The Advanced Technical Credit (ATC) Approval Process Bill Wilson, Program Coordinator

1. The Advanced Technical Credit (ATC) Approval Process Bill Wilson, Program Coordinator Carrie Baker, Program Assistant ATC Approval Office, Stephen F. Austin State University www.atctexas.org

2. Purpose of the ATC Program The Advanced Technical Credit (ATC) Program gives eligible high school students a chance to receive credit at participating community colleges across Texas for taking certain enhanced technical courses during high school. www.atctexas.org

3. College credit received through the ATC Program is know as statewide-articulated credit. www.atctexas.org

4. What is articulation? • Articulation is the smooth transition from one educational institution to another without delays or duplication of coursework. • Examples of articulation programs: Tech Prep, ATC. www.atctexas.org

5. ATC is not Tech Prep • 1. Tech Prep articulates a PROGRAM (a sequence of courses that will count towards a specific certificate or degree) between ONE high school/district and ONE local community college. • 2. The ATC Program articulates single courses. Eligible students can receive credit for these courses at participating community colleges across the state (“statewide-articulated” credit). www.atctexas.org

6. The ATC Program… • Is made possible by an agreement between the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas Education Agency. • Allows students to attend a variety of participating colleges across the state. • Is a time and money saver for students. • They avoid duplicating coursework. • They don’t have to pay for tuition or books. www.atctexas.org

7. ATC Approval Process • Identify • Train • Verify www.atctexas.org

8. Identify • School identifies a need for an ATC course. • School identifies a teacher who meets ATC teacher requirements for the ATC course. www.atctexas.org

9. Train • Teacher attends ATC training for the course, where they submit the ATC Application for Approval. • Application is sent to ATC Approval Office at SFA. www.atctexas.org

10. Verify • ATC Approval Office verifies that the teacher meets the teacher requirements for the ATC course. • Approval for the ATC course is added to the teacher’s online certificate. • School verifies that the ATC course is listed on the online certificate, then begins offering the ATC course. www.atctexas.org

11. IDENTIFY www.atctexas.org

12. Identifying a need for an ATC Course • ATC courses are listed in the ATC Course Crosswalk (updated annually). • Look for courses already offered at your school. • To be articulated, a course must be at least 1 credit. On the crosswalk, ½ credit courses are paired with other courses to equal at least 1 credit. • ATC courses will be content-enhanced beyond the TEKS – enhancements are defined by college-level course outcomes. www.atctexas.org

13. Identify an ATC Teacher • Each ATC course section must be taught by an ATC approved teacher. • To be approved, the teacher must: • Meet ATC teacher requirements. • Take ATC training. www.atctexas.org

14. Why does the ATC Program have teacher requirements? • College instructors must meet minimum criteria to teach. • Criteria is set by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). • If a college hires an instructor who does not meet minimum criteria, the college risks losing their accreditation from SACS. • SACS views any high school teacher offering courses for college credit as adjunct college faculty. www.atctexas.org

15. Why does the ATC Program have teacher requirements? • As adjunct college faculty, the high school teacher must meet the same criteria as the college instructor. • If a college accepts credit from a student who was taught by a teacher who did not meet the minimum criteria, the college could lose their SACS accreditation. • The ATC Teacher Requirements are set by the ATC State Leadership Committee, and based on the minimum criteria required by SACS. www.atctexas.org

16. ATC Teacher Requirements Teachers must meet one of these requirements for each ATC course: Requirement 1: The teacher must have a baccalaureate degree or higher, with the degree major in the subject area of the ATC course. OR Requirement 2: The teacher must have a minimum of an associate degree and 3 years verifiable non-teaching work experience directly related to the subject area of the ATC course. www.atctexas.org

17. Requirement 1 “The teacher must have a baccalaureate degree or higher, with the degree major in the subject area of the ATC course.” • Only degree majors are considered. • Minors, partial degrees, or teaching certificates are not considered. www.atctexas.org

18. Requirement 2 “The teacher must have a minimum of an associate degree and 3 years verifiable non-teaching work experience directly related to the subject area of the ATC course.” • Teacher must have at least an associate’s degree. Non-degreed individuals cannot be approved. www.atctexas.org

19. Example 1. Principles of Marketing • Teacher must have either: • 1. Bachelor’s degree (or higher) in Marketing OR • 2. Associate’s degree (or higher), with 3 years non-teaching work experience in marketing or sales. www.atctexas.org

20. Example 2. Telecommunication and Networking • Teacher must have either: • 1. Bachelor’s degree (or higher) in Computer Science, Computer Information Systems. OR • 2. Associate’s degree (or higher), with 3 years of non-teaching work experience in computer networking. www.atctexas.org

21. Example 3. Health Science Technology I • Teacher must have either: • 1. Bachelor’s degree (or higher) in a medical field (Nursing, Medical Technology, Pharmacy, etc.). OR • 2. Associate’s degree (or higher), with 3 years non-teaching work experience in a medical field (dentistry, nursing, radiology, etc.). www.atctexas.org

22. SBEC Certification • Teachers who don’t yet have their Standard (5-year) SBEC Certificate in the area of the course can be approved, but they will be asked to provide proof that they meet the requirements. • Will discuss this more in the “Verify” section. www.atctexas.org

23. Courses with Additional Requirements • Some ATC courses have additional instructor requirements. • College equivalent accredited by outside agency. • College equivalent prepares students for licensure or certification. • Teachers will need to provide documentation of these licenses and certificates. www.atctexas.org

24. Courses with Additional Requirements www.atctexas.org

25. TRAIN www.atctexas.org

26. Train • To find a training session: • ATC website (www.atctexas.org) • Tech Prep consortium • Local community college • P-16 Conference • TEA Summer Conferences • Deadline to take training for upcoming school year: 3rd Friday in September (9/16/06). www.atctexas.org

27. Training consists of: • Part I – 2 hours. • General introduction to ATC Program • Part II – 1 hour. • Teacher meets with college faculty to discuss course enhancements. • Teachers will take one Part II session for each ATC course. • Due to time limitations, generally a maximum of 3 Part II sessions at one training session. www.atctexas.org

28. Training • During training, teachers fill out approval application. • List their degrees, majors. • List their jobs (employer, position, duration). • After training, applications are collected by trainer and submitted to ATC Approval Office. www.atctexas.org

29. VERIFY www.atctexas.org

30. ATC Approval Office • Approval Office verifies that teacher meets the ATC requirements for the course(s) they requested. • Teacher meets requirements: Approved. • Can’t tell if teacher meets requirements: Email request for more information. • Teacher doesn’t meet requirements: Cannot be approved (mailed letter). www.atctexas.org

31. Teacher Approved • Approval is added to the teacher’s online certificate (www.atctexas.org) • Approval is valid for 3 years (August 1 – July 31). • Teacher sent an automatically generated email letting them know they have been approved. www.atctexas.org

32. Teacher sent Information Request email • Teacher is sent an email requesting more information when: • Did not provide enough information on their application (major, job title) to tell if they meet requirements. • Need documentation of certification for a course with additional requirements. • Does not have Standard (5-year) SBEC… www.atctexas.org

33. Teacher who does not have Standard SBEC… • Can still be approved, but need to provide documentation showing that they meet ATC requirements. • If teacher meets Requirement 1 (related bachelor’s degree or higher), will need to provide: • Official transcripts. • If teacher meets Requirement 2 (associate’s degree or higher with 3 yrs related work experience), will need to provide: • Official transcripts. • Detailed work history information. www.atctexas.org

34. Teacher Cannot be Approved • Possible reasons why: • No degree. • Unrelated degree. • No related work experience. • Teacher will be mailed a letter stating the reason they could not be approved. • Letter provides instructions if teacher would like to provide more information and be reconsidered. • Teachers who are not ATC approved can still teach regular non-ATC course. www.atctexas.org

35. Problems • Teachers do not get information request emails. • Spam blockers/Junk email boxes • Change email addresses • Teachers don’t get non-Approval letters. • Lost in mail, teacher moves • Teachers should: • Check online certificate (~1 month after training) • Check email, regular mail • If they have not received any notification, contact the ATC Approval Office (atcstaff@sfasu.edu). www.atctexas.org

36. School Verifies Approval • School/District checks to see that teacher has been issued approval for the needed ATC course. • Ask teacher to print copy of online certificate • Use ATC District Reporting website (access through www.atctexas.org). www.atctexas.org

37. Make sure the correct course is listed, and the effective/expiration dates are valid for the current school year. www.atctexas.org

38. Once the approval has been verified, the school may then begin offering the ATC course. www.atctexas.org

39. ATC Course Crosswalk www.atctexas.org

40. ATC Course Crosswalk • List of all ATC courses and their college equivalents. • Divided into 8 curriculum areas (business, agriculture, health science, etc.) • Crosswalk in each curriculum area created by a committee of secondary teachers and college instructors. • Curriculum areas are reviewed and updated every 3 years or as needed. www.atctexas.org

41. Sample from Crosswalk www.atctexas.org

42. Changes to Crosswalk • Any course(s) to be added or removed from the crosswalk MUST be approved by the ATC State Leadership Committee. • Changes may be due to: • Curriculum committee recommendations • Changes to TEKS or WECM (HS/College course content changes). • HS/College course not widely offered. www.atctexas.org

43. Changes to Crosswalk • Crosswalk updated once a year (spring). • Once crosswalk has been released, no major changes will be made to it. • New changes will go on to next year’s crosswalk. • When course is removed from crosswalk, it can no longer be offered as an ATC course (also removed from PEIMS list). www.atctexas.org

44. Want to suggest a Crosswalk change? • Ask for “Request for Course Change” form. • Fill out form and return to ATC Office. • Suggestions will be submitted to ATC State Leadership Committee for review. • Suggestions may be taken into consideration during curriculum area reviews. www.atctexas.org

45. ATC Approval Office Stephen F. Austin State University Contact Information: • Dr. Bill Wilson, ATC Program Coordinator • wilsonwe@sfasu.edu • Cathy Whipple, ATC Program Assistant • Cabaker@sfasu.edu www.atctexas.org www.atctexas.org