American/International School Educators

Transcription

1 Certificate of Educational Technology and Information Literacy (CoETaIL) With an option for a Multidisciplinary Studies, Master of Science (M.S.) Degree American/International School Educators The Certificate of Educational Technology and Information Literacy (CoETaIL) was developed by Jeff Utecht and Kim Cofino, Google Apps EDU Certified Trainers and Apple Distinguished Educators. CoETaIL is based on best practice student-centered online learning theories and techniques harnessing the newest and latest in Web 2.0 technologies. The program leads educators through a process demonstrating how to use technologies and allowing educators to apply their learning in their own school and classroom. The full certificate program requires five courses (15 credits) administered by Buffalo State, SUNY. Participants in the program can also apply those credits towards the Buffalo State, SUNY Master s degree in Multidisciplinary Studies program. Numerous national as well as over 1000 international educators are currently enrolled in this degree program designed for internationally-minded educators. The degree requires 30 graduate semester credits and 15 of those credits can be earned through completion of the CoETaIL. Participants have the option to complete the CoETaIL regardless of whether they choose to continue with a Master s degree. This is advantageous to those educators who would like to earn credits for licensure renewal or certification purposes in the U.S., Canada as well as many other countries in the world. Educators who have been awarded the CoETaIL can continue their Master s degree program by completing five additional courses (15 graduate credits). The two required courses, EDF 689 Methods and Techniques of Educational Research (action research) and EDU 690 Master s Project (culminating curriculum or other research-based project) are offered as on-line courses. Three additional credits can be earned through participation in the Regional Education Association Conferences (NESA, EARCOS, Tri Association, CEESA, MAIS, ECIS, and AASSA). The remaining two courses are electives selected in consultation with your assigned advisor from Buffalo State. Those courses can be completed at one of the 30+ international school sites that currently host our program or offered independently on-line. Buffalo State, SUNY is the largest college in the State University of New York (SUNY) system and is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and by the Board of Regents, State University of New York. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) accredits the professional education programs. SUNY, a statewide system of 64 campuses, is the largest, most diverse multi-campus university in the U.S. The International Graduate Programs for Educators Office of Buffalo State, SUNY is responsible for the Master of Science (M.S.) degree program in Multidisciplinary Studies for American/International Schools educators. Numerous American/International schools host the same Master s degree program on site throughout the school year over a two-three year period of time. Page1&

2 The awarding of the Certificate does not provide Certification or Licensure although the courses offered are frequently applicable towards certification in most states. United States colleges/universities do not grant certification. Certification or Licensure is obtained through State Education Departments. For more information regarding U.S. certification and/or licensure the following website is linked to state certification offices: Our staff is dedicated to helping you and we look forward to working with you. Please let us know at any time if you have questions or concerns, and we will be sure to respond promptly. Carolyn Brunner, Director Grace Vogt, Admissions Leah Loveless, Finance and PD William F. Irene, Candidacy/Plan of Study Cathy Molenda, Course registration/graduation Brandon Kawa, Plans of Study/Finance ADMISSIONS for Certificate Programs and Master s Degrees Please contact Mrs. Grace Vogt, Admissions Coordinator, with admission questions at intlearning@buffalostate.edu. Please make copies of all of your submitted forms. It is important to use the same name on all of your forms that you use on your Graduate Admission Application. Thank you for choosing Buffalo State, SUNY to continue your education. Below are the guidelines for admission into the Certificate and Master s Degree Program offered through the International Graduate Program for Educators. Applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree from an institution that is accredited by an approved U.S. regional accrediting agency or a degree that is equivalent to a U.S. four-year bachelor's degree. Students must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5 (4.0 scale) in the baccalaureate degree. Buffalo State maintains a student-managed admissions process that requires an applicant to submit a complete application packet with all required components by the appropriate deadline. Thus, applicants are assured the admissions committee has all the necessary information to evaluate their qualifications. Applicants are cautioned that a significant amount of time is required by the Graduate School to process an application and make an admission recommendation. Please note that the fall semester deadline is actually after the fall semester has ended. This later deadline allows new faculty adequate time to obtain necessary admission documents. Applicants may complete up to 6 credits prior to acceptance into our Master s Program. If an applicant is not accepted by the completion of 2 courses, a hold will be placed on the applicants record and the applicant will be unable to register for any further coursework until they are officially accepted. Credit for the completed coursework will be applied towards the applicants degree if and only if the applicant is accepted into the degree program. Page2&

3 Semester FALL (August 10 December 10) SPRING (January 2- May 10) SUMMER (May 15 August 5th) Deadline January 7 (after the fall semester) April 15 (mid spring semester) August 5 (end summer semester) All forms are available from the International Graduate Programs for Educators Office website at and/or the designated contact person from the host school. Applications for Graduate School admission will not be processed until a complete APPLICATION PACKET is received by International Graduate Programs for Educators. Do not send the packet to any other office or campus address. Anyone with an incomplete application will be notified by , resulting in a delay in processing. Coursework is not applicable to a degree or certificate program until you are formally admitted. Applicants must assume full responsibility for knowledge of all of the deadlines and requirements for admission as detailed in this document. All required documents must be submitted by the appropriate deadline to: International Graduate Programs for Educators 430C South Wing Buffalo State, State University of New York 1300 Elmwood Avenue Buffalo, NY USA Once an applicant has been officially accepted, Mrs. Vogt will an acceptance letter to you using the address you provided on your Application for Admission. Please do not use Hotmail addresses. Hotmail frequently rejects s from colleges and universities. AN APPLICATION PACKET can take up to four months to complete so please plan ahead. A complete packet includes: 1. Graduate Admission Application. Some of the fields have already been completed on the application for you. 2. Application Fee Payment Form and a $50.00 U.S. nonrefundable application fee. Acceptable methods of payment: Money order, personal, certified or travelers check made payable to Research Foundation of SUNY. 3. Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended in sealed envelopes. This includes transcripts for any coursework that was transferred into another institution s degree and any coursework that you want considered for transfer credit. Each institution must send the transcript directly to the applicant. Applicants submit unopened transcript envelopes with other application materials. 4. Applicants who completed their undergraduate degrees from post-secondary schools, where English was NOT the first language, must submit a certified English translation of all official transcripts along with their official or certified true copies of their transcripts. Page3&

4 Admissions continued 5. A degree evaluation is required for applicants who have completed a bachelor s degree outside of the United States. Applicants holding undergraduate degrees from a Canadian college or university should submit their official transcripts to our office. If those transcripts follow a system similar to that of the United States, they will be evaluated locally. If not, Canadian applicants will be required to comply with the international student credential policy. Applicants must contact one of the following credential evaluation agencies and request a document-by-document evaluation to determine equivalency to a U.S. bachelor s degree: World Education Services, Inc., P.O. Box 5087, Bowling Green Station, New York, NY , Phone: (212) , Fax: (212) , Josef Silny and Associates, International Education Consultants, P.O. Box , Coral Gables, FL 33124, Phone: (305) , Fax: (305) , Applicants must contact the agency for the most current requirements and fees and to request or download an application from their website. All required forms, documents and fees must be sent by the applicant directly to the agency. The evaluation agency must send your document-by-document evaluation directly to our office. Applicant copies will not be accepted nor evaluations from any other agency or service. The process can take up to four six weeks to complete after the agency has received all of your documents. Your Application for Admission will not be reviewed until the evaluation has been received in our office from the agency completing your report. Evaluations from the credential evaluation agency must be sent to our office. IMPORTANT! Applicants must submit one set of official transcripts/translations with their Graduate Admission Application packet to our office and a second set of the same documents to World Education Services or Josef Silny and Associates for evaluation. Submitted materials become the property of the Graduate School. Copies of application materials will not be supplied to the student or any other institution. ADVISEMENT The Director of International Graduate Programs for Educators, Carolyn Brunner, will be your principal advisor (PA) and will serve with three additional graduate faculty members, including the Dean of the Graduate School as your advisory committee. Members of the advisory committee understand the unique needs of overseas educators and have considerable experience teaching graduate courses at schools overseas. The PA and advisory committee approve the student s plan of study (Application for Degree Candidacy) and attest to the student s successful completion of the approved program. Page4&

5 COURSE REGISTRATION FORMS AND PROGRAMMATIC COURSE FEE Please make copies of all of your submitted forms. It is important to use the same name on your course registration forms that was used on your Graduate Admission Application. If your name has changed please refer to the STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES section. Students need to complete a Graduate Course Registration form for each Buffalo State course including the final three-credit Master s Project. The course registration form should be completed on the first day of the course. Please submit your completed registration forms along with the programmatic course fee of $18 per student per course to Jeff Utecht, CoETaIL Coordinator. Students will be registered for a course when we receive the completed registration form with the programmatic course fee, and tuition payment as invoiced by our office to the CoETaIL Coordinator. Credits and grades for courses are recorded at the end of each semester. Approximate end of semester dates are December 10 th for the fall semester, May 10 th for the spring semester, and August 10 th for the summer semester. The exact end of semester dates can be found on the Buffalo State website at Please make certain to complete all sections on every registration form, even if you have participated in previous courses. A complete registration form eliminates the chance of error in duplicate name instances. After completing registration forms, remember to keep a copy for your records. ATTENDANCE POLICY Students are required to attend all sessions with no exceptions due to the compressed time schedule of courses and in accordance with Buffalo State, SUNY policy. Professors cannot give extra assignments or make any provisions for students who are not able to attend all of the sessions. Thus, if a student has to miss any part of the course sessions, the student cannot complete the course for credit as attendance at all sessions is required. GRADES Credits and grades for courses are recorded at the end of the semester. Grade reports will not be sent to students due to the difficulties and inconsistencies of overseas mailing, Grades cannot be obtained from this office due to confidentiality policies. However, the professor for the course can inform you of your grade. Additionally, transcripts from Buffalo State, SUNY will list all of the courses completed with the grades for each course. TRANSCRIPTS FROM BUFFALO STATE Transcripts from Buffalo State list all of the Buffalo State courses completed and the grades that were recorded for those courses. Transcripts serve as your official record of courses and grades. Transcript information is updated approximately four (4) weeks after the end of each semester. Official transcripts are not issued directly to students but are forwarded, upon request, to authorities that the student designates. Student copies may be ordered for personal use. Transcripts from Buffalo State must be ordered through the Registrar s Office. Transcript Request forms are available at Page5&

6 CoETaIL CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENTS Students must complete all five of the courses to be eligible for the CoETaIL. No courses can be transferred from other institutions or other Buffalo State, SUNY sites unless taught by Jeff Utecht, Kim Cofino and their approved faculty. Students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 (4.0 scale). The five required courses are: Course 1: Information Literacy and Ourselves as Learners (Buffalo State, SUNY: EDC 607 NETWORKING FOR EDUCATORS) A foundation course, introducing learners to the methods of information literacy in the 21st century. Independent learning requires that students and teachers are able to evaluate the authenticity, relevance and bias of information that inundates us. Tools and strategies for teachers and students for accessing, filtering, evaluating and applying information will be addressed. This course will address meta-cognition and an awareness of how we learn in a digital landscape. Students will be provided with strategies for reflective practice and using prior knowledge to build understanding and deal with new technology. Course 2: 21st Century Literacy Ideas, Questions, and Issues (Buffalo State, SUNY: EDC 606 INTERNET FOR EDUCATORS) The 21st Century learner had been bombarded with new technology, access to wide ranging global communication, and a plethora of information. Accompanying this new world of learning are ethical, moral, social, and emotional considerations that are changing the way in which our students are interacting with the world. This course will explore current issues inherent in our technological world. Course 3: Visual Literacy: Effective Communicators and Creators (Buffalo State, SUNY: EDC 604 AUTHORING FOR EDUCATORS) The curriculum of design and attention to aesthetic has always been the property of the visual arts, however as so much our media is now consumed and created electronically a new set of visual literacies have emerged. Awareness of how an audience interacts with that medium and how to take advantage of this to strengthen their message or purpose for communication will be addressed. Course 4: Technology: A Catalyst for Learning (Buffalo State, SUNY: EDC 603 INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN AND PROBLEM SOLVING WITH TECHNOLOGY) Research based best practice for the embedded use of technology for learning will be shared and practiced. The focus will be on the habits that provide students with the ability to use technology for its greatest learning advantage. The best use of laptop computers, tablets, etc. will be addressed as embedded tools to foster optimum learning of the curriculum. The optimal use of communication tools such as podcasts, blogs, social-networks, Google Docs, and videos will be addressed with tips for management and strategies to promote maximum learning in classrooms. Course 5: Alive in the Classroom: Applied Web 2.0 Technology for Learning (Buffalo State, SUNY: EDC 601 INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES) The course will be about the classroom application, and reflection on the use of web 2.0 technology in the classroom. Participants will be asked to create a plan for the embedded use of technology to foster learning, share with the group and offer feedback on their cohorts embedded use of technology for learning. Did the use of technology lead to deeper learning? Page6&

7 COSTS Costs for educators at American/International schools are less than one third of the regular tuition. This reduced tuition rate is only available while you are employed at an American/International School. Students send payment directly to Jeff Utecht who will send tuition payment to our office. STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES You, as a graduate student, must assume full responsibility for knowledge of all of the deadlines, forms, rules, regulations and requirements of the program as detailed in this document. Please make copies of all of your applications, documents, course registrations, etc. Please keep this Program Detail document and refer to it as often as necessary. Students should check the CoETaIL program website for updated program details once a semester. Requirements and program details are subject to change, and students must be aware of current regulations. Students are responsible for notifying International Graduate Programs for Educators of any official change of name, The formal name that is written on your Application for Admission will be the only name that will be recognized in the Buffalo State, SUNY system and by our office. All of your official records will be registered under that name unless you notify our office of a change in name. Our staff, professors, and the Buffalo State data system do not recognize nicknames or different last names. It is important to use the same name on all of your forms including course registrations and all correspondence with our office. Likewise, please notify our office of any changes of your address or mailing address so that information and other mailings can be properly directed. MASTER S DEGREE PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS 1. Completion of 30 credits that includes at least 15 credits of 600- and/or 700-level courses. 2. Two required courses, EDF 689 Methods and Techniques of Educational Research in preparation for EDU 690 Master's Project. The Master s project (three credits) is a research-based project on a topic of special interest to the student and must have prior approval by the instructor. 3. A maximum of 21 credits may be taken in Education (EDU) courses. The remaining credits should be from disciplines such as Educational Leadership (EDL), Educational Technologies (EDC), Creative Studies (CRS), Educational Foundations (EDF) or courses focusing on content area such as Social Studies, Math, Reading, Early Childhood, etc. 4. A maximum of 15 credits may be taken at another accredited institution. Please refer to the section TRANSFER CREDIT for additional information. 5. Coursework (including transfer credit) must be completed within the six-year period immediately preceding the date of completion of the degree. 6. A maximum of six (6) credits can be completed independently with prior approval from the Director of International Graduate Programs for Educators. Please refer to the section COMPLETING A COURSE INDEPENDENTLY for additional information. 7. A maximum total of 6 credits of Workshop (EDU 594), Conference (EDU 596) and/or Special Topic (EDU 598) courses can be included in the program. Page7&

8 8. Students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 (4.0 scale). 9. An Application for Degree Candidacy, approved by the student's principal advisor and advisory committee must be submitted to International Graduate Programs for Educators before the completion of 15 credits Please refer to the section APPLICATION FOR DEGREE CANDIDACY. TRANSFER CREDIT Please contact the institution that granted the credits to verify that the credits granted by that institution meet the Buffalo State, SUNY requirements. A maximum of 15 credits of transfer work at the graduate-level may be applied to the Multidisciplinary Degree program. Official transcripts for transfer credit must be sent directly to International Graduate Programs for Educators, by the institution granting the graduate credit, if the credit is earned after formal admission to the Graduate School, and as such was not included in your Graduate Admission Application. A. Transfer work earned at another accredited institution must: 1. be equitable to 500-, 600- or 700-level graduate semester courses. If the institution granting the credit uses the quarter system, credit hours will be converted to semester hours using the following equation: 1 quarter hour = 2/3 (.66) semester hour 2 quarter hours = 1-1/3 (1.33) semester hours 3 quarter hours = 2 semester hours 2. be a coherent part of the required program of study and be approved by the student s program advisory committee including the Dean of the Graduate School. 3. be completed within the six-year period immediately preceding the date of graduation. B. Only grades of A or B are acceptable for transfer. Grades of S or P are not acceptable. C. Coursework taken to fulfill degree requirements for one Master s Degree or Certificate of Advanced Study may not be applied toward another Master s Degree. D. Students whose coursework is NOT from a U.S. or Canadian college or university must obtain a course-by-course evaluation from either Josef Silny and Associates or World Education Services, Inc. (contact information under Admission Requirements) Decisions regarding the acceptance of credit for transfer will be made after official transcripts have been evaluated by the Dean of the Graduate School. Approved transfer credit is added to the student s official record when the student s approved degree candidacy application and/or official transcripts of transfer credit are approved by the Dean. Students should use the requirements listed above to determine if coursework will be accepted for their degree program prior to an official decision from the Dean. The International Graduate Programs staff is not able to make that determination for you. CAUTION! Several universities offer extension, professional development and/or continuing education courses. Extension, professional development and/or continuing education credits cannot be transferred into the graduate degree program. Students should contact the institution that granted the credits to verify that the credits granted by that institution meet the above requirements. Page8&

9 APPLICATION FOR DEGREE CANDIDACY Please contact Mr. William Irene, Assistant Director, with questions regarding Candidacy at Congratulations! Now that you have submitted your Graduate Admission Application and have been accepted into the program, you can start choosing the courses that you will take in order to complete the degree programs (30 credits). The Application for Degree Candidacy is your plan of study. Please make copies of all of your submitted forms. It is important to use the same name on your Application for Degree Candidacy form that was used on your Graduate Admission Application. If your name has changed please refer to the STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES section. Candidacy is a written agreement outlining the courses necessary to receive a degree. All students must complete an Application for Degree Candidacy before the completion of fifteen (15) credits at Buffalo State. The application lists the courses that the student will be taking to fulfill their requirements for their Master's degree. It also lists the courses the student is transferring into the program. The Application for Degree Candidacy, with additional details for its completion, will be sent to students at the time of acceptance into the program. Students must submit completed Applications for Degree Candidacy to International Graduate Programs for Educators. The student s principal advisor, advisory committee and Dean of the Graduate School must approve the degree candidacy. Applications are reviewed at one of two advisory committee meetings each semester. Students will be notified by if their application is incomplete or requires any additional documentation. Students will be notified by when their Application for Degree Candidacy has been approved. Failure to develop an approved program and be admitted to degree candidacy, before the completion of 15 graduate-level credit hours, will restrict further registration/graduation. IMPORTANT! It is a student s responsibility to list the correct Buffalo State, SUNY course numbers and titles on the Application for Degree Candidacy. Please keep copies of your course registration forms for course numbers and course titles. Numbers and titles also can be found on student transcripts and on the Buffalo State, SUNY website at: CHANGES TO APPROVED DEGREE CANDIDACY Please contact Mr. William Irene, Assistant Director, with questions regarding changes in approved candidacy at intlearning@buffalostate.edu. Once a student's candidacy application is approved, changes can be made only with approval of the student s advisor, advisory committee and the Dean of the Graduate School. A Request for Change in Approved Graduate Degree Candidacy form must be completed and submitted to International Graduate Programs for Educators. This includes potential transfer credits that are submitted for evaluation after the Application for Degree Candidacy has already been approved. ADVISEMENT The Director of International Graduate Programs for Educators, Carolyn Brunner, will be your principal advisor (PA) for the Master s Degree program and will serve with three additional graduate faculty Page9&

10 members, including the Dean of the Graduate School as your advisory committee. Members of the advisory committee understand the unique needs of overseas educators and have considerable experience teaching graduate courses at schools overseas. The PA and advisory committee approve the student s plan of study (Application for Degree Candidacy) and attest to the student s successful completion of the approved program. COURSE REGISTRATION FORMS AND PROGRAMMATIC COURSE FEE Please make copies of all of your submitted forms. It is important to use the same name on your course registration forms that was used on your Graduate Admission Application. If your name has changed please refer to the STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES section. Students need to complete a Graduate Course Registration form for each Buffalo State course including the final three-credit Master s Project. The course registration form should be completed on the first day of the course. The Site Coordinator must return the completed registration forms along with the programmatic course fee of $18 per student. Students will be registered for a course when we receive the completed registration form with the programmatic course fee, payment as invoiced by our office to your school for tuition and airfare if applicable, and payment to the professor. Credits and grades for courses are recorded at the end of each semester. Approximate end of semester dates are December 10 th for the fall semester, May 10 th for the spring semester, and August 10 th for the summer semester. The exact end of semester dates can be found on the Buffalo State website at Please make certain to complete all sections on every registration form, even if you have participated in previous courses. A complete registration form eliminates the chance of error in duplicate name instances. After completing registration forms, remember to keep a copy for your records. ATTENDANCE POLICY Students are required to attend all sessions with no exceptions due to the compressed time schedule of courses and in accordance with Buffalo State, SUNY policy. Professors cannot give extra assignments or make any provisions for students who are not able to attend all of the sessions. Thus, if a student has to miss any part of the course sessions, the student cannot complete the course for credit as attendance at all sessions is required. We understand that a student may have special circumstances that prevent course participation. When a student has a special circumstance and cannot complete a course, our staff will put together a plan for the student to complete their program after the completion of the final on site course. Frequently the school decides to continue offering the program and the student just continues with course(s) at the school site. If the school doesn t continue offering our program, students have the option to complete coursework at other sites, take courses through the Teachers Training Center (TTC) and/or Principals Training Center (PTC) in the summers or complete courses independently. COMPLETING A COURSE INDEPENDENTLY A student can complete a course independently with the written permission of his/her School Director. The student must discuss the special circumstance with the School Director or his/her designee. The student needs to ask their administrator to send the Program Director, Carolyn Brunner, an explaining the student s special circumstance for not attending a course. A special circumstance would include illness, childbirth, death in the family, attendance at a school-sponsored event such as a field trip, etc. Page10&

11 The approval to complete courses independently because of special circumstances is in the best interest of the school and fellow students in the program. The school and/or the students in the cohort have to pay for the costs for each course. When a student doesn t take the course as scheduled with the cohort, the rest of the students and school still have to pay the total cost of the course with one less person to help with that total cost. Requests to complete a course independently must be made after a student has an approved plan of study. COMPLETING COURSEWORK AFTER INITIAL ON-SITE COURSE A student, who joins the cohort after the first course was offered, can complete a course independently. Our staff will put together a plan for the student to complete their program after the completion of the final CoETaIL course. Frequently, the CoETaIL program continues offering the courses so the student is able to continue. If the school doesn t continue offering our program, students have the option to complete coursework at other sites, take courses through the Teachers Training Center (TTC) and/or Principals Training Center (PTC) in the summers or complete courses independently. Please refer to the section COMPLETING A COURSE INDEPENDENTLY for additional information. GRADES Credits and grades for courses are recorded at the end of the semester. Unfortunately with the difficulties and inconsistencies of overseas mailings, grade reports will not be sent to students. Due to confidentiality policies, grades cannot be obtained from our office staff. However, the professor for the course can and will inform you of your grade. Additionally, transcripts from Buffalo State, SUNY will list all of the courses completed with the grades for each course. TRANSCRIPTS FROM BUFFALO STATE Transcripts from Buffalo State list all of the Buffalo State courses completed and the grades that were recorded for those courses. Transcripts serve as your official record of courses and grades. Transcript information is updated approximately four (4) weeks after the end of each semester. Official transcripts are not issued directly to students but are forwarded, upon request, to authorities that the student designates. Student copies may be ordered for personal use. Transcripts from Buffalo State must be ordered through the Registrar s Office. Transcript Request forms are available at GRADUATION Please contact Ms. Cathy Molenda, Graduation Coordinator, with questions regarding graduation and diplomas at intlearning@buffalostate.edu. Please make copies of all of your submitted forms. It is important to use the same name on your Graduation Application form that was used on your Graduate Admission Application. If your name has changed please refer to the STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES section. In order for a graduate student to be awarded a master s degree the following requirements must be met: Page11&

12 1. Completion of your Application for Graduation, submitted to International Graduate Programs for Educators one semester prior to your anticipated graduation. You must apply for graduation by the deadline or your application for graduation will be processed for the following semester s graduation. 2. Completion of 30 graduate-level credits. All coursework must be completed and final grades awarded by May 1 st for spring semester graduation, August 1 st for summer semester graduation and December 1 st for fall semester graduation. Courses completed and graded after those dates will be posted in the following semester and your degree will be granted at the end of that semester. Therefore, a student who takes a course with final assignments that will be graded after May 1 st will graduate in August. A student can request a Letter of Completion stating that all requirements for the degree have been met, once all grades have been received in our office. 3. Receipt of official transcript(s) of approved transfer credit as listed on the candidacy form. Transfer credit must meet all requirements as defined under Transfer Credit. 4. Approved candidacy and completion of all required coursework exactly as specified on your Application for Admission to Candidacy and Change in Approved Graduate Degree Program (if required). 5. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 (B) in all graduate coursework. 6. Completion of all coursework and degree requirements within the six-year period immediately preceding the date of graduation. 7. Completion of a minimum of 15 credits of 600- or 700-level coursework. 8. The Dean and appropriate staff of the Graduate School will review your academic file to determine if you have met all requirements. Courses with a grade of I, N, or X must be completed and appropriate grades submitted. 9. All financial obligations to the college must be met. Students who do not meet the requirements for graduation by the semester for which they applied must submit a new application for graduation, in accordance with established deadlines, for the semester in which the requirements will be completed. IMPORTANT! Your Master of Science Diploma and one student copy of your transcript will be sent to your host school using trackable mail at no cost. If you would like to have your documents sent to an alternative address, a payment of U.S. $25.00 must be sent with your Application for Graduation. Please be sure to print the complete address on the form where you want to receive your diploma and transcript. Documents are sent approximately 8 weeks after the end of the semester of your graduation date which allows for graduation audits and processing. A student can request a Letter of Completion stating that all requirements for the degree have been met, once all grades have been received in our office. COSTS Costs for educators at American/International schools are less than one third of the regular Buffalo State, SUNY tuition. This reduced tuition rate is only available while you are employed at an American/International School. Each applicant pays a nonrefundable application for admission fee of $50.00 U.S. Anyone taking more than six credit hours of coursework will need to apply for admission. Each student registering for a course will pay a programmatic course fee of U.S. $18.00 per course. Page12&

13 STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES You, as a graduate student, must assume full responsibility for knowledge of all of the deadlines, forms, rules, regulations and requirements of the program as detailed in this document. Please make copies of all of your applications, documents, course registrations, etc. Please keep this Program Detail document and refer to it as often as necessary. Students should check the program website for updated program details once a semester at Requirements and program details are subject to change, and students must be aware of current regulations. Students are responsible for notifying International Graduate Programs for Educators of any official change of name, The formal name that is written on your Application for Admission will be the only name that will be recognized in the Buffalo State, SUNY system and by our office. All of your official records will be registered under that name unless you notify our office of a change in name. Our staff, professors, and the Buffalo State data system do not recognize nicknames or different last names. It is important to use the same name on all of your forms including course registrations and all correspondence with our office. Likewise, please notify our office of any changes of your address or mailing address so that information and other mailings can be properly directed. We kindly ask you to review these Program Details for answers to your questions. For questions not answered in this document, please the appropriate staff person as indicated in this document. By doing so, you will lessen the time you wait for a response. Additionally, as we all know, s aren t always received and we want to make sure you get answers to your questions as soon as possible. You can expect our staff to respond to your within five U.S. business days, so please resend your if you do not receive a response after five days. Graduate work is an extremely rewarding endeavor that demands rigorous scholarship, research, creativity, and professional competence. We welcome you to our vibrant community of scholars, teachers and researchers. We know you will be pleased you chose Buffalo State for your graduate program. Carolyn Brunner, Director brunnece@buffalostate.edu Grace Vogt, Admissions intlearning@buffalostate.edu Leah Loveless, Finance and PD intlearning@buffalostate.edu William F. Irene, Candidacy/Plan of Study intlearning@buffalostate.edu Cathy Molenda, Course registration/graduation intlearning@buffalostate.edu Brandon Kawa, Plans of Study/Finance intlearning@buffalostate.edu Website: Page13&