General Information

The Curry School of Education offers professional programs designed to prepare individuals for a variety of careers related to the practice of education. The school was named for Dr. Jabez L. M. Curry, an eminent southern educator. It was endowed in 1905 by gifts from John D. Rockefeller and the General Education Fundand became a professional school in 1919. Graduate programs in education were established in 1950, and the degree programs offered now include the Bachelor of Science in Education (B.S.Ed.); a five-year teacher education program leading to the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Master of Teaching (M.T.); the Master of Education (M.Ed.), Master of Teaching (M.T.), and Educational Specialist (Ed.S.); and two different doctoral degrees (Ed.D. and Ph.D.).

The Curry School of Education has two major missions. The first is to prepare individuals to work in America’s educational system, pre-kindergarten through collegiate levels, and to conduct research and scholarship that address problems and issues of importance to our education system. Through partnerships with other organizations and educational institutions, the Curry School is committed to developing exemplary and innovative approaches to address those issues and problems, and to improving instruction and schooling in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As such, the Teacher Education Program has provided national leadership in the preparation of beginning teachers, as well as advanced training for experienced teachers and personnel related to teaching. The five-year Teacher Education Program is an integrated program sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences and the Curry School of Education. It combines strong subject matter preparation with professional training that leads to teacher licensure and results in the simultaneous receipt of both bachelor’s and master’s degrees after a total of five years of study at the University.

Programs leading to teacher licensure include specializations in elementary education, health and physical education, early childhood and developmental risk, and special education (including behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, and mental retardation). For secondary teachers, specializations are available in English, mathematics, sciences (biology, chemistry, earth science, physics), social studies, and foreign languages.

The second major mission of the Curry School is to enhance human potential and performance by preparing professionals and conducting research in such areas as psychological/emotional development, physical development and fitness, and speech/language/auditory development. These areas contribute to the betterment of the human condition and are directly related to increased learning and successful experiences in our educational system.

Two additional program areas are designed for students interested in pursuing human service careers related to communication disorders and physical education/sports medicine. These programs require that students transfer into the Curry School. The Communication Disorders Program provides pre-professional training in speech-language pathology. The Sports Medicine Program is a pre-physical therapy and pre-athletic training program. These programs provide the necessary academic and practical work for the four-year B.S.Ed. degree and for application to graduate (master's degree) programs in their relative specialties.

Programs within the Curry School are among the best professional education offerings in the country. Faculty hold offices in professional organizations, are scholars of international renown, and are numbered among the University’s finest teachers. Students score well above the national norms on the SAT examinations, and are members of such student honorary societies as Chi Sigma Iota, Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Delta Kappa, Outstanding Students in America, and the Raven Society.

Extensive information about the Curry School of Education and its programs is available online at the address listed below. Access to information about admissions and academic policies may also be requested by sending an electronic mail message to curry-admissions@virginia.edu.

Address

Curry School of Education
Ruffner Hall
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400261
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4261
(434) 924-3334
http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu
curry-admissions@virginia.edu

Accreditation

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The Curry School of Education and its programs to prepare school personnel are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. In addition, teacher education programs are accredited by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council. Individual program specializations are accredited by such organizations as the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association and the American Psychological Association.

Facilities and Services

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Ruffner Hall houses the majority of the Curry School of Education’s academic facilities and offices. This modern facility houses laboratory space for studies in science education, instructional technology, counselor education, reading, educational psychology, and educational research. A well-equipped behavioral study area enables students and faculty to carry on advanced-level clinical observation and research, and a number of flexible meeting areas provide a supportive environment for studies in education.

Additionally, Ruffner Hall houses centers that provide services to the community, the state, and the nation, while providing students and faculty with instructional and research opportunities.

The Athletic Training Clinic provides therapy for the University's athletic teams. The clinic provides practica for both graduate and undergraduate students. It is located in the McCue Center, adjacent to University Hall.

The Center for Cardiac Health and Fitness provides professionally supervised programs of physical fitness enhancement and coronary risk factor modification. The programs provide coronary risk factor screening, medically supervised graded exercise testing (stress testing), supervised exercise programs for adults, and supervised exercise rehabilitation programs for coronary heart disease patients. The center also serves as a teaching and research facility for experiences in exercise physiology and sports medicine.

The Center for Clinical Psychology Services is a non-profit clinic that provides psychological and educational services to the public and serves as an in-house training facility for graduate students of the Institute of Clinical Psychology and other areas within the Curry School. The center is organized into specialized clinics and offers three basic categories of services: diagnosis, intervention, and consultation.

The Communication Disorders Program houses clinical, research, and office space. Classes are taught in the Curry School of Education's Ruffner Hall. Program facilities include a conference room, speech and language science labs, audiological suite, rooms for individual and group client assessment and treatment, research space, and a computer lab with internet connections.

The Education Library contains approximately 150,000 volumes of current educational materials, a file of over 400,000 ERIC microfiche titles, and access to VIRGO. The library supports the academic needs of the undergraduate and graduate programs of the Curry School, and provides periodicals, microfilms, books, and reserve materials required for class reading. Optical disc (CD-ROM) data base systems and Internet connections provide access to materials from throughout the world. Retrospective research materials in education are located in Alderman Library.

The Instructional Resource Center provides students and faculty with excellent opportunities for both instruction and research. In addition to audio-visual equipment, the center houses the Audio-Visual Production Lab, both a video filming studio and a video production facility, the Special Technology Laboratory, the Apple Lab, and the interactive IBM Microcomputer Classroom.

The McGuffey Reading Center functions as a laboratory for the study of the reading process by furthering clinical and empirical research in developmental reading and preparing graduate students to serve as reading-language specialists. It also provides a remedial center for children with reading disabilities.

The Motor Development Clinic provides evaluative and prescriptive services for children and youth with motor development problems. Operated by the Department of Human Services, the clinic serves as a teaching laboratory to prepare motor development specialists and provides a source of research opportunities to produce new knowledge and understanding about motor development in children and youth.

The Motor Learning Laboratory is a research facility designed for the study of factors that influence motor skill acquisition and performance. Individuals conduct research to investigate perceptual constraints; movement speed; EEG correlates of movement; substructures of balance, strength, and flexibility; and psychological factors related to the acquisition and performance of motor skills. Those seeking research experiences related to motor skill acquisition and performance utilize this laboratory.

The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (NRC/GT) produces and disseminates high-quality, practical studies relating to the identification and development of the talent of students. The research of the center has ranged from investigating ways to encourage talent in young, at-risk students, to the social and emotional development of gifted students, to investigating the feasibility of high-end learning in middle schools. There are currently five faculty and ten graduate students working on projects of the NRC/GT.

The Personal and Career Development Center is operated by the Counselor Education Program, within the Department of Human Services. The mission of the PCDC is two-fold: to provide a training venue for graduate-level counseling students and to provide assessment and counseling service to individuals. Services are provided to UVa students, and to individuals from the surrounding community. People typically seek counseling for personal growth or development, as well as when they experience problems associated with career-life planning, interpersonal and family relationships, coping with life transitions, grief/loss, anxiety, and depression.

The Speech-Language-Hearing Center, housed in the Communication Disorders Facility, is an integral component of the Curry School's Communication Disorders Program. The Center is a full-service, clinical facility in which service delivery is supervised by the faculty and staff of the Communication Disorders Program. It provides students in the speech pathology academic program with opportunities to work with individuals of all ages presenting a wide range of speech, language, and hearing disorders.

The Sport and Exercise Psychology Laboratory is designed for experimental and interview studies on such topics as observational learning, peer relationships, perceived competence in sport, coaching feedback, performance enhancement, and character development through sport.

The Exercise and Sport Injury Laboratory conducts research in the areas of prevention, assessment, and rehabilitation of injuries associated with exercise, sport and physical activity.

The Center for the Study of Higher Education fosters informed and interdisciplinary approaches to the study of higher education as a resource for scholars and practitioners. It offers degree programs, seminars, short institutes, and workshops, as well as research reports and occasional papers that provide administrators and other educational leaders with fresh perspectives on developments in the arena of post-secondary education.

The Center for Technology and Teacher Education is a cross-disciplinary institute with collaborating faculty drawn from several disciplines, including educational technology, teacher education, and policy studies. Teachers must be prepared to use the rapidly evolving technologies that are being placed in today’s classrooms in order to realize the promise that these technologies hold for the future. If we prepare the next generation of teachers, they will effectively serve as diffusion agents. One goal of the center is to identify and develop educational technologies that should be integrated into teacher education curricula. An equally important goal is to prepare the next generation of educational technology leaders. Graduate fellows affiliated with the center are expected to serve in leadership positions in school districts, state education agencies, and teacher preparation programs.

Student Organizations

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Education Council All students in the Curry School of Education are members of the Education Council (EC). In addition to its function as liaison between students and faculty of the Curry School of Education, the EC participates in many service programs affecting the University and the Charlottesville community, such as tutoring underprivileged children and coaching children’s sports activities.

Council for Exceptional Children The Council for Exceptional Children is a professional group focusing on issues related to individuals with exceptionalities. Membership is open to both faculty and students who have an interest in working with exceptional individuals. It is sponsored by the Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education.

Departmental Student Groups Most departments have a student advisory committee to help plan activities for students and contribute to the quality of the academic and professional experience at the University.

The National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association (NSSLHA) is open to all students in Communication Disorders. It is a pre-professional, social, and philanthropic organization that sponsors student activities throughout the year. Membership in the national NSSLHA organization qualifies students for a variety of benefits, including special rates for journals, conventions, and initial ASHA membership.

The Pre-Physical Therapy Association The Pre-Physical Therapy Association was founded in 1981 to provide opportunities for undergraduate students to learn more about graduate programs and careers in physical therapy. Officers, elected by interested students, plan specific experiences such as field trips to rehabilitation centers and hospitals, visits from graduate schools, and lectures related to contemporary issues in physical therapy. This organization is part of the sports medicine and physical education programs within the Department of Human Services.

Student Virginia Education Association (SVEA) Student Virginia Education Association membership is open to both graduate and undergraduate students. SVEA members participate in various professional activities, receive various publications, participate in seminars and conferences, and receive liability/tort insurance.

Academic Information

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Academic Honors and Honorary Societies

Dean’s List To be placed on the Dean’s List of Distinguished Students in any given semester, an undergraduate must maintain a minimum 12-credit course load and achieve a current grade point average of 3.400 or higher without failure in any course. Courses taken on a CR/NC basis may not be counted toward the 12-credit minimum. Any student receiving an F, NC, or NG during the semester is not eligible to be on the dean’s list.

Graduation Honors Students with a grade point average of 3.600 or higher will be recognized as graduating "with honors;" students with a grade point average of 3.750 or higher will be recognized as graduating "with high honors;" and students with a grade point average of 3.900 or higher will be recognized as graduating "with highest honors." Computation of grade point averages for the determination of honors is based on all standard letter-grade courses carried since the student has matriculated in the Curry School of Education. Students in the five-year Teacher Education Program may be eligible for dean’s list through the College of Arts and Sciences or the Curry School.

Kappa Delta Pi, an honor society in education that was founded in 1911, chartered its Eta Kappa Chapter of the University of Virginia in 1951. The constitution of the society reads as follows: "The purpose of Kappa Delta Pi shall be to encourage high professional, intellectual, and personal standards to recognize outstanding contributions to education. To this end it shall invite to membership such persons as exhibit commendable personal qualities, worthy educational ideals, and sound scholarship. It shall endeavor to maintain a high degree of professional fellowship among its members and to quicken professional growth by honoring achievement in educational work."

Academic Requirements and Options

All students are subject to the academic policies specified in the chapter titled "University Regulations." In addition, students must follow the policies of the Curry School of Education. Students in the five-year Teacher Education Program should consult the regulations in the College of Arts and Sciences chapter, as well as those of the Curry School of Education.

Application to the Curry School Students who wish to apply for the teacher education program in the Curry School of Education must submit a full application by March 1 of their first or second year; those who wish to apply for the communication disorders or sports medicine programs must submit a full application by March 1 of their second year. Students wishing to teach in high need areas (math, foreign languages, science, special education) may apply as late as their third year in the College. Students seeking to enroll in teacher education must be in the College (i.e., students in the Schools of Architecture, Engineering, or Nursing must transfer to the College first). Students interested in applying to B.S.Ed. programs in communication disorders or physical education apply to transfer to the Curry School.

To apply, students must complete an application, provide a statement of professional goals, and furnish all transcripts. Applications are evaluated in terms of academic course work (preference given to 3.000 GPA), strong SAT scores (preference given to 1000 or above), and experience related to professional goals. Applications from under-represented groups or those with varied backgrounds are strongly encouraged. Information about specific application procedures is available in the Office of Admissions, 104 Ruffner Hall.

Residence Requirement A recipient of a D.S.Ed. degree in education from the Curry School must have completed four semesters of full-time (12 credits) study at the University of Virginia while enrolled in the Curry School of Education. Exceptions for emergency situations may only be granted with the advisor’s and dean’s permission. In addition, all students must be full-time (12 credits minimum) during all semesters, except the final one (9 credits minimum).

Course Load Special permission of the advisor and dean’s office is required to take fewer than 12, or more than 18, credits during a given semester.

Final Examinations are given during a designated period of time at the end of each semester. Examinations may only be given at the time listed in the Course Offering Directory unless authorized by the dean. Students are not authorized to take final exams before the regularly scheduled time. However, under serious conditions, and with their instructor’s and advisor’s permission, students may be allowed to postpone the examination to a time convenient to the instructor. Students who have three exams in one day or four in a two-day period may petition to have one examination moved.

Attendance Students are expected to attend classes throughout the session, with the exception of University holidays, unless permission to be absent temporarily or to withdraw has been first granted by the instructor. Routine excuses for illness are not furnished by the Department of Student Health either to the student or to the instructor. If final examinations are missed for serious medical reasons, the Department of Student Health notifies the dean. On request of the dean, the Department of Student Health may evaluate the effect of any illness upon a student’s attendance and academic performance. Failure to attend classes or other prescribed activities in a course may result in enforced withdrawal from the course or other penalties as determined by the instructor.

Attendance During Examinations Written exams are an essential part of the work of most courses. A final examination or culminating experience is expected in all classes. The time period assigned for final exams is considered part of the regular academic semester, and classes must meet during their scheduled examination period. Absence from exams is not excused except for illness, attested to by a physician’s certificate, or for other causes that the instructor, advisor, and dean, by special action, may approve. An unexcused absence is counted as a failure and, at the discretion of the instructor, may result in failing the course.

Course Grades All specifically required courses must be taken for regular, graded credit (no S/U or CR/NC), including grades of A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-. C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, F. Internships, practica, and student teaching are generally graded S/U. Courses taken at or above the 500 level must receive a grade of B- or better.

Incomplete Grades for B.S.Ed. Students An IN is recorded when reasons known to the professor are judged adequate to justify an extension of time to complete course requirements. An IN may not be used to allow a student to attempt to raise a grade at the end of the term. The time line to complete course work may be negotiated with an instructor, but may not extend beyond one year of the semester in which the course was originally taken. Students are expected to enter into a written contract with the instructor specifying the remaining requirements and agreed-upon time line. It is the student’s responsibility to file the incomplete agreement in the Curry Office of Admissions. After one year, if the student has not met the terms of the incomplete agreement, the faculty member may submit a grade of F, U, WF, or W; if no action is taken by the faculty member, the incomplete is administratively changed to a W.

B.A./M.T. students should consult the policies of the College of Arts and Sciences through the second semester of the fourth year. During the fifth year, B.A./M.T. students must follow the policies of the Curry School of Education.

Grade Changes No grade may be changed after it has been submitted to the university registrar without the approval of the dean. The dean is not authorized by the faculty to change a grade submitted to the university registrar except when an instructor certifies that, because of errors in calculation or transcription, an incorrect grade has been submitted.

The Curry School limits the time in which a grade change may be approved to one calendar year.

Credit/No Credit Courses Students have the option of receiving the grades CR (credit) or NC (no credit) in place of the regular grades, A through F, for a given course prior to admission to a Curry program. This option is taken at the time the students register for the course. Instructors have the right to deny students permission to take courses on a CR/NC basis. If this occurs, students may either change back to the regular grading option or they may drop the course entirely. Courses taken for CR/NC may not be used for any major or basic area requirements.

No more than two courses may be taken on a CR/NC basis in any semester or in summer session. A maximum of 24 credits of CR/NC courses may be used toward the degree. Students may not use a CR/NC course to repeat a class in which a grade has already been given. If such a case should occur, the credits in the CR/NC course would not count toward graduation. The last day to change a CR/NC option is the same as the last day to drop a course. The CR/NC option may not be used to meet the specific requirements under general education; to meet requirements for specialization in a teaching field; or to meet requirements for professional education, with the exception in some teaching areas of field experiences and accompanying seminars that are offered only on a CR/NC basis. A total of 120 credits are required for the B.S.Ed. degree.

Repeating Courses A student who has received a grade of D in a required undergraduate course may be required to repeat the course as directed by his or her academic advisor or program faculty. Both grades for the repeated course remain on the transcript and are used in the computation of the grade point average. The course credit will be for only one offering. If a student's grade is a 500 - or higher level course is below a B-, the student must repeat the course or take an approved substitute in its place.

Adding a Course or Changing the Grading Option All additions to course schedules or changes in the grading option for a course must be completed by the last day to add a course. These changes are made via ISIS at www.virginia.edu/isis. Changes after the add deadline may only be considered under emergency circumstances and require a petition signed by the instructor, advisor, and dean. Any course required by name must be taken for a grade (not pass/fail). B.A./M.T. students should consult the policies of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Dropping a Course With the approval of the student’s advisor, a student may drop and void registration in a course until the official drop date. Permission to take fewer than 12 credits must be petitioned to, and approved by, the advisor and the dean and can only be granted for unusual or emergency circumstances.

Withdrawal from a Course B.S.Ed. students may withdraw from a course at any point prior to 5:00 P.M. on the last day of classes (in the term of enrollment) if permission has been secured from the student’s advisor and instructor and a petition has been filed with the dean. This action results in the course remaining on the transcript and the instructor being asked to record a grade of W, WP, or WF on the final grade sheet and on the petition filed by the student. A W may be assigned only if there is no basis on which to determine a WF or WP. None of these notations affect the grade point average, nor does the course count toward credits earned.

College students should consult the policies of the College and note the earlier date.

Enforced Withdrawal See chapter 5.

Probation and Suspension An undergraduate student must maintain good standing each semester by completing at least 12 credits of graded work (or S/U work if engaged in practica), with at least a 1.800 semester average and no more than one grade below C- (or C/NC). A student will be placed on academic probation after any semester in which good standing is not attained.

Suspension involves enforced withdrawal from the Curry School of Education. A student placed on probation in any semester may be suspended if he or she does not regain good standing at the end of the next semester. A student who has been suspended may apply to the Office of Admissions and Student Affairs of the Curry School of Education for readmission after one regular semester or one summer session has elapsed since the date of suspension. If readmitted, the student will be on probation and will be suspended again after one semester unless the cumulative grade point average for all courses completed is above 2.000.

Students in the College must comply with all College rules, as well as Curry School policies for teacher education.

Readmission to the Curry School of Education is not automatic. After an absence of twelve months or longer, a former student must apply for readmission by submitting an application to the academic dean’s office at least sixty days before the semester begins. Failure to comply with these regulations subjects the student to suspension from the University by the vice president for student affairs.

Grievance Procedure Due process is guaranteed to all students. See "Grievance Procedures" in the University Regulations chapter or consult the associate dean’s office, 104 Ruffner Hall.

Licensure for Teaching The Curry School of Education affirms the distinction between degree requirements and licensure requirements in its programs. While many programs contain both kinds of requirements, and major portions of the two may be synonymous, one may meet one set of requirements and not the other (i.e., receive a degree without qualifying for recommendation for licensure). Information concerning licensure requirements is provided to students through the Office of Admissions and Student Affairs of the Curry School of Education. To be recommended by the Curry School of Education for professional licensure, a student must complete a teacher education program sequence approved by the faculty of the Curry School of Education and meet state cut-off scores on the Praxis I and Praxis II examinations.

State Assessments of Teacher Education A student who has received a grade of D in a required undergraduate course may be required to repeat the course as directed by his or her academic advisor or program faculty. Both grades for the repeated course remain on the transcript and are used in the computation of the grade point average. The course credit will be for only one offering. If a student's grade is a 500 - or higher level course is below a B-, the student must repeat the course or take an approved substitute in its place.

The following report of Praxis exam pass rates is a mandated condition of the HEA and reflects the scores of those University of Virginia’s teacher education program completers who took the exams from September 2002-August 2003 (state-wide pass rates are shown in parentheses). Praxis I pass rate for PPST Reading was 100% (92%) and CBT Reading was 100% (96%). The PPST Writing pass rate was 93% (81%) and the CBT Writing was 98% (82%). The PPST Mathematics pass rate was 97% (86%) and the CTB Mathematics was 95% (90%).