Welcome
This newsletter compiles the most up-to-date information concerning what EPPs need to know to best support their faculty/instructors, staff, and candidates. Please thoroughly read all the sections for reminders, upcoming events, To Dos, and FAQs.
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Educator Preparation Program Listserv Registration
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Action Item
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Due Date
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September 15, 2024
5:00 PM, CST
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Updates related to Educator Preparation Program Management
New: Final Week of ASEP Reporting
Please submit all ASEP Reporting questions to the Help Desk. You do not also need to contact your Education Specialist via email. All staff have access to the Help Desk and we are diligently working through your questions on that platform. If you submit your questions to multiple places, it decreases staff efficiency in responding to your questions.
Because ASEP closes on a Sunday this year (5:00 PM CST on September 15), there will be a limited number of TEA staff “on call” on Saturday and Sunday. EPPs are strongly encouraged to complete reporting by close of business Friday, September 13, but we know last minute reporting needs may arise. TEA staff will check the Help Desk periodically throughout the weekend and will respond to any last-minute problems or questions that may arise. Please only use the Help Desk since we will not be checking issues in email on Saturday and Sunday.
Reminder: Update to ECOS for Residency Candidates
EPP staff who report data in ECOS Entities will begin to see features and functionality related to SBEC-approved Teacher Residencies as a route and clinical experience type. Updates to ECOS to accommodate reporting related to SBEC-approved residencies are being rolled out into ECOS in several IT releases across multiple months. Because there are no EPPs currently approved by the SBEC for a Residency, EPPs should not select Residency route options when creating records for candidates. Particularly, the clinical teaching model “750 hours (SBEC Approved Residency)” should not be used at this time when creating clinical experience records.
More information about how to make use of these options will be provided as the SBEC begins to approve residencies.
Reminder: Year-to-Date Observation Reports
The year-to-date observation reports were distributed via ShareFile to each EPP Legal Authority on September 3, 2024. These reports, distributed annually, include all observation data reported by EPPs by September 2, 2024. EPPs who updated their finisher records list and entered observation records and clinical experience records prior to September 2, 2024, should see that data reflected in the year-to-date observation report. These reports include any approved RFEs that were submitted by the end of the day on Thursday, August 29, 2024. The observation report is helpful in informing any final reporting that EPPs need to complete prior to the September 15, 2024, final reporting deadline.
An email was sent advising the Legal Authority to access the ShareFile. If your EPP has a staff member who needs to review the data, please reach out to your Legal Authority to request a copy. The Legal Authority must download it to give it to you.
Reminder: Clinical Experience Records & Observations
If your EPP has not started to create Clinical Experience Records (CER) or upload observations, please do so now. All clinical experiences and formal observations with dates in 2023-2024 must be reported in ECOS before ASEP locks at 5:00 PM CST on September 15. All Requests for Exceptions (RFE) must be submitted to TEA through the Help Desk by 5:00 PM CST on September 15.
IMPORTANT: September 15 is a Sunday this year. Please plan accordingly. TEA recommends that you have your data reported and RFEs submitted by 5:00 PM on Friday, September 13. This will help ensure on-time submission. If you need assistance, contact your assigned TEA Education Specialist early and often to ensure you receive the support needed to meet the ASEP reporting deadline.
Reminder: Insight to Impact Dashboard Issue
There is a known issue with the Insight to Impact Initial Employment and Employment and Retention Dashboards. We are working to resolve this issue and will provide a newsletter update when resolved.
Updates related to Educator Standards and Certification Testing
Reminder: Webinar Materials Now Available (257 Health EC-12, 258 Physical Education EC-12, and 331 ELAR 7-12)
Recorded versions of the Framework Overview and CRI Deep Dive Webinars for the 257 Health EC-12, 258 Physical Education EC-12, and 331 ELAR 7-12 exams, as well as related resources, are available now on the Educator Testing page.
Updates related to Education Preparation and Certification
Reminder: ASEP Reporting 2023-2024 Webinar and FAQ Now Posted
The ASEP Reporting 2023-2024 (August 6, 2024) webinar and FAQ are now available on the Program Provider Resources page under Training Events and Materials.
Countdown to ASEP Reporting 2023-2024
To assist EPPs with completing ASEP Reporting with ease, we have developed weekly reminders for those EPP staff working on ASEP Reporting. Each week, you will receive weekly reminders in this Newsletter that include timely tasks that will lead to successful completion of data reporting by September 15. Please remember that the Technical Manual published on the Program Provider Resources page on the TEA website is a wonderful “how to” resource for using the various functions needed for reporting in ECOS and contains some useful tips for problem-solving if needed.
ASEP closes on a Sunday this year (September 15, 2024, at 5:00 pm CST). All data submissions for 2023-2024 reporting, including submissions in ECOS and forms submitted via the Helpdesk, must be complete by this time. TEA strongly recommends that EPPs complete reporting requirements by close of business on Friday, September 13 to avoid last-minute problems that require TEA assistance which will be limited on Saturday, 9/14, and Sunday, 9/15.
New Reminder: Week 9 Final ASEP Task 9/9-13/2024: Make any final corrections and submit your affidavit.
Submit with confidence that your EPP has gotten everything perfect and ready to go. Submit your affidavit to the Educator Testing and Preparation Programs Help Desk. Be sure to name your affidavit according to the instructions on the Affidavit template.
The observation dataset for your EPP can be found in your ShareFile folder. Please follow the ShareFile Access Instructions for directions on how to access ShareFile. This dataset is only current as of the end of the day September 3, 2024. Updates to your observation list after that time are not captured in this data.
This data set considers all Request for Exception (RFE) forms submitted, approved, and processed by 09/01/2024.
For a complete record of all observations you have entered into the Educator Certification Online System (ECOS), including those that you have added after 9/1/2024, please download your observation records from ECOS.
Reminder: Week 8 ASEP Tasks 9/1-6/2024: Review all your data.
Compare your final EPP data with the data sets from TEA just to be sure you have not forgotten anything or anyone in your reports. Make any final corrections if needed. Reach out to your assigned specialist with any questions or issues.
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Observations! Every observation for every candidate in clinical teaching, an internship, or a practicum, that occurred between 9/1/2023 and 8/31/2024 must be reported. Failure to properly report observations is the #1 reason why EPPs end up in an Informal Review. Save yourself this headache by ensuring that every observation is entered into ECOS before 9/15/2024.
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Finishers! Specifically – if a candidate finished in one certificate classification but had records for additional certificates on the Finisher Records List, the other certificates must be removed from 2023-2024, or the candidate will carry forward as Other Enrolled into 2024-2025.
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Applied Data! Please ensure that your numbers reflect the total number of applicants to all of your programs this year. Ensure that the total number applied is greater or equal to the total admitted.
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Admissions! Every candidate with an admission date in 2023-2024 must have an admission record. This requirement applies to all certificate classes and categories.
Reminder: Week 7 ASEP Tasks 8/26-30/2024: Report your Applied Data
Use the Applied portal in ECOS Entities > ASEP > Annual Performance Report to report the number of individuals who applied to any of the programs within your EPP in 2023-2024 (from 9/1/2023-8/31/2024). The Applied data is reported as a total of ‘All’ that applied and is also reported as disaggregated by demographic group. This Applied portal will lock when ASEP locks so data must be entered before the 2023-2024 ASEP locks on September 15. Be sure to review the 2023-2024 Technical Manual on the Program Provider Resources page if you need assistance using the Applied portal.
Reminder: Week 6 ASEP Tasks 8/19-23/2024: Enter all observations
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Verify that all observations completed in 2023-2024 (9/1-8/31) have been entered into ECOS. All observations must be reported for all teacher and non-teacher candidates completing clinical teaching, internship, or practicum. All observations must be reported in the reporting year in which they occurred.
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Ensure that all your field supervisors are on your field supervisor list in ECOS. If they are not there, please enter them so observations for candidates assigned to those field supervisors can be entered into ECOS. If you try to enter an observation record with a field supervisor who is not in the system, the observation record will not load. You must add the field supervisor first.
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If necessary, complete the Request for Exception (RFE) form, to submit an exception request for a candidate whose observations should not be included in the data calculations. The ASEP Observation RFE Form is located on the Program Provider Resources page under ASEP Reporting 2023-2024 Forms. Submit forms securely to the Data Reporting Help Desk.
- For the best functionality of RFE forms, use Google Chrome and download and save the form on your computer before completing. After the form is complete, e-sign the form which will lock it from further edits. Save the signed form and attach it to a Help Desk ticket to submit to TEA.
Note: You can review the observations you have reported in ECOS, and you can download the observation data from ECOS into a spreadsheet to assist with reviewing and verifying your data. Be sure to review the 2023-2024 Technical Manual on the Program Provider Resources page if you need assistance with downloading records from ECOS.
Reminder: Week 5 ASEP Tasks 8/12-16/2024: Create Clinical Experience Records
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Verify that each candidate who completed any part of a clinical experience (clinical teaching, internship, or practicum) in 2023-2024 has a Clinical Experience Record.
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To create a clinical experience record for a candidate, the candidate must have an admission record and must be listed on the Finisher Records List with a status of Other Enrolled or Finisher.
Note: You can download the Clinical Experience Records from ECOS into a spreadsheet to assist with reviewing and verifying your data. Be sure to review the 2023-2024 Technical Manual on the Program Provider Resources page if you need assistance with downloading records from ECOS.
Reminder: Week 4 ASEP Tasks 8/5-9/2024: Update the Finisher Records List.
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Verify that all 2023-2024 finishers are correctly listed on the Finisher Record List (FRL) with a status of “Finisher” (F). If a finisher is on the FRL for certificate categories they are not finishing, you must remove those certificate categories from the list for the candidate.
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If candidates left your EPP without finishing requirements during the year 2023-2024, be sure that you have removed them from your Finisher Records List (and that you have removed their test approvals). You must update the record to “removed” in this reporting year. Once ASEP closes, you will not be able to make any changes to the FRL.
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Additionally, remember to review the candidates from your mid-year data set that have been enrolled for five or more years and remove any from your 2023-2024 list that are no longer actively enrolled. This data was provided to you in your Sharefile folder in April 2024. Note: Candidates that are removed will need to apply and be admitted if they want to work with the EPP in future.
Reminder: Week 3 ASEP Tasks 7/29-8/2/2024
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Each candidate admitted between 9/1/2023 and August 31, 2024 must have an admission record that is complete and correct by 9/15/2024.
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Verify that each candidate admitted in 9/1/2023-8/31/2024 has an accurate admission record. Verify all required admission data has been included in the record. If you need to update a record, you can do so manually or by bulk upload. Instructions are included in the Technical Manual located on the Program Provider Resources page of the TEA website.
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EPPs can view their admissions in ECOS. Also, you can download admission data from ECOS into a spreadsheet to help verify the admission data that has been reported to date.
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Remember: Admission records for candidates admitted in 2023-2024 cannot be created after 8/31/2024 except for candidates admitted in the last week of August. Admission records for candidates with admission dates in the last week of August can locks on 9/15/2024. Be sure to review the 2023-2024 Technical Manual in the Forms and Documents section on the Program Provider Resources page. This is a helpful resource as it provides step by step instructions for completing admission reporting.
Reminder: Week 2 ASEP Tasks 7/22-26, 2024
- Ensure that TEA has your updated EPP Contact Information.
- Each EPP should have one Legal Authority, or for an EPP at a school district or Education Service Center, a Primary Contact, and at least one Backup Legal Authority. If you have recently had a change in these staff, please contact your Education Specialist assigned and we will send you the template so you can request the changes to be made.
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Each EPP must have a Primary Title II Pearson and Title II IPRC contact and should have a Secondary contact for each, if possible. Ensure TEA has these current contacts. The following organizations must also have current contact information for your Title II contacts: es-titleii@pearson.com and Title2@trewon.com
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Make sure that the following contacts are correct (your assigned TEA specialist can provide you a list of contacts that we have on file for your EPP):
- The staff that manages your data.
- Your LBB contact if you are a college or university.
To verify and/or update contacts with TEA, please contact your Education Specialist.
Reminder: Week 1 ASEP Tasks 7/15-19/2024:
1. Know your assigned Education Specialist. This is the TEA staff member that you will need to reach out to when you have questions about ASEP Reporting. The EPP specialist assignment list is published on the Program Provider Resources page under Forms and Documents.
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Your Education Specialist is one of four staff members or the Director of Preparation Program Management:
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Vanessa Alba
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Rebecca Bunting
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Keena Sandlin
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Lorrie Ayers, Director
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2. Become familiar with the Help Desk which EPPs should use for all questions related to ASEP Reporting. Your Education Specialist will address your EPP’s questions in the Help Desk. We are in the Help Desk under the Educator Testing and Preparation Programs tile. |
3. Review the 2023-2024 Technical Manual on the Program Provider Resources page. It is located under Forms and Documents. This is a helpful resource as it provides useful information needed to complete ASEP Reporting.
4. Review your ASEP reporting processes from 2022-2023. We recommend that you review internal documents, correspondence with your Education Specialist, and any place where you encountered difficulties. Particularly if your EPP encountered challenges with Observation reporting or were subject to an informal review, we encourage you to review your processes and reach out to your Education Specialist assigned early and proactively for support.
5. Register for the ASEP Reporting 2023-2024 webinar on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, at 10:30-11:30 AM CST. The webinar will provide useful information and reminders about state reporting processes and tips to improve the reporting experience. Please find the link in the Upcoming Events section above.
We take this space to highlight questions that we have heard from .
Q: I noticed that the Affidavit has new information in the “EPP Contact Information” section about an “EPP Doing Business As (DBA)”. Must I complete that information?
A: Complete the affidavit. For the DBA information, indicate “Yes” if your EPP has a DBA name. In the next field, enter all DBA names that your EPP had in 2023-2024. Reference 19 TAC §228.23(e). Otherwise, indicate “No” and leave the “EPP DBA Name” field blank.
Q: Can my EPP print & manually sign the Affidavit and does it matter who signs it and when?
A: EPPs must complete the Affidavit as a live document and not a scanned document. Please ensure that your Legal Authority or Primary Point of Contact (for School District and Education Service Center (ESC) EPPs) electronically signs the Affidavit and then you can submit it via the Help Desk as a live document. Be sure to carefully check all of your data before submitting the Affidavit. Be aware that the ASEP 2023-2024 reporting year will lock at 5 PM CST on Sunday, May 15, 2024, and will not be reopened after that time for any reason.
Your best source for information and support at the TEA.
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As an Educator Preparation Program, your main point of contact is your Education Specialist.
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View a list of EPPs and their assigned Education Specialist.
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For most efficient assistance, please submit a Help Desk ticket to Preparation Programs.
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EPPs may contact their assigned Education Specialist directly via phone or email.
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Candidates may call (512) 936-8400 and select Option #2: Educator Preparation and Certification for assistance.
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Updated: If EPPs (and candidates) would like to speak to a representative from another area(s), they may call (512) 936-8400 and select one of the options listed below.
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Option 2: Educator Preparation and Certification
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Option 3: Fingerprinting
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Option 6: Investigations
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