Admissions Requirements

If you already have a teaching license - you do not  need the FasTrack Initiative.

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.

Quick Summary of Process

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:

• State-approved education (pedagogy) courses from BSU

  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.

• MTLE Tests

  Beginning in September 2010, the Minnesota Teacher Licensure Examinations (MTLE) will be the statewide uniform means of assessing the basic skills, pedagogical, and subject-area knowledge of Minnesota K-12 teacher candidates.All candidates for an initial license are required to pass the basic skills tests (reading, writing, mathematics), as well as pedagogy and content knowledge tests.

• Content Portfolio - Alternative Pathways Licensure Process

  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.