IUPUC is launching a new “fast-track” program to help individuals with bachelor’s degrees earn elementary teaching certificates.
The District-Based Alternative Certification (DBAC) Program is a new partnership with IUPUI and will begin in the 2023 fall semester.
The new initiative is a collection of in-person and online classes and replaces the current Transition to Teaching Program, IUPUC officials said.
Participants who already have a bachelor’s degree will be able to complete the DBAC program with just 24 credits, and students who earn a B or better can apply 18 credits toward a master’s degree in elementary education.
According to Crystal Walcott, head of IUPUC’s Division of Education, elementary licensure can also lead to teaching at higher levels.
“A little-known fact is that once an initial license is granted, many secondary content area licenses can be added by assessment only,” she said. “That means our elementary education grads can become, in effect, licensed in grades K-12 with only one degree.”
In addition to the new DBAC, IUPUC’s Division of Education also offers a traditional four-year pathway to an elementary education degree, a two-year program for Ivy Tech graduates who complete the Elementary Education Transfer Single Articulation Pathway, a Secondary Transition to Teaching program for individuals interested in secondary education who currently hold a bachelor’s degree (in partnership with IU Kokomo), and add-on licensure programs in Special Education, Mild Intervention and English as a New Language.
Several IUPUC elementary education graduates now teach high school subjects such as language arts and math because they added those content areas to their license. “The only additional step for them was passing the content area licensing exam,” Walcott said.
For more information about becoming a licensed teacher, contact Walcott at [email protected] or 812-348-7346, or visit iupuc.edu/education.
