Concurrent Enrollment Instructors Page

Welcome to the Concurrent Enrollment Instructor page! Here you'll find information on what it means to be an instructor in our program. Full details on processes and additional information can be found in our instructor handbook.

New instructors

instructor credentials

Concurrent enrollment instructors are, essentially, university adjuncts. As such, they must meet adjunct credentials according to our Inter-Faculty Organization contract. In 2018, the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) granted MinnState concurrent enrollment institutions an extention to provide adequate time for instructors to meet the minimum qualifications.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) requires instructors to have a degree above the degree students are working towards. In the case of concurrent enrollment students, they are working towards a bachelor degree, meaning that all instructors must have, at minimum, a master's degree. 

FULL APPROVAL

In order to be fully approved, an instructor must have one of the following requirements:

1. Master's degree in the discipline they are teaching (ex. If you are hoping to teach English courses, a master's degree in English) OR;
2. Master's degree in a subfield (ex. Education) and an additional 18 graduate credits in the discipline(s) they are teaching - this is how most instructors are credentialed

PROVISIONAL APPROVAL

Minnesota State Mankato allows for instructors to be provisionally approved to teach. Instructors must have a master's degree in order to be provisionally approved. When instructors are provisionally approved, they will be placed on a professional development plan. The professional development plan will include graduate courses in the discipline. Minnesota State Mankato's PSEO Office will cover tuition and fees for provisionally approved instructors enrolled graduate courses at Minnesota State Mankato.

Each academic department will determine minimum qualifications. If instructors have questions please reach out to the PSEO Office.

APPLICATION REVIEW PROCESS

This section will explain the application review process, including steps and required documentation. 

1. Instructors will need to apply to teach. A link to the instructor application can be found below. Its recommended to talk with your high school principal prior to applying to teach courses. At some point, the PSEO Office will reach out to your district leadership to discuss the potential future partnership. 
   1. A complete application includes an updated resume, cover letter, and unofficial transcripts from both undergraduate and graduate degrees. If you've completed additional graduate courses beyond your master's degree, please provide those as well.
2. When the application is submitted, the PSEO Office will route it for the following approvals, academic department => college dean => Office of the Provost.

3. After review, the PSEO Office will communicate with the instructor and high school principal via email. Shortly after the email, more information will be sent out on next steps.

In most cases a review can be completed in 2 - 3 weeks. In some cases the review may take a little longer.

Concurrent Enrollment Instructor Application

 

POST-APPROVAL

After approval, new instructors will need to complete a couple of steps.

1. CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT INSTRUCTOR CREDENTIALING

   1. After approval, instructors will need to complete our instructor credentialing process. This is NOT a second review of your application or credentials. This mirrors the process we have for adjunct faculty and helps us monitor the progress provisional instructors are making towards full approval.
   2. This process helps create your StarID (university ID) and is necessary for your to be able to access university websites, view your university rosters, and enter grades for your courses.

2. NEW INSTRUCTOR COURSE SPECIFIC TRAINING

   1. Someone from the university will reach out to you to complete this step. This is a necessary step to help instructors better understand student learning outcomes, sample assessments, textbook options, course rigor and pace, and syllabi samples. More information will be provided after approval and completion of your instructor credentialing.

returning instructors

annual professional development

As a returning instructor, you should be aware of the requirement to complete annual, course-specific, professional development. This requirement is NACEP Faculty Standard 3 which requires instructor to "participate in annual discipline-specific professional development and ongoing collegial interaction to further enhance instructors' pedagogy and breadth of knowledge in the discipline." The intent of this standard is to encourage ongoing conversation between instructors and their faculty partners. As curriculum and student learning outcomes change, its important that you are aware of those changes so you can approrpriately adjust your course to align with the university course.

 In most cases you can complete this requirement at our annual, August Professional Development Day. If you're not able to attend the August date, you'll be required to complete the standard through alternative means. There are several ways to meet the standard, if you're choosing to meet the standard outside of the professional development day you will need to get pre-approval from your faculty partner. Some examples of professional development activities could include:

1. August professional development program
2. Dialogue groups – can be held virtually using D2L or another platform
3. Attending a conference and reflecting on how the information will inform your teaching of the course (must be documented)
4. Grade norming exercises
5. Completing a graduate course in the discipline (at MSU or another institution)

non-compliance policy

Course-specific professional development is required. Instructors who fail to complete professional development over the course of an academic year will be sent a non-compliance letter informing them that they have one year to be in compliance. If, after the next academic year, they are still out of compliance, they will be removed from the program. Each communication will be sent to the instructor and building principal.

Minnesota State Mankato takes these requirements seriously. Failing to meet these standards risks our accreditation with NACEP, which is required by Minnesota law. Accreditation also benefits your school by providing supplemental aid for each student that registers for concurrent enrollment courses. 

additional resources

Additional resources for all instructors can be found in our Instructor Handbook and our Concurrent Enrollment Teams site. If you have trouble accessing either of these please reach out to Mike.

CE Team Site

*The Teams site is only accessible to currently approved instructors.

instructor handbook

Still looking for more information? Take a look at our Instructor Handbook that will provide more information including important dates, contact information, and details on best practices and process.

Instructor Handbook