FasTrack Initiative
Bemidji State University
ARCC - Coon Rapids Campus
11200 Mississippi Blvd. NW #H-137
Coon Rapids, MN 55433
Fax: 763-433-1485
Admissions Status
BSU Graduate Office (888) 386-8464
Program Information
ARCC - Metro Office (800) 723-3567
Licensure via Portfolio
MDE 651-582-8383
Advising Phone
Dr. Barbara Bridges (612)-345-7998
Bemidji State University now offers an ONLINE opportunity for those wishing to teach who have a previously earned BA, BS, MA, MS, MBA, MFA or PhD in a Minnesota Department of Education content licensure area.
The Bemidji FasTrack Secondary Initiative meets the Standards of Effective Practice criteria approved by the Minnesota Board of Teaching for Bemidji State University. The successful candidate must meet the Minnesota Department of Education competency requirements and the methods of teaching courses for the specific content area licensure sought as well as achieve passing scores on the MTLE. Content competencies are verified by the Minnesota Department of Education and additional coursework in your content area should be expected. Credit for practicum and student teaching experience may be modified for candidates currently teaching on limited licenses.
Bemidji State University's FasTrack Secondary Initiative is for people who want to obtain a license to teach secondary school, and have completed coursework and earned experience in a licensure area. The Initiative is online, meets face-to-face in Minneapolis four-five times throughout the 4 semesters of the academic initiative, and includes a mentor in the content area. Teacher candidates accrue field hours in classrooms connected with coursework.
The FasTrack Initiative is a three-pronged approach:
BSU provides the basic pedagogy needed by a teacher, which is approximately 21 credits plus student teaching (12 credits). Students pursuing K-12 licensure such as art, music and physical education complete 6 credits of student teaching at the elementary level (ED 4820) and 6 credits at the secondary level (ED 4840). Students seeking a 5-12 or 9-12 license register for 12 weeks of student teaching at the secondary level (ED 4830).When the FasTrack courses are finished, a Letter of Completion is issued to the teacher candidate from BSU.
Beginning in September 2010, the
The third prong is the submission of a content portfolio to the MN Department Of Education (MDE) in conjunction with the MN Board Of Teaching's (BOT) Alternative Pathways Licensure Process. A FasTrack candidate submits the portfolio to the MN Department of Education (MDE) addressing designated competencies in their area of content -- e.g. math, biology. MDE evaluates the meeting of competencies and issues either a Letter of Acceptance or a request for further information.
When the teacher candidate satisfies the three-pronged areas, the candidate requests the appropriate licensure through the MN Department of Education Office of Teacher Quality and Licensing.
Wanting to pursue the MEd? Due to some recent revelations, it
has occurred to us that students who declare they wish to pursue the MEd
during/after the FasTrack program do not realize that simply applying
to FasTrack and submitting additional paperwork for the MEd application
may be insufficient for getting them into the MEd program.
Students not only need to submit the additional application materials
for the MEd, they must also meet department requirements and submit all
materials prior to the departmental deadline if they are to be
considered in the batch that is sent forward for evaluation before
admission into the program. For example, many students who have
submitted an application for both programs may meet the FST spring
deadline but have completely missed the MEd spring deadline, so they are
not eligible for consideration until the following fall for the MEd
program. Many may also lack the standard GPA for being admitted into
the MEd program, which they will not realize until after the batch of
students has been gone through by the department.