Culminating Seminar Frequently Asked Questions:

1. When may I register for the Culminating Seminar?

2. How much time does it take?

3. What is the purpose of the Culminating Seminar?

4. Will members of my original cohort be in this seminar?

5. Are there other requirements for earning the Professional Certificate?

6. What happens at the conclusion of the seminar?

7. What happens once I receive my Professional Certificate?

When may I register for the Culminating Seminar?

You may register for the Culminating Seminar once you have completed Core requirements including a final review of your portfolio by Western Washington University personnel. You will need to send transcript or clock hour receipts verifying M.Ed. or elective credit completion to University-School Partnerships, Woodring College of Education M.S. 9090, Western Washington University, 516 High Street, Bellingham, Washington. 98225

It’s not necessary to receive the results from an external review of your portfolio before enrolling in the Culminating Seminar.

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How much time does it take?

The Culminating Seminar is a two-credit class and will meet for 20 contact hours within a single quarter. The course will be offered every quarter if there are at least eight candidates who wish to enroll. Individual district-based instructors are responsible for scheduling meeting times and sometimes choose all-day Saturday sessions and sometimes they choose late week-day sessions. Check with the University-School Partnership office at (360) 650-3347 for the current schedule when you are ready to enroll.
 

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What is the purpose of the Culminating Seminar?

The Culminating Seminar focuses on consideration of the impact of a teacher’s professional development on student learning, the analysis of personal professional growth, and each candidate’s future career goals. This seminar provides candidates with the opportunity to discuss professional practice with colleagues as they tie together the various aspects of the Professional Certificate Program. Each member of the seminar will re-visit the Professional Growth Plan goals that were written in the Pre-Assessment Seminar and report on their status.

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Will members of my original cohort be in this seminar?

Not necessarily. Candidates in the Culminating Seminar may have completed the other requirements in any one of Western’s Professional Certificate Programs. Most Culminating Seminars provide the opportunity for discussion with colleagues from a variety of school districts.

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Are there other requirements for earning the Professional Certificate?

Candidates for the Professional Certificate must also meet Washington State’s requirement for a course in “issues of abuse.” Residency teachers who completed a Washington State teacher preparation program after 1992 met this requirement through their teacher preparation program. Additional information about this requirement is available through Western’s Certification Officer.

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What happens at the conclusion of the seminar?

Once you have successfully completed the Culminating Seminar, the Office of University-School Partnerships will forward your file to Western’s Certification Officer. The Certification Officer will send you a Professional Certificate Application Packet to complete and return. Upon verification that certificate application requirements have been met, the Certification Officer will issue a 180-day Professional teacher permit and recommend you to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction for the Professional Certificate. The Professional Certificate will be mailed to the Certification Officer within about 10 weeks and forwarded on to you.

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What happens once I receive my Professional Certificate?

The Professional Certificate is valid for five years and can be renewed for five-year periods by completing 150 clock hours or equivalent college/university credits that address these criteria:
• Clock hours / coursework related to one of the five state salary criteria identified in RCW 28A.415.023
• Clock hours / coursework related to one of the three standards required for the Professional Certificate (Effective Teaching, Professional Development, or Professional Contributions).

Professional Development is a continuum that spans a teacher’s career. Some teachers will choose to complete a Master’s Degree once they have earned a Professional Certificate. Some may choose to seek National Board Certification. Both of those options are voluntary. Once you have earned a Professional Teaching Certificate it is possible to maintain a current teaching certificate by completing 15 university credit or 150 clock hour credits (or a combination of the two) every five years for the lifetime of your career. A National Board Certification is valid for ten years and is an alternative to the Professional Certificate renewal process for that ten year period.
 

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