Clinical Teaching

Background Checks

COEHD courses that involve field experience require that a criminal history check be conducted before students are allowed to participate in or obtain class credit for field-based assignments.

If you have ever been arrested, it is very likely that the arrest(s) will appear when your background check is run. Unless you have had an arrest expunged from your record, it is still visible even if you were a minor at the time of arrest, the charges were dropped or you were never convicted. Therefore, it is very important that if you have ever been arrested that you review the links below for more information about:

• How arrests can impact your ability to become a certified teacher
• Background Check Addendum
• Criminal History Pre-Screening Link

Make sure you check your UTSA student email constantly. Important information will be sent via email with regard to your background forms and field placements. It is your responsibility to continuously monitor your student email!

Contact

Dr. Youmna Dbouk
Director of Clinical Professional Experiences
Office of Professional Preparation & Partnerships
youmna.dbouk@utsa.edu

Clinical Teaching Policy

• Standard Teaching Certificate, (STC)
• Enhanced Standard Teaching Certificate (ESTC), or Rowdy Residency (RR)

• Teacher candidates must meet the following requirements to enter clinical teaching:
• Admission to the Teacher Certification program
• Completion of all prerequisite courses, including completion of the Professional Education coursework
• A 2.75 cumulative grade point average on all college work applied to the degree plan
• Pass the required TExES content exam for their certification area.

Application Deadlines:

• Deadline for Clinical Teaching in the Fall Semester: March 1st
• Deadline for Clinical Teaching in the Spring Semester: October 15.

Placing Candidates

UTSA works with the Human Resources Departments of partner school districts in the San Antonio area to secure clinical teaching placements. Placements are not available in private schools, parochial schools, or charter schools. At the Clinical Teaching Information Session, clinical teacher applicants will have access to the online application, which contains a list of available school districts and will be asked to indicate their school district preferences.

Clinical teachers will meet with the Director of Professional Clinical Experiences prior to beginning the clinical teaching experience. At that mandatory meeting, clinical teaching placement information, including the name of the assigned school and cooperating teacher, will be provided. The time and place of the meeting will be shared by email.

To complete clinical teaching, candidates' criminal background checks are conducted by the school districts. Candidates who are rejected by school districts due to their criminal history may be unable to complete the program. The decision to attempt to place the candidate in more than one district is at the discretion of the Director of Professional Clinical Experiences.

Conditions for Completion of Clinical Teaching

Successful completion of clinical teaching is a condition for meeting teacher certification requirements. Teacher candidates may attempt clinical teaching a maximum of two times. If the teacher candidate does not successfully complete the second clinical teaching experience, the candidate will not be eligible to enroll in clinical teaching a third time and will be referred to the Fitness to Teach Council. The teacher candidate may appeal to the Fitness to Teach Council to be reinstated only in the case of documented extenuating circumstances

Clinical Teaching Dress Code Policy

Dress and grooming of any UTSA student doing any type of observation in a local school campus shall be clean, neat, and in a manner appropriate for their assignments.

Students are guests at a school and should dress in accordance with being a representative of the University of Texas at San Antonio. As university students, the dress code will exceed that of the students at the school where you are placed and can be described as "dress business casual."  

Remember: Every day in your clinical teaching placement is a job interview!

Appropriate dress for men:

• Slacks, dress pants and/or khakis. No sagging or baggy pants. No jeans/denim or shorts.
• Polo shirts, button down and dress shirts. No T-shirts.
• Shoes: loafers or dress shoes. No sandals or flip-flops.

Appropriate dress for women:

• Slacks, dress pants, and/or khakis. No jeans/denim or shorts.
• Dresses and skirts must fall at or just above the knee.
• Polo shirts, button-down and dress shirts. No T-shirts, exposed midriffs, strapless, low cut tops, tank tops, halter tops or see-through clothing.
• Shoes: loafers, dress shoes, heels, or dressy sandals. No flip flops.

Further Detailed Dress Code Items:

• Clothing with inappropriate advertising or statements that are offensive or inflammatory (alcoholic beverage, sex, tobacco, drugs, gang, satanic, promoting violence, etc.) are prohibited.
• Pants shall be worn securely at the waist. Excessively worn and/or frayed jeans or other pants are prohibited.
• Body piercing ornaments and other simulated ornaments will be worn on the lower ear lobe only.
• Displaying tattoos and similar body painting(s) that promote violence, reflect gang activity, and that are considered to be offensive and inflammatory are prohibited.
• Hats, caps, or other head apparel are prohibited.
• Hair must be neat and clean. Unconventional colored, multi-colored, spiked or Mohawk hairstyles are not permitted.
• Body piercing jewelry is prohibited except for rings, studs or other traditional jewelry worn in the ear. Tongue rings and tongue studs are not permitted.

As future educators, you should dress for success every day. Clinical teaching students should always consult with the principal or their mentor teacher regarding the established dress code for their particular assigned school. Dress codes vary by district and it is the responsibility of the student to ensure their dress falls within the guidelines established by their assigned school.

School Partnerships

UTSA has a successful field-based teacher preparation program for undergraduates seeking teacher certification. The success of our program rests largely on mutual collaborations established among the university and the surrounding school districts. UTSA is currently partnering with the local school districts and other organizations.

School Districts

• Boerne ISD
• Comal ISD
• East Central ISD
• Edgewood ISD
• North East ISD
• Northside ISD
• San Antonio ISD

Office of Financial Aid Clinical Teaching Information

• Download Powerpoint

The State of Texas Says:

• UTSA may only allow 6 hours of credit for clinical teaching
• 6 hours = Half-time status

FAFSA Requirements

• Enrollment on the FAFSA must be at half-time status
• If the FAFSA was submitted with a different enrollment status, come by Enrollment Services to fill out an Enrollment Change Form
• Apply for financial aid on the FAFSA website
• The Enrollment Change form is located under the Forms section on the Student Financial Aid and Enrollment Services website

Grants

• Half-time enrollment will result in the loss of the Texas Excellence Grant Students are required to be enrolled in 12 hours and 9 hours, respectively, to continue receiving these two grants
• Other Grants will be pro-rated and payout at half the total amount

Loans

• Loans must be pro-rated at 25% of the yearly award
• 6 hours ÷ 24 hours = 25% (24 hours = Full-time Academic Load based on annual Cost of Attendance)
• Stafford loans are only prorated during the Fall term and they are prorated based on 24 hours
• More information on Stafford loans.

Financial Aid - Clinical Teaching Educational Loan Forgiveness Program

The Clinical Teaching Educational Loan Forgiveness Program was established to help clinical teachers with expenses during the extremely important semester(s) of clinical teaching. All clinical teachers are eligible to apply. Priority will be based on financial need and critical shortage field status. Critical shortage fields are deemed by the state to be Bilingual Education, English as a Second Language (ESL), Languages other than English, Mathematics, Science, and Special Education.

A completed application must be uploaded to the Clinical Professional Experiences rolling Blackboard, by the appropriate deadline:

Spring Semester- March 15 ^th

Fall Semester- October 15 ^th

Download Application Here: Clinical Teaching Educational Loan Forgiveness Program Application

For further information, check the UTSA One Stop website:
https://onestop.utsa.edu/financialaid/types/loans/

Scholarships

• Most donors are understanding about part-time status
• Letter from Academic Advisor detailing clinical teaching requirements
• Letters are turned into the awarding source: (General Scholarships Office of Student Financial Aid; College or Department; Outside Donors)
• Donors may payout in full or pro-rate the award

Loss of Income

• If you decide not to work while clinical teaching, fill out the Loss of Income Form
• Financial Aid will compare income from last year with the current year
• Loss of Income Forms are located under the Forms section on the Student Financial Aid and Enrollment Services website

Education Loan Forgiveness Program

• Read the Education Loan Forgiveness Program fact sheet distributed by the Office of Clinical Teaching
• Submit application ASAP to Dr. Youmna Dbouk at youmna.dbouk@utsa.edu

Contact Information:

The University of Texas at San Antonio
Office of Student Financial Aid and Enrollment Services
One UTSA Circle
San Antonio, TX 78249
(210) 458-8000
1-800-669-0919
financialaid@utsa.edu