Faculty of Education

NOTE: Candidates must complete the requirements that were in place when they entered into Year 1 of their degree. Choose the links to all areas that apply to you:

I started my program in 2011-12.
I started my program in 2010-11.
I started my program in 2009-10 or 2008-09 (choose your Teacher Candidate Guide from the year you started).

Where should I direct my questions?

Program questions: contact the Concurrent Education Assistant, in the Education Registrar’s Office, room A112 Duncan MacArthur Hall, 613-533-6000 x 77249.
Practice teaching placement questions: contact the Practicum Office,room A103 DMH, 613-533-6202.

How do I find out what’s going on in Con Ed?

All students should all be on a listserv. For example, Year 2 students will be on the COQL-2 list. All Con Ed students will receive emails from the Concurrent Education Assistant, from CESA and from their year reps. Archived emails are available on the listserv website.
If you think you’re on the wrong COQ list, please email the Concurrent Education Assistant.

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Are the course requirements for the Con Ed Program different than the requirements for my Arts and Science degree?

Yes, the requirements for each degree are different.
You are enrolled in two faculties at Queen’s, the Faculty of Education AND the Faculty of Arts and Science.
You are completing two different degrees at the same time, a Bachelor of Education degree AND a Bachelor of Arts, Science, Music or Computing.
Your Arts & Science degree consists of your main campus undergrad courses like CHEM 112 or ENGL 100. Your Education degree consists of PROF and PRAC courses in Years 1-3, and in Final Year CURR, FOCI, EDST, FOUN and also PROF and PRAC courses.

What are the differences between Years 1-3 and Final Year in Con Ed?
In Years 1-3 you:

Work on your Arts, Science, Music or Computing degree.
Take Education Professional Studies (PROF) courses and Experiences in Schools (PRAC) courses (your teaching placements).
Work on fulfilling the requirements to enter the Final Year Con Ed Program (Bachelor of Education year).

In Final Year you will:

Have completed all of the requirements to attend Final Year.
Have requested to attend Final Year Education (by responding to the Final Year Education Questionnaire which is sent to all Year 3 and 4 Con Ed students in January).
Have graduated from your Arts, Science, Music or Computing degree in the spring prior to attending Final Year Con Ed in the fall.
Complete the BEd year (Education courses and multiple-week Practicum placements) at the Faculty of Education.

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How long does it take to complete BOTH the Con Ed degree AND the Arts, Science, Computing or Music degree?

It usually takes 5 years.
Undergraduate degree programs (Arts, Science, Computing, or Music degrees) are usually completed in four years, and the BED is always completed in one year.
You may complete your undergraduate degree (Arts, Science, Computing, or Music degrees) in five years (and some even complete it in three).
Con Ed students are expected to complete both degrees within six years.

TYPICAL:

4 years to complete a 20-credit (120-unit) Arts, Science, OR Computing degree or 4 years to complete a 21.5-credit (129-unit) Music undergraduate degree.
1 year Bachelor of Education (Final Year Con Ed).
TOTAL 5 years to complete both degrees.

EXTENDED:

5 years to complete a 20-credit (120-unit) Arts, Science, OR Computing degree or 5 years to complete a 21.5-credit (129-unit) Music undergraduate degree.
1 year Bachelor of Education (Final Year Con Ed).
6 years to complete both degrees.

If I am in Con Ed-Arts, do I have to have 20 full-courses in my Bachelor of Arts Honours (BAH)?

Yes, although a BAH normally requires only 19 full-courses (114 units), your Con Ed requirement is for 20 full-courses (120 units).

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I plan to start Final Year Education in this coming Fall term. When do I need to complete all of my Final Year Con Ed requirements?

Candidates planning to enter Final Year Education at Queen’s in the fall of 2012 must:

Successfully complete all prerequisites courses by the second Friday in May 2012.
Graduate in the spring of 2012.
If you completed all of your courses at Queen’s, you do not need to send an official transcript from Queen’s to the Concurrent Education Assistant. We will print your Queen’s transcript and verify that you graduated in the spring 2012 convocation from your Arts and Science undergraduate degree.
If you request an extension and are graduating in the fall, you must send in all official transcripts from other universities to the Faculty of Arts and Science for inclusion on your Queen’s transcript by 30 July 2012.

How do I check my final marks for Queen’s courses?

In SOLUS, in the ‘other academic’ drop down menu, choose either:

Course History, or
View Unofficial Transcript.

How does the grading system work for my Education courses?

The Faculty of Education grading system is outlined in the Faculty of Education Calendar.
The Faculty of Arts and Science uses a grading system that is different from the Faculty of Education.

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When do final marks (grades) show on SOLUS?

The University Registrar’s Office website gives the currently available release date for your marks.

When should I contact the Concurrent Education Assistant in the Education Registrar’s Office?

When you fail an Education course, so you know your options and our faculty’s policy for requesting to retake this course.
When you are placed on academic probation by the Faculty of Arts and Science, so you can receive academic advising about how this will affect your progression in the Con Ed Program.
To request to change your program options (division – PJ or IS).
To request to change your teaching subjects (for students in Intermediate-Senior).
To ask permission to take a PROF or PRAC course in a year other than intended.
To request permission to take a one year leave of absence from the Con Ed Program.
To confirm return from a one year leave of absence to the Con Ed Program.
In Year 4, to make a request to defer Final Year Con Ed for one academic year.
If you decide to withdraw from the Con Ed program.
When you want to take an Arts and Science course from another university.
When you want to take a course that is not listed in the Teacher Candidate Guide or Academic Calendar to satisfy any of the requirements for the Con Ed Program. You must ensure that the course is approved by the Education Registrar’s Office and will satisfy the requirement that you intended.
To clarify that you are taking the correct courses to satisfy the requirements for the Con Ed Program (please check the teaching subject charts in the Academic Calendar first).

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Can I qualify to teach all divisions (Primary, Junior, Intermediate and Senior)?

You may only be certified in two divisions while you are in the Concurrent BEd program (Primary and Junior, or Intermediate and Senior).
Any additional division certifications are taken as Additional Basic Qualification (ABQ) courses after you already have your BEd.
All information about ABQs offered at Queen's can be found on the Continuing Teacher Education website.
If you qualify in IS first, then you will only need two ABQs, Primary ABQ and Junior ABQ.
If you qualify in PJ first, then to be qualified to teach both Intermediate and Senior in two subject areas (which is the equivalent of what you could teach if you took IS in Con Ed), you will need to take FOUR ABQ courses.
You must take at least two courses in the desired subject area in your undergrad to qualify to take an ABQ in Intermediate or Senior (check specific requirements for each course).
ABQ courses usually last one academic term and cost around $700.

When do I take PROF 180?

PROF 180 used to be offered in third year but is now only offered in Final Year.

How do I get Visual Arts as a Teaching Subject at Queen's?

Review the Visual Arts teaching subject chart.
The Art History (ARTH) courses are still offered at Queen’s (you have to take at least one 6.0-unit course (ARTH 120), and can take up to three). The problem is that none of the ARTF courses are still offered (with no plans in the near future to offer them) except the 3.0-unit course at the Castle in the summer (ARTF 106).
In order to meet the requirements (12.0 units of studio classes in painting drawing and sculpting) you will have to:

Find a course somewhere else that has the same number of units and covers painting drawing and sculpting.
Check with our office to make sure the institution is accredited (it has to be an accredited university, not a college).
Apply to the Faculty of Arts & Science to get a Letter of Permission to take the class as an equivalent of one of the courses on the chart (pay $50 for each letter).
When you have taken the course, send the transcript to The Faculty of Arts & Science.
When it appears on your Queen’s transcript as an equivalent of one of the Queen’s ARTF courses, you will be able to count it towards your teaching subject and your degree.

Some people have taken these courses and NOT counted them towards their Queen’s degrees. This is a bit different; contact the Concurrent Education Assistant if this is your plan.

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Can I get a third teaching subject?

You may only be certified in two IS teaching subjects while you are in the Concurrent BEd program.
Any additional teaching subjects are taken as Additional Basic Qualification (ABQ) courses after you already have your BEd.
You must take at least two courses in the desired subject area in your undergrad to qualify to take an ABQ.
ABQ courses usually last one academic term and cost around $700.
All information about ABQs can be found on the Continuing Teacher Education website.

What’s the difference between “teachable” and “teaching subject”?
There is no difference; Queen's uses the term teaching subject.

If I choose PJ, can I major in anything I want?

Yes. PJ students are not certified to teach specific subjects, so they do not have to take courses in those subjects to qualify for the Curriculum courses they will take in Final Year.
PJ students are required to have a half-course in Developmental Psychology (covered by taking PSYC100 at Queen’s). This is the only required course.
We RECOMMEND that PJ students take a 3.0-unit course in six different subject areas so they will be better prepared to teach (note these are recommended, not required):

English
The Arts (includes music, film, children’s literature, Shakespeare)
Geography or Canadian History
Health or Physical Education
Science
Math or Statistics

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Questions for Year One

How do I choose my courses?

Your Education courses will be preloaded for you. You may change sections during Open Enrolment. Registration instructions will be emailed to you the summer before you come to Queen’s.

How do I check which courses I am registered in?

Click on the My.QueensU/SOLUS link at the bar on top of any Queen’s web page.
Enter your NetID and password.
Enter SOLUS by clicking on the SOLUS Student Center link (it’s either on your Home tab or the Palette tab).
You will see ‘Welcome to SOLUS’ on your Student Center main page.
Your current term schedule is displayed in a list.
Click on “weekly schedule” beneath it to see it in a calendar view.
To see another term, click on Class Schedule in the “other academic” drop-down menu.
Click on your next term and will see a list of the next term’s classes, but you can’t see the calendar view for another term by clicking on Weekly Calendar View unless you change the date at the top to say, for example, 2012/01/09 for Winter 2012.
To see all your courses, in the ‘Academics’ section, click on ‘other academics’ in the drop-down menu.
Click on Course History. This lists all of your courses and marks. You can ‘Sort results by Term’ to see them in the order you took them.

When do I choose my Divisions and Teaching Subjects?

Your divisions (Intermediate-Senior or Primary-Junior) are chosen in the summer after first year. Each year we hold a Division Selection workshop in the spring to help you make an informed decision.
If you choose Intermediate-Senior, you will also choose your two teaching subjects.
You will make your choices on SOLUS and instructions will be sent to you by email.

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Can I send emails from my Hotmail account?

No, please don’t! Replies won’t always reach you because Hotmail often blocks Queen’s emails.
You must send all questions and updates from your Queen’s email account.
The Faculty of Education cannot act upon student requests (e.g. change your division level or teaching subjects) unless they are sent from a Queen’s email account.
Always include your first name, last name and student number in email correspondence.

Where do I find information about course fees?

This information can be found on the University Registrar’s website - Tuition & Fees.

How do I opt out of student fees?

Contact the Alma Mater Society (AMS).

Phone: 613-533-3001 (call this line for Health and Dental Questions).
Email: Complete the form on the AMS website under “Contact Us”.

Can I be required to withdraw from Con Ed if I don’t keep my grades up?

You have six years to complete both degrees.
If you are placed on Academic Probation by Arts & Science, you must suspend your PROF and PRAC courses until you are released from probation in Arts & Science.
If you are required to withdraw from Arts & Science for one year, you may come back and finish the Con Ed program in enough time, as long as you can still get 120 units in five years.
If you are required to withdraw for three years, you may not continue in Con Ed because you would take too long to finish both programs.

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All information is subject to change

Faculty of Education, Duncan McArthur Hall
Kingston, Ontario, Canada. K7M 5R7. 613.533.2000

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Faculty of Education

Frequently Asked Questions - Queen's Concurrent Education

Questions for Year One