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The Ad Hoc Teacher Preparation Committee of the Faculty Senate shall be responsible for approving these procedures and criteria.

The departmental procedures and criteria for assessment shall be reviewed at least once every three years. The departmental review must be submitted to the Ad Hoc Teacher Preparation Committee, and any changes in the procedures and criteria must be approved by that Committee no later than the eighth week of the quarter prior to implementation.

The assessment shall deal with subject matter competence only. The focus will be on the quality of the candidate's academic skills. If the department does not certify the subject matter competence of the candidate, the recommendation form sent to the college of Education must include a list of the specific deficiencies and problems noted in the assessment and proposed methods of remedying the situation.

The candidate may seek certification of subject matter a maximum of three times. Prior to repeating the assessment in a subsequent quarter, the candidate should seek departmental advising. A reevaluation conducted because of a tie vote of the committee does not apply to the limit of three assessment attempts.

The following campus procedures are established:

A.	Students may be assessed after they have completed the requirements for the major and no later than the quarter prior to the term in which they plan to enter student teaching. Students will complete a registration form for the assessment in the college of Education when they obtain a portfolio. Students must submit a portfolio in the quarter they plan to be assessed.
B.	Students will be advised by the college of Education that they must contact the department by the end of the second full week of classes to arrange for the assessment.
C.	The registration forms completed by the students who will be assessed that term will be sent to the department by the end of the first full week of classes for the quarter.
D.	Students will submit completed portfolios to the Teacher Education Department by the end of the fourth week of the quarter.
E.	Overall GPAs will be computed by the college of Education by the end of the sixth week. Only CSUSB students will have their GPA in the major noted on the transcript summary provided to the department.
F.	The departments are responsible for obtaining from the college of Education at the end of the sixth week the candidates' subject matter assessment files which contain transcripts, summary worksheets and applications.
G.	The assessment should take place no later than the end of the eighth week of the quarter.
H.	The results of the assessment shall be forwarded by the department to the student upon completion of the assessment.
I.	Certification of subject matter competence based on the assessment procedures shall be sent to the Chair of the Teacher Education Department no later than the first day of the ninth week. A recommendation must be made for each candidate, even if the department assessment procedures allowed the candidate to be certified without a written or oral exam. A copy of the recommendation shall be retained by the department.
J.	The candidates will be notified by the college of Education at the end of the final examination period regarding admission into student teaching.

1.	The decision of the departmental committee recommending denial of entry to student teaching should provide clear reasons for rejection, a list of specific deficiencies and problems noted in the results, and proposed methods of correcting the situation, e.g., specific courses, level of proficiency needed, reexamination, etc.
2.	Students wishing to discuss the results of the assessment should first contact the Chair of the department involved to obtain clarification of the reasons for the denial, explore possible alternatives for remediation and removal of deficiencies, and establish a timeline for meeting the criteria and competencies prior to subsequent reassessment.
3.	Students who still wish to pursue a formal appeal after discussing the assessment with the department Chair must submit to the department a written request for reconsideration or appeal. This document shall contain a specific list of grievances which the candidate wishes to have considered.
4.	If the department Chair finds that the arguments made by the student are compelling and convincing, the department Chair shall consult with the department committee and may then call for a timely reexamination by a different panel, or may reject the appeal. In the case where the Chair was a member of the original assessment panel, the Dean of the college shall act as the Chair.
5.	If the candidate is still unsatisfied, he/she may resubmit the written appeal to the Dean of the college involved and set up an appointment to discuss the case. After meeting with the student and reviewing the facts, the Dean will decide whether to recommend retest, call for additional consultation with the department, or uphold the decision of the department in the denial.
6.	Further appeal of procedures may be made outside the college to the Associate Vice President for Academic Programs. Denial at the University level will require the candidate to retake the exam in a subsequent term after following the conditions for removal of deficiencies established by the department.

POLICY REGARDING SUBJECT MATTER ASSESSMENT

I. Representatives of each approved teaching major (hereafter referred to as the department) in California will establish criteria and procedures (e.g., oral and/or written exam) for assessing the subject matter competence of student teaching candidates.

II. The appeal process is composed of three possible stages:

III. Appeal procedures for subject matter competence assessments are as follows: