State Board of Education's
"Master's /Advanced Competencies Certificate"
and the
University of North Carolina
Masters Degrees in Education





April 1998

Legislation

The Excellent Schools Act (Senate Bill 272, VIII, A, Section 17) directed:

The Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina shall develop a plan to revise the current masters of education degree programs at the constituent institutions. The plan shall provide for degree programs that require participants take a more rigorous course of study than is currently required and that includes concentrations in the academic content areas in which the participants will teach. The plan shall also consider methods for: (i) providing the more rigorous course of study using the same number of hours as are currently required for masters of education degrees; and (ii) providing participants the opportunity to complete the masters of education degree program as part-time students, by summer school attendance, and at sites not located at a constituent institution's campus provided there is sufficient demand for the off-campus programs.

Persons who qualify for a "G" certificate prior to September 1, 2000, shall be awarded a "Masters/ Advanced Competencies" certificate without meeting additional requirements. On or after September 1, 2000, no additional "G" certificates shall be awarded.

Board of Governors' Actions

In February, 1998 the Board of Governors approved the following options as outlined in a memo from Roy Carroll on February 17, 1998 to Chancellors, Chief Academic Officers, and Heads of colleges/schools/departments/divisions of education.

Graduate Programs for Teachers Seeking Advanced Licensure
  1. Consolidate existing masters of education programs into a single masters degree program, an M. Ed. or M.A.Ed., (possibly with multiple teaching field options. Institutions choosing this alternative may request discontinuation of existing M. Ed. or M.A.Ed. programs after approval of new masters.

  2. Plan a new masters degree program in education, an M. Ed. or M.A.Ed., (possibly with multiple teaching field options).

  3. Revise its existing masters degree programs in education. is common to all options.
The Chancellor, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and the unit head of education in each institution are responsible for ensuring that the institution's consolidated, new, or revised masters degree program(s) in education addresses both the "Masters/ Advanced Competencies" and "Program Characteristics" presented to the State Board of Education in January 1998.

Graduate Program for Persons Seeking Initial Licensure
  1. Plan a Master of Arts in Teaching degree program for liberal arts graduates and others who wish to pursue graduate level preservice preparation leading to initial teaching licensure.

Timelines

Constituent institutions which wish to have programs authorized for initiation by fall semester 2000 should notify UNC General Administration by July 1, 1998 which of the alternatives above they intend to pursue and present a list of programs planned for addition or deletion.

The request for authorization to establish new or consolidated programs should be received at UNC General Administration by September 6, 1999.

New and consolidated programs must be reviewed and approved by both the UNC Board of Governors and the State Board of Education. Revised programs must be reported to the UNC Board of Governors and approved by the State Board of Education. Consolidated, new or revised programs must also meet the accreditation standards of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

Number of Hours in Program

The legislation stipulates that" the more rigorous course of study [will] use the same number of hours as are currently required for masters of education degrees." Current degrees have a range of hours but none exceed 39 semester hours; thus 39 hours will be the maximum number of hours in the new programs.

Last Modified 4/20/98