Placements, Student Teaching, and Clinical Practice

When you are admitted into a professional program, you will begin to receive emails from field experience professionals that will contain tasks that must be completed in order to begin a placement. Keep in mind that students are not able to request or make their own placements. In addition, confirmed placements are final. All communication will be sent to your UGA email. Pre-service certification must also be completed before entering the field. See a list of these courses for each professional program. In addition, view the Checklist for Certification to become familiar with the requirements.

Placement Notifications

Mid-June
Placements for fall semester announced for field experiences (BLKS 2 and 3) and clinical practice and final internships.
Two weeks after Drop/Add
Students receive placement confirmations for Block 1 field experiences.
Mid-December
Placements for spring semester announced for field experiences (BLKS 2 and 3) and clinical practice and final internships.

Background Checks

Select the Right Background Check

Pre-Service Certificate Apply for this certificate if you are in a teacher-education program.
Background Check (PreCheck) This background check is required if you are in a program other than teacher education, or are a teacher-education major who has not been officially admitted into your program. Note: PreCheck background check reports are considered valid for one year from date of purchase.
DECAL: Bright From the Start National Fingerprint Background Check This additional fingerprint check will be needed if you will be placed in an early learning center or prekindergarten program licensed by the Department of Early Care and Learning. You will receive notice from our office if this background check is required.

FERPA and Tort Forms

Students will now complete all FERPA and Tort forms online. Depending on the course, students may be required to complete FERPA and Tort forms or only a Tort form. Students can expect to receive an email to their UGA email address from the Director of the Office of Experiential Learning that will contain a unique link for each form that is required. This link should not be shared.Students will upload the appropriate forms and sign using an electronic signature.

FERPA

FERPA allows information about the student to be shared in order to make placements. This form must be renewed annually.

Tort Liability Insurance

College of Education students are required to obtain Professional (Tort) Liability Insurance prior to engaging in a field experience. This insurance covers expenses related to civil suits brought against education students for acts or omissions that occur while at a school. This form is not required by athletic training majors, who are covered under a group policy through the academic program. This form is only required for students in the College of Education. Non-COE students do not need to complete this form. Insurance coverage usually lasts for a year.However, some organizations offer a two-year policy. If a two-year liability plan is not purchased, it must be renewed annually.

Guide for Clinical Practice

Download the Guide

Program Contacts

Program Area	Contact Person
Agricultural Education	Anna Hiers
Art Education	Anna Hiers
Athletic Training	Taiesha Smith
Communication Sciences and Disorders	Anna Hiers
Dance Education	Sarah Beck
Early Childhood Education	Sarah Beck
English Education	Anna Hiers
ESOL/TESOL	Anna Hiers
Gifted Endorsement	Taiesha Smith
Health and Physical Education	Anna Hiers
Learning Design and Technology	Taiesha Smith
Math Education	Sarah Beck
Middle School Education	Taiesha Smith
Music Education	Anna Hiers
School Counseling	Taiesha Smith
Science Education	Sarah Beck
Social Studies Education	Taiesha Smith
Special Education Birth-Kindergarten	Taiesha Smith
Special Education	Taiesha Smith
Workforce Education	Anna Hiers
World Language Education	Anna Hiers

Program Coordinators

Program	Coordinator
Agriculture Education	Eric Rubenstein
Art Education	Lynn Sanders-Bustle
Communication Sciences and Disorders	Sandie Bass-Ringdahl
Dance Education	Rebecca Gose
Early Childhood Education	Bob Capuozzo
English Education	Sara Kajder
Health and Physical Education	Bryan McCullick
Mathematics Education	AnnaMarie Conner
Middle Grades Education	Gayle Andrews
Music Education	Brian Wesolowski
Science Education	Julie Kittleson
Social Studies Education	Sonia Janis
Special Education	Bethany Hamilton-Jones
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages	Lou Tolosa-Casadont
Workforce Education	Elaine Adams
Workforce Education - Family and Consumer Science Education
World Language Education	Lou Tolosa-Casadont

Office of Academic Programs Contacts

Questions about:	Contact:
Accreditation	Stacey Neuharth-Pritchett
Assessment	Anne McDonald
Certification	Kate Character
edTPA	Anne McDonald
Foliotek	Shayla Lee
GACE	Krista Vanderpool
Placements	Taiesha Smith
Student Services	Justin Burnley
Teacher Candidate Evaluations	Coordinators

Connect with the Office of Experiential Learning

We are happy to answer your questions about experiential learning opportunities in the College of Education.

Office of Experiential Learning