Education Placement and Certification Specialist

The Education Placement and Certification Specialist serves a variety of student services needs for students in education programs including recruitment/admissions, placement, and certification. The incumbent is responsible for ensuring compliance with PESB/OSPI requirements and the processing of the placement and certification applications.

Ranked by Niche as the second (#2) most diverse private college in Washington State in 2020. Saint Martin’s is extremely proud of our student diversity.  Our university treasures persons of all abilities, ages, ethnicities, genders, nationalities, orientations, races, and religions.  In particular, we know that students educated in ethnically diverse settings perform better academically and reap greater professional success than their peers from more homogeneous learning environments. We proudly celebrate that our student population is 51% undergraduate and 32% graduate students of color.  We are committed to pursuing an employee community which reflects a similar, if not the same percentage. 

Therefore, we intentionally encourage and request that members of historically underrepresented groups apply to join this community.  All of us, from all backgrounds, are making a commitment to do and be better for our students, faculty, and staff.

Established in 1895, Saint Martin’s University serves as the educational mission of Saint Martin’s Abbey.  The Abbey is a Catholic Benedictine monastery, whose members pray, work, and live together on the University campus.  As the mission is Catholic and Benedictine, one of our values is a spirit of hospitality welcoming all, regardless of an individual’s faith, religion, or spirituality. 

 

Essential Functions & Responsibilities

 Essential functions, as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, may include any of the following representative duties, knowledge, and skills. This list is ILLUSTRATIVE ONLY and is not a comprehensive listing of all functions and duties performed by incumbents of this position. Employees are required to be in attendance and prepared to begin work at their assigned work location on the specified days and hours. Factors such as regular attendance at the job are not routinely listed in job descriptions but are an essential function. Essential duties and responsibilities may include but are not limited to, the following.

 

Placement Services

• Interacts with school districts, dealing with superintendents, principals, and personnel officers in school districts
  • Works to build and sustain positive relationships with all district personnel and school community members.
  • Reviews student teacher applications for complete and correct information and assist candidates with edits needed.
  • Places over 70 student-teacher internship placements annually.
  • Places over 200 field placements for practica for all campuses.
  • Maintains placement records, monitoring required variety in field experiences for each student's official file.
  • Mails school district contracts, meeting notices, letters to mentor teachers and principals.
• Acts as liaison between student teaching candidates and districts during practica and student internship placement, fielding disagreements and special requests with sensitivity.
• Maintains and produces information databases as needed within the Placement Office.
  • Enters West B and West E scores into PowerCampus
  • Conducts survey and records data for “Job Placement Report” from alumni
  • Field Experience Codebook reporting as required by PESB
  • Shares information with faculty and other staff as needed.
• Coordinates with faculty and adjunct faculty via the telephone, e-mail, and written documentation.
• Documents dates of fingerprint records, completion of WEST B and WEST E test scores, and completion of First

Aid/CPR for children and adults in student’s file in accordance with Washington state law for student teaching internships.

• Assists students in completing student teaching applications and monitors completeness and accuracy of those forms.
• Maintains field experience placement records; files appropriate information/forms in students’ files
• Maintains practicum placement records, monitoring required variety in field experiences for each student’s official

file

• Prepares mentor teacher stipend agreements
• Maintains currency of knowledge about requirements, processes, and procedures as required by the University as well as by Washington state defined in the Washington Administrative Code (WAC).

Student Services

• Assists persons requiring information, in person, by telephone, and by e-mail explaining programs to inquirers and providing information for requesters.
• Promotes the Teacher Certification Program at all sites via oral and written communication.
• Assists periodically with clerical duties in the main office including answering phones, front desk monitoring, filing paperwork and accessing student files, and other tasks as required.
• Assists the Dean in recruiting and program scheduling for the Division.
• Attends Division meetings both on-campus and within the community. May plan and schedule such meetings.
• Assists students with registration for required program classes as needed.
• Organizes and runs the Internship Celebration every semester.
• Collects registration fees and submits them to the appropriate fiscal office.

Teacher Certification

• Works to build and sustain positive relationships with all OSPI/PESB representatives. Actively engages with representatives to ensure best/current practices and gain new ideas.
• May provide academic advising to prospective students; maintain, monitor, and record all necessary data in student files.
• Ensures that application and advising records are forwarded to the Executive Assistant and/or faculty advisor for follow-up.
• Prepares and submits applications to the Superintendent of Public Instruction for teaching, administrator, and counseling certification and added subject-matter endorsements through the E-Certification system. Ensures students follow through with E-Certification application including payment of fees.
• Assists students in completing endorsement and program planning forms monitors completeness and accuracy of those forms using students’ transcripts and submits the forms to the Dean for approval.
• Verifies completion of Teacher Certification Programs to the State of Washington for Residency Teacher Certification.
• Completes file audits for all graduating students in education programs and submits to the registrar
• Reviews reports for state and national program approval/accreditation self-studies and site visits (e.g. GPA, Endorsements, Completers, etc.)
• Attends meetings related to certification issues such as internship seminars, all state certification conferences, and webinars, and ensures that information is shared with the Dean and others.

 

COMPETENCIES

• Possesses a general understanding of Washington Administrative Code (WAC) relating to education program approval and teacher certification guidelines.
• Communicates successfully and professionally in all situations: face-to-face, in group settings, over the telephone, and electronically through email or Skype.
• Observes, compares, and monitors data to determine compliance with prescribed operating standards.
• Produces written documents with clearly organized thoughts using proper sentence construction, punctuation, and grammar.
• Possesses word processing, spreadsheet, and database proficiency for correspondence, data collection, and report generation for state agencies and interdepartmental projects.
• Maintains strict confidentiality of all office and departmental information in accordance with Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) law.
• Adapts to changing policy/process as determined by University, state, or national requirements.
• Completes multiple and diverse tasks in a fast-paced work environment.
• Prioritizes work tasks and obligations while working both independently and under deadlines.
• Establishes and maintains effective working relationships with persons from diverse educational, economic and cultural backgrounds as well as persons with disabilities.
• Learns job-related material primarily through oral instruction and observation. This learning takes places mainly in an on-the-job training setting.
• Comprehends and makes inferences from written material.
• Possesses proficient computer literacy as appropriate for a higher education setting.
• Reports to work on time according to a schedule.
• Supports a Catholic, Benedictine philosophy of education.

 

REQUIREMENTS AND/OR CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

• Bachelor Degree; or a combination of education and experience.
• Additional two years’ experience in the education field or student services type of experience.
• May occasionally be asked to work evenings or on weekends.
• Successfully pass a criminal background check.

 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORKING ENVIRONMENT

Work is performed in a standard office environment. Physical demands include: 

• Moves objects (less than 20 pounds) long distances (more than 20 feet).
• Ability to be mobile campus-wide for appropriate business needs.
• Operates a variety of standard office equipment requiring continuous or repetitive arm-hand movements.
• Reading, writing, speaking, hearing, standing, bending, sitting.
• Learning and comprehending.
• Requires visual concentration on detail.
• Manual dexterity and precision required for keyboarding
• Must be able to sit for long periods at a time at a computer
• May occasionally be required to deal with distraught people.
• Able to concentrate on details/process complex information while experiencing frequent interruptions.
• Must be able to communicate effectively with people at all levels under stressful conditions.
• Must maintain strict confidentiality relating to all issues in the department, the University, and the President’s Office.

 

 

Application procedures:

To be considered for this position, you must apply directly to our website. Please visit us at:

https://workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/default/mdf/recruitment/recruitment.html?cid=7138f757-560b-432d-a0d6-3a29cd79033e&ccId=19000101_000001&type=MP&lang=en_US