Admission to Woodring
FAQs
What's a proctored essay and how do I write it for Elementary Education?
Dates and locations to complete the essay on-campus are posted on Elementary Education's website. Registration is not required. Just show up at one of the listed times and dates that works best for you. Bring paper and ball point pen with blue or black ink. You may bring a dictionary. Try to submit your application prior to writing the essay. Students who are attending other colleges and are unable to come to Western's campus to complete the essay at the scheduled times, must arrange with the Testing Center or an advisor at their current college to write the proctored essay. The advisor or testing center official should contact 360-650-3313 for details.
Those
applying
to
Special
Education
or
Secondary
Education
submit
an essay
with
their
applications.
Students
applying
to
Special
Education
for the
dual
endorsement
of
elementary
and
special
education
do not
write a
proctored
essay.
You only
need to
meet the
requirements
for
Special
Education.
Do I have to take the WEST-B exam before I apply?
Yes. Every
applicant
must
successfully
pass all
three
subtests
of the
WEST-B
before
applying
for
admission.
This is
a
Washington
State
law.
The
subtests
are in
reading,
mathematics,
and
writing.
Out-of-state
applicants
should
contact
Teacher
Education
Admissions
for
additional
information.
Does my application have to be in your office by the deadline or just postmarked by that deadline?
Applications
and all
supporting
documents
must be
in our
office
by 5
p.m. on
the
deadline
date.
Teacher
Education
deadline
dates
and
"in
office"
requirements
may
differ
from
Western
Washington University
requirements.
If the
deadline
falls on
a
weekend
or
holiday,
students
are
strongly
encouraged
to
submit
their
applications
on the
Friday
before
the
deadline
date.
Is Education a major?
No, the
education
programs
that
lead to
a
teacher's
certificate
are not
a major,
they are
the
professional
education
component
of your
studies.
All
teacher
education
students
have a
major in
addition
to the
professional
education
program.
Special
Education
and
Elementary
Education
offer
majors
within
those
departments;
Elementary
Education
students
can also
choose
from 19
approved
majors
in
other
departments. Secondary
Education
students
must
complete
an
approved
academic
major
chosen
from 25
that are
approved
for
teaching
endorsements.
See
individual
education department
websites
for
lists of
approved
majors.
Are transcripts from other schools I've attended required?
You
must
provide
transcripts
from ALL
other
colleges
or
universities
you
attended
with
your
application.
However,
they
can be
unofficial
copies.
We are
not able
to
obtain
transcripts
that you
provided
to
Western's
Admissions
Office
or other
offices.
How does Teacher Education Admissions calculate my GPA?
We
calculate
your
cumulative
GPA by
including
all
college-level
credits
taken at
all
colleges
and
universities
attended;
and we
also
calculate
GPA over
your
most
recent 45
graded
credits.
We use
whichever
GPA is
higher.
Are letters of recommendation required with my application?
Only
Secondary
Education
requires
letters
of
recommendation.
Two are
requested.
Please
see the
Secondary
Education
application
for
specific
information.
If I'm a transfer student, when should I apply to a teacher education program?
All
students,
transfer
or
otherwise,
should
apply to
the
teacher
education
program
as soon
as they
are
eligible.
It is
critical
that
transfer
students
with a
direct
transfer
associate
degree
from a
Washington
community
college
apply to
Special
Education
and
Elementary
Education
programs
for the
same
quarter
they
apply to
Western.
You do
not need
to wait
for a
decision
on your
Western
application
to
submit
an
education
application.
However,
if you
are
applying
to the
Secondary
Education
program,
you need
to
attend
Western
Washington
University
for a
quarter
or more,
declare
your
academic
major,
and work
with
your
adviser before
applying
to
Woodring
College
of
Education.
Do I have to complete a 5-day observation if I’ve already spent time or had experiences in the classroom observing or teaching children?
No.
In fact,
this
requirement
is no
longer a part of
the
admission
criteria
for
Teacher
Education
program
applicants.
How do I find opportunities to volunteer my time and work with children?
We
have a
bulletin
board
outside
Miller
Hall 250
posted
with
flyers
of
current
volunteer opportunities.
Student
Employment
also
maintains
a
website
of paid
and
volunteer
jobs for
WWU
students.
Does Teacher Education Admissions have a list serve I can join?
Yes!
Send a
message
from
your
email
account
to:
listproc@lists.wwu.edu.
Leave
the
subject
line
blank
and in
the body
of the
letter
type:
sub
teacher-ed-adm
FirstName
LastName
