREEN #7 Print/Save your order confirmation for your records. Click next to access your account and review your order/check

Residency / Student Teaching Information

University Supervisor Information

Clinical Experiences

West Virginia Teacher Performance Assessment (WVTPA)

Programmatic Standards

WV Mentor Training

Effective January 1, 2019  West Virginia Department of Education Policy 5100 now requires mentor teachers (cooperating educators) of methods block students, and student teachers to meet the following requirements:

  • hold a valid West Virginia five year teaching credential in the content area of the candidate placed in his/her classroom with a minimum of five years of teaching experience;
  • hold “Accomplished” or higher as a summative performance rating on the West Virginia Educator Evaluation during the last two years of employment; AND
  • have successfully completed a WVBE-approved mentor/induction coaching course, at no cost to the teacher, OR hold or be eligible for the Master Mentor Advanced Credential OR hold certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).

The Policy 5100 Training Module will take no more than one hour to go through the online training (a series of 47 PowerPoint slides and short video clips), and to complete the quiz at the end of the training. The questions on the quiz are straightforward and in many cases can be answered by having had previous experience as a mentor teacher.

At the conclusion of the 6 modules there will be a quiz that you are to complete. Please note that the quiz cannot be submitted from an iPad, tablet or mobile device.  You must score a 100% to pass the quiz. You may take each quiz multiple times until you receive a grade of 100%. If you miss a question, that question will be identified along with you choice.  Several of the questions are true/false, which means that you simply choose the other answer.  The 18 questions repeat each time.  If necessary, review the modules to help you select the right answer.  You may also open other browsers while taking the quiz if necessary.  Please note: If you retake the Quiz, Questions 1-18 will remain in the order but the answer selections for Questions 1-18 will shuffle. If you cannot complete the training and quiz at one setting you can go back at another time and finish your work.

Policy 5100 Training Module

  • Welcome to the Policy 5100 training: This Training Module includes 6 Modules:
    • Module 1 – Roles and Responsibilities
    • Module 2 – Working With Adult Learners
    • Module 3 – Ethical Behavior
    • Module 4 – Framework for Teaching
    • Module 5 – Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA)
    • Module 6 – Co-Teaching

Register for the training​
*If you receive an Authentication Error after entering your login and password, then contact Donna Landin at dlandin@k12.wv.us

Again, Concord in no way wants to add to the responsibilities of classroom teachers, but we feel strongly that the presence of a student teacher should only enhance the classroom learning environment.  We are requesting that mentor teachers consider how the benefits of having a well-prepared student teacher in the classroom outweigh the addition of the online training requirement.  We hope that the teachers who have mentored and guided our beginning educators for years will know how vital the student teaching experience is in order to provide for the many teaching vacancies throughout our area, and will continue to serve in that role. This service is greatly appreciated by Concord University.

Objective 1. Content and Pedagogical Knowledge

Ensure that candidates develop an understanding of the critical concepts and principles of their discipline and facilitates candidates’ reflection of their personal biases to increase their understanding and practice of equity, diversity, and inclusion. The provider is intentional in the development of their curriculum and clinical experiences for candidates to demonstrate their ability to effectively work with diverse P-12 students and their families.

  • 1.1 The Learner and Learning – The provider ensures candidates are able to apply their knowledge of the learner and learning at the appropriate progression levels. Evidence provided should demonstrate that candidates are able to apply critical concepts and principles of learner development (InTASC Standard 1), learning differences (InTASC Standard 2), and creating safe and supportive learning environments (InTASC Standard 3) in order to work effectively with diverse P-12 students and their families.
  • 1.2 Content – The provider ensures candidates are able to apply their knowledge of content at the appropriate progression levels. Evidence provided demonstrates candidates know central concepts of their content area (InTASC Standard 4) and are able to apply the content in developing equitable and inclusive learning experiences (InTASC Standard 5) for diverse P-12 students. Outcome data can be provided from a Specialized Professional Associations (SPA) process, a state review process, or an evidence review of Standard 1.
  • 1.3 Instructional Practice ​- The provider ensures that candidates are able to apply their knowledge of InTASC standards relating to instructional practice at the appropriate progression levels. Evidence demonstrates how candidates are able to assess (InTASC Standard 6), plan for instruction (InTASC Standard 7), and utilize a variety of instructional strategies (InTASC Standard 8) to provide equitable and inclusive learning experiences for diverse P-12 students. Providers ensure candidates model and apply national or state approved technology standards to engage and improve learning for all students.
  • 1.4 Professional Responsibility – The provider ensures candidates are able to apply their knowledge of professional responsibility at the appropriate progression levels. Evidence provided should demonstrate candidates engage in professional learning, act ethically (InTASC Standard 9), take responsibility for student learning and collaborate with others (InTASC Standard 10) to work effectively with diverse P-12 students and their families.

Objective 2. Clinical Partnerships and Practice

The provider ensures effective partnerships and high-quality clinical practice are central to candidate preparation. These experiences should be designed to develop candidate’s knowledge, skills, and professional dispositions to demonstrate positive impact on diverse students’ learning and development. High quality clinical practice offers candidates experiences in different settings and modalities, as well as with diverse P-12 students, schools, families, and communities. Partners share responsibility to identify and address real problems of practice candidates experience in their engagement with P-12 students.

  • 2.1 Partnerships for Clinical Preparation – Partners co-construct mutually beneficial P-12 school and community arrangements for clinical preparation and share responsibility for continuous improvement of candidate preparation.
  • 2.2 Clinical Educators – Partners co-select, prepare, evaluate, and support high-quality clinical educators, both provider- and school-based, who demonstrate a positive impact on candidates’ development and diverse P-12 student learning and development.
  • 2.3 Clinical Experiences – The provider works with partners to design and implement clinical experiences, utilizing various modalities, of sufficient depth, breadth, diversity, coherence, and duration to ensure candidates demonstrate their developing effectiveness and positive impact on diverse P-12 students’ learning and development as presented in Standard R1.

Objective 3. Candidate Recruitment, Progression, and Support

The provider demonstrates the quality of candidates is a continuous and purposeful focus from recruitment through completion. The provider demonstrates that development of candidate quality is the goal of educator preparation and that the EPP provides supports services (such as advising, remediation, and mentoring) in all phases of the program so candidates will be successful.

  • 3.1 Recruitment – The provider presents goals and progress evidence for recruitment of high-quality candidates from a broad range of backgrounds and diverse populations that align with their mission. The provider demonstrates efforts to know and address local, state, regional, or national needs for hard-to-staff schools and shortage fields. The goals and evidence should address progress towards a candidate pool which reflects the diversity of America’s P-12 students.
  • 3.2 Monitoring and Supporting Candidate Progression​ – The provider creates and monitors transition points from admission through completion that indicate candidates’ developing content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, pedagogical skills, critical dispositions, professional responsibilities, and the ability to integrate technology effectively in their practice. The provider identifies a transition point at any point in the program when a cohort grade point average of 3.0 is achieved and monitors this data. The provider ensures knowledge of and progression through transition points are transparent to candidates. The provider plans and documents the need for candidate support, as identified in disaggregated data by race and ethnicity and such other categories as may be relevant for the EPP’s mission, so candidates meet milestones. The provider has a system for effectively maintaining records of candidate complaints, including complaints made to CAEP, and documents the resolution.
  • 3.3 Competency at Completion​ – The provider ensures candidates possess academic competency to teach effectively with positive impacts on diverse P-12 student learning and development through application of content knowledge, foundational pedagogical skills, and technology integration in the field(s) where certification is sought. Multiple measures are provided and data are disaggregated and analyzed based on race, ethnicity, and such other categories as may be relevant for the EPP’s mission.

Objective 4. Program Impact

The provider demonstrates the effectiveness of its completers’ instruction on P-12 student learning and development, and completer and employer satisfaction with the relevance and effectiveness of preparation.

  • 4.1 Completer Effectiveness​ – The provider demonstrates that program completers effectively contribute to P-12 student-learning growth, and apply in P-12 classrooms the professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions that the preparation experiences were designed to achieve. In addition, the provider includes a rationale for the data elements provided.
  • 4.2 Satisfaction of Employers – The provider demonstrates employers are satisfied with the completers’ preparation for their assigned responsibilities in working with diverse P-12 students and their families
  • 4.3 Satisfaction of Completers – The provider demonstrates program completers perceive their preparation as relevant to the responsibilities they encounter on the job, and their preparation was effective.

Objective 5. Quality Assurance and Continuous Improvement

The provider maintains a quality assurance system that consists of valid data from multiple measures and supports continuous improvement that is sustained and evidence-based. The system is developed and maintained with input from internal and external stakeholders. The provider uses the results of inquiry and data collection to establish priorities, enhance program elements, and highlight innovations.

  • 5.1 Quality Assurance System​ – The provider has developed, implemented, and modified, as needed, a functioning quality assurance system that ensures a sustainable process to document operational effectiveness. The provider documents how data enter the system, how data are reported and used in decision making, and how the outcomes of those decisions inform programmatic improvement.
  • 5.2 Data Quality​ – The provider’s quality assurance system from 5.1 relies on relevant, verifiable, representative, cumulative, and actionable measures to ensure interpretations of data are valid and consistent.
  • 5.3 Stakeholder Involvement​ – The provider includes relevant internal (e.g., EPP administrators, faculty, staff, candidates) and external (e.g., alumni, practitioners, school and community partners, employers) stakeholders in program design, evaluation, and continuous improvement processes.
  • 5.4 Continuous Improvement​ – The provider regularly, systematically, and continuously assesses performance against its goals and relevant standards, tracks results over time, documents modifications and/or innovations and their effects on EPP outcomes.

Objective 6. Fiscal and Administrative Capacity

The EPP has the fiscal and administrative capacity, faculty, infrastructure (facilities, equipment, and supplies) and other resources as appropriate to the scale of its operations and as necessary for the preparation of candidates to meet professional, state, and institutional standards. For EPPs whose institution is accredited by an accreditor recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education (e.g., SACSCOC, HLC), such accreditation will be considered sufficient evidence of compliance with Standard 6. If an EPP’s institution is not accredited by an accreditor recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education, the EPP must address each component of ST 6 in narrative supported by evidence.

  • 6.1 Fiscal Resources The EPP has the fiscal capacity as appropriate to the scale of its operations. The budget for curriculum, instruction, faculty, clinical work, scholarship, etc., supports high quality work within the EPP and its school partners for the preparation of professional educators.
  • 6.2 Administrative Capacity The EPP has administrative capacity as appropriate to the scale of its operations, including leadership and authority to plan, deliver, and operate coherent programs of study so that their candidates are prepared to meet all standards. Academic calendars, catalogs, publications, grading policies, and advertising are current, accurate, and transparent.
  • 6.3 Faculty Resources The EPP has professional education faculty that have earned doctorates or equivalent P-12 teaching experience that qualifies them for their assignments. The EPP provides adequate resources and opportunities for professional development of faculty, including training in the use of technology.
  • 6.4 Infrastructure The EPP has adequate campus and school facilities, equipment, and supplies to support candidates in meeting standards. The infrastructure supports faculty and candidate use of information technology in instruction

LiveText is an internet-based subscription service used for assignment submission, clinical experience management, standards integration and assessment throughout Concord University’s Teacher Education Program. Concord University uses LiveText extensively in all clinical experiences.

Candidates must purchase a LiveText membership by the third Friday of the semester in which they are enrolled in their first course that requires a clinical experience. Candidates must purchase “LiveText with Field Experience Edition.” When creating an account, candidates should use their @mycu email address. LiveText subscription is valid for seven years from the date of purchase.

Candidates who purchases a livetext access code through the CU bookstore, they must then register the access code at livetext.com. Purchasing through the CU bookstore will cost $226 (as of Fall 2023). If a candidate purchases their membership directly from livetext.com it will cost $113 (as of Fall 2023). Candidates who have opted-in to the Follett Access Program have a LiveText membership included in their package; they do not need to purchase another membership.

Transfer students who used LiveText at another institution, will need to e-mail LiveText and request to have their account transferred from the previous institution to Concord University. Make sure to include username, name of previous institution, and a phone number. Once the account has been transferred, it will be necessary to log in and change the school e-mail address and ID number to the ones provided by CU.

For more information on LiveText, please review the following:

Department of Education, Teacher Education Professional Learning Community (TEPLC) & NOYCE Grant Meetings

Educator Preparation Provider Advisory Committee (EPPAC) Meetings

Professional Development Schools (PDS) Meetings

The Department of Education provides a variety of measures to facilitate candidates’ successful performance including the following:

  • Assignment of an appropriate advisor
  • Special summer advising
  • Report of mid-term grades
  • Individual letters to candidates upon application and acceptance to the program
  • Individual letters to candidates upon application and acceptance to student teaching
  • Student teaching placement meetings provide for discussion and questions
  • Exit interviews with student teachers identify program strengths and recommendations for program improvement

A variety of support services are available including the Concord Child Development Center, Student Support Services, Autism Center, and the Financial Aid Office.

  • CPAC – Concord Principle Advisory Council – Comprised of P-12 principles and administrators that participate in candidate program assessment data analysis with EPP faculty. The CPAC also assists and advises the EPP in relevant matters associated with educator preparation to ensure candidates are prepared for the profession.
  • CTEC – Concord Teacher Education Council – Comprised of P-12 teachers that participate in candidate program assessment data analysis with EPP faculty. The CTEC also assists and advises the EPP in relevant matters associated with educator preparation to ensure candidates are prepared for the profession.
  • EPPAC – Educator Preparation Provider Advisory Council – Comprised of public school and higher education teachers and administrators who advise the chief teacher education officer of the EPP on educator preparation matters. Concord’s EPPAC also includes faculty representation for all licensure programs offered within the educator preparation program.
  • Professional Development Schools (PDS) (no longer in effect) – Concord University’s PDS partnership is a grant funded program that is supported by the West Virginia Department of Education, and allows our Department of Education to partner with public schools in our WV service area. Teacher Candidates are place in our service area schools, beginning with our PDS Partner schools if requested, to help ensure placement in diverse and supportive environments.