New Teacher Application Process

The process to becoming an approved instructor in our College Now program begins by submitting a New Teacher Application Form.  Applications for new teachers are due each spring by the end of February for the following year. New teachers should be approved prior to submitting a course request in April. Interested teachers must submit these five items:

1. A New Teacher Application Form
2. Cover Letter
3. A completed Minimum Qualifications Form (found below) for each discipline looking to teach
4. Current/Updated Vitae
5. A Letter of Reference from H.S. Principal
6. Official transcripts from all colleges/universities you have attended (both undergraduate and graduate work)

• Copies of Official Transcripts sent directly from your district office should have an accompanying Authorization for Release of Private Data

•  For credits coming from another MinnState Institution, please complete this Authorization for Release of Private Data - MinnState form instead and we can pull the official transcripts directly from our system.

Once these materials have been received, the submitted information will be passed along to the specific discipline for their review.  Applications can be submitted to:

Minimum Qualifications for Consideration:

The process for approving instructors is done on a case by case basis by each individual academic department.  As per SMSU's Minimum Faculty Qualifications for Course Assignment Policy, while a Master's degree in discipline is preferred, a variety of credentials, qualifications, and experiences are considered. Undergraduate and graduate coursework, teaching experience, previous involvement with teaching of other college level courses (ie: AP, IB, CEP), ongoing professional development involvement, tested experience outside the classroom demonstrating breadth and depth of knowledge in the subject area, and other factors will be taken into consideration. Each department has a minimum criteria for consideration. This minimum criteria is in no way an indication of approval, but simply the very minimum criteria for which that department will review candidacy. Approval depends on all factors listed above, sometimes including a testing opportunity and/or personal interviews. Teachers are approved under an SMSU faculty mentor who is the teacher of record for the course. Minimum qualifications for consideration are:

Art: Strong teaching experience. Proof of continual work outside of teaching in the field (active artist). Some graduate credits highly preferred.

Biology:  Minimum Qualifications Form for Biology

Chemistry:  Minimum Qualifications Form for Chemistry

Communication Studies: Minimum Qualifications Form for Communication Studies

Education: Master’s degree in discipline required.

English: Minimum Qualifications Form for English

Geography/Economics/Management: Prior experience teaching the course with undergraduate or graduate coursework in the specific discipline.  A combination of adequate coursework, teaching experiences, and additional professional opportunities and tested experience considered.

Math: Strong teaching experience and strong math undergraduate coursework. Graduate coursework preferred. Personal interviews always conducted to gauge knowledge and competency. Scaled approval process:

Level I - Algebra   
Level 2 - Trigonometry    
Level 3 - Pre-Calculus    
Level 4 - Calculus    
Level 5 - Statistics

If approved for higher course, automatic approval of lower course is included. For higher level approval, candidates must go back through the approval process for reconsideration.

Music:  Minimum Qualifications Form for Music

Physics:  Minimum Qualifications Form for Physics

Political Science:  Minimum Qualifications Form for Political Science

Psychology:  Minimum Qualifications Form for Psychology

Sociology:  Minimum Qualifications Form for Sociology

Spanish:  Minimum Qualifications Form for Spanish

If you should have any questions regarding this process, please feel free to contact me:

Ellie Ahmann - Assistant Director of College Now
507-537-6138
Ellie.Ahmann@SMSU.edu