EdPass Home
Eligibility and Enrollment Information
Review eligibility requirements and procedures for enrollment, applications and the new Florida EdPASS Program, designed especially for Florida Educators
_________________________________________________________________
Overview -
The Florida EdPASS Initiative streamlines the admissions/registration process for the online courses listed from participating Florida colleges and universities. It provides a convenient way for qualified students to be certified for enrollment in courses selected for EdPASS. EdPASS students meeting the eligibility requirements will use the EdPASS VESA ( V isiting E lectronic S tudent A uthorization) application to enroll in courses. An EdPASS VESA allows students to enroll as a visiting student at participating institutions. EdPASS students will receive grades and earn credits for completion of courses.
There is no charge to submit your online EdPASS VESA Application, which can be completed in a matter of minutes. (Once you have completed the application, you have only a few screens to complete the process to be cleared to register and enroll in courses.
EdPASS students will be required to follow all institutional procedures for registration, payment of fees, and will be governed by all academic policies of the institution. Participating institutions may have other requirements, e.g., prerequisite courses, which students must meet. Students must be “admitted” to an institution through the EdPASS Initiative prior to course enrollment.
Students who are currently enrolled in a degree program at an institution not participating in the EdPASS initiative may be able to enroll as a "visiting" student. Links to each institution and their application and enrollment procedures may be found at www.distancelearn.org .
Back to Top
_________________________________________________________________
EdPASS Eligibility and Program Guidelines -
- To be eligible to participate in the initiative, you must hold, at a minimum, a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution.
- Institutions may require students to provide an official or unofficial transcript from the institution that awarded their degree.
- The EdPASS Initiative is currently open to Florida educators employed by a Florida school district.
- Employment Status will be verified with the Florida Department of Education.
Guidelines Governing the EdPASS VESA Initiative
- Certification as an EdPASS student does not indicate or connote admission to any institution and/or degree program.
- An EdPASS student must complete the application for a specific college or university and meet all admission requirements with a specific institution if a degree is sought.
- Credits earned as an EdPASS student may be used to meet degree or certificate requirements. Institutions have final authority on the transfer, acceptance and use of any credits earned as an EdPASS student.
- EdPASS students must meet all prerequisite course and/or eligibility requirements in order to enroll in a specific course stipulated by the offering institution.
- Students may use the EdPASS only at participating institutions and for courses designated by participating institutions as EdPASS courses.
- EdPASS students may enroll in a maximum of six credit hours of course work in any term of study. Transcripts of work completed as an EdPASS student are issued by the institution offering the course.
- EdPASS students are not eligible for financial aid, although some students may qualify for various other loan programs. For more information about financial assistance, visit the TheTeacherCenter.org Financial Assistance section.
The Florida Distance Learning Consortium, SREB and participating institutions reserve the right to cancel participation in the initiative or to deny registration if any requirements or guidelines are abridged, information provided is found to be incorrect or fraudulent, or if the initiative is suspended or discontinued for any reason.
Back to Top
_________________________________________________________________
EdPASS Application Procedures -
If you meet the minimum degree requirement and are employed by a Florida school district , follow these steps to apply for and receive your EdPASS Student VESA :
- If you have not previously done so, establish an account on SREB’s TheTeacherCenter.org Web site and complete the "profile" information. There is no charge to create an account, which only takes a few minutes. Your information will be secured and will be used to automatically complete most of the fields on the EdPASS VESA application.
- Search the online catalog of available courses from participating institutions. You will submit your course selections when completing the EdPASS Student VESA. You may take up to six hours (two courses) and you may take those courses from two different participating institutions. One completed VESA will allow you to enroll at both institutions. Complete the EdPASS VESA application (link to application). Be sure that you have provided all requested information. Then hit the SEND button. The application will be forwarded to Southern Regional Education Board automatically for processing.
- You may be asked to provide additional information or documentation concerning residency, employment status or a transcript.
- After review of the EdPASS VESA application, SREB will forward your EdPASS VESA to the institution for which you seek to enroll. You will then be contacted by the institutions and directed on how to complete registration for the course(s), payment of tuition and fees, and other actions you need to undertake prior to initiating the course.
- If you wish to enroll in more than six hours of course work from a specific institution, or are currently enrolled in a degree program, apply directly to the college or university offering the course of choice. The participating institution contact information may be found through www.distancelearn.org .
Back to Top
_________________________________________________________________
Privacy and Personal Information -
An Important Note about Your Data
TheTeacherCenter causes the data you input to be encrypted when in route between your browser and TheTeacherCenter server, and when in route between the TheTeacherCenter server and some other browser or server. This practice helps prevent unauthorized third parties from intercepting and gaining access to your private data during transmission. TheTeacherCenter uses 56-bit, Secure Socket Layer encryption, supported by both Netscape's and Microsoft's browsers.
Data residing on TheTeacherCenter server is password protected, and access is provided only to the account holder who created the password, anyone to whom that account holder entrusted the password, and those employees of XAP (SREB's partner) who require such access to administer and maintain TheTeacherCenter system or to provide requested customer support to users of TheTeacherCenter. Each XAP employee who has access to the data residing on TheTeacherCenter server has agreed in writing to respect the privacy of all such personal data.
For more detailed information, see our privacy policy.
Back to Top
_________________________________________________________________
After Submitting Your Application -
Search and Select Courses Online
Once you have completed an account on SREB’s TheTeacherCenter.org, you can begin to search and select courses that meet your needs. The Florida Distance Learning Consortium and the Southern Regional Education Board have worked with the participating institutions and the Florida Department of Education to ensure that the listed courses can be used for recertification purposes.
The final responsibility for compliance with certification guidelines rests with the individual teacher/student. Due to the changing nature of certification requirements, each EdPASS student is strongly encouraged to check and confirm the applicability of any selected courses for recertification with their district certification specialist before completing the EdPASS enrollment process.
Tuition and Fee Payment
Payment of all tuition and fees prior to the beginning of the course(s) is the responsibility of the student. Failure to complete the payment process will result in students being dropped from the roll of the course at the institutions discretion.
The offering institution will provide detailed information on the methods of payment available to students.
Dropping a Course
Once an EdPASS student has been enrolled in a course through the EdPASS Initiative, students are subject to the regular rules and procedures for withdrawing from a course at the offering institution, including tuition refund policies. Students should consult the providing institution in all such matters.
Back to Top |