The pathway to becoming a teacher has just become smoother and more affordable for liberal studies majors at San Diego State University. The Liberal Studies program was recently granted a waiver that will allow eligible students to bypass the California Subject Examinations for Teachers (CSET) by proving their mastery of subject matter through classroom performance.
“I think (students) are excited; it's mainly because they don't have to take the tests, but another benefit I see is that it raises the bar,” said Dr. Virginia Loh-Hagan, director of SDSU’s Liberal Studies program. “Students have to do well in their classes and I think our waiver program offers extra incentive for that. I want Liberal Studies to be a competitive and much-sought-after major — as such, I want it to be rigorous.”
Previously, students could only enter a credential program after passing three elementary subject matter CSET tests — a requirement that cost hundreds of dollars in fees and inspired considerable stress. Now, thanks to a newly CSET-aligned curriculum, eligible liberal studies majors won’t have to take the exams provided they meet the criteria which includes taking the CSET-aligned courses, getting at least a C in their courses and maintaining a GPA of at least 2.7.
“Between the ITEP program and the CSET waiver, we've had two very significant program initiatives and changes that will make our program much better and offer our students a lot of options.”The waiver is only available to liberal studies majors. Freshmen and sophomores currently in the program are already on track, but juniors and seniors may need to take additional courses to secure the waiver. Loh-Hagan suggested upper-class students scroll to the bottom of this page to learn about eligibility.
—Dr. Virginia Loh-Hagan
The CSET waiver announcement comes on the heels of the approval of Liberal Studies’ Integrated Teacher Education Programs (ITEP) curriculum, which will allow students to earn their bachelor’s degree and teaching credential together in just four years.
“For our ITEP students, it's almost like they got on board an all inclusive cruise,” Loh-Hagan said, laughing. “Between the ITEP program and the CSET waiver, we've had two very significant program initiatives and changes that will make our program much better and offer our students a lot of options. This has been a good process.”
Loh-Hagan spearheaded the CSET waiver application, which took three years — and 3,000 pages of application documents — to gain approval. She credits the help of previous liberal studies coordinator Dr. Phoebe Roeder, COE director of assessment and accreditation Dr. Nina Potter, and a spirit of cross-departmental collaboration for the long-awaited success.
In the end, the program implemented significant changes in its dance, literacy, and language acquisition curricula.
“We weren't going to quit,” Loh-Hagan said. “We knew this was going to benefit our students, so we were going to make it happen no matter what.”