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Frequently Asked Questions

What teaching positions are considered to be high need areas?

You can find information about teacher shortage areas on the United States Department of Education link. You will find this for all states, including Rhode Island.

I am a freshman; can I enroll in Feinstein School of Education and Human Development (FSEHD) program courses?

If you are an undergraduate or second-degree student, you take the bulk of your program coursework once you have applied, and been admitted, to your intended program/major.

You will take a few FSEHD Pre-admissions courses that provide clinical experiences such as observations and small group work with children and youth in a variety of settings.

How do I contact my advisor if I don’t know who that is?

You will log in to MyRIC go to the Student Center. This page displays a current course schedule and, in the bottom right, the Program Advisor’s name. See RIC’s Advising FAQs for additional information.

If you don’t see your advisor’s name, email the department chair of your intended program, such as Health and Physical Education or Educational Studies.

I’ve been admitted to RIC. Does that mean I’ve been admitted to the FSEHD?

Once admitted to RIC, whether you are an undergraduate or a second bachelor’s degree student, you will submit an FSEHD application specific to your program of choice.

If you are a graduate student or a RITE applicant, you apply directly to your chosen FSEHD program.

What are the requirements for FSEHD admission?

This FSEHD Programs and Admissions link provides admissions information for all FSEHD programs: undergraduate, second-degree, RITE, MAT and other certificate and graduate level programs. Once you are on that page, you will choose the program link that applies to you and your plans.

Undergraduates and second-degree students have two sets of admissions requirements:

  • FSEHD requirements include, but are not limited to, FYW and FNED courses, overall GPA, Basic Skills tests such as SAT or ACT
  • Program specific requirements include coursework and grade requirements for coursework.

All requirements must be met to be admitted to a Feinstein Program.

To confirm program specific requirements, communication with advisors will be critical to ensure students meet these requirements.

RITE, MAT and other certificate and graduate programs follow application requirements found on department web pages. Requirements and applications vary by program.

How do I apply to a FSEHD program?

While admissions requirements can be found on the FSEHD website, the process for admission varies depending on program level choices.

What is Chalk and Wire (C&W)?

Chalk and Wire is a web-based software used to submit, evaluate and archive student work in all FSEHD programs: undergraduate, second degree (initial certification and community programs), RITE, MAT and other graduate and certificate programs.

Your Chalk and Wire account is paid through the FSEHD Education fee.

You will submit course assignments/artifacts, log your clinical experience locations and dates, and apply for an internship or student teaching experience.

If you are an undergraduate or second-degree student, you will complete your FSEHD application in C&W.

  • You will organize your evidence/documentation of fulfilling requirements, upload them into your C&W application and then submit your application.

You can use it to generate e-portfolios to showcase your work from any of the work (documents, audio or video clips) you submitted your time in your FSEHD program.

Please visit the Chalk and Wire resources page to find out how to create and/or renew a C&W account. This page also provides instructions for submitting work and seeing results.

Once I’m admitted to one of the FSEHD programs, what can I expect? Specifically, how soon after acceptance to my program can I expect to work directly with K-12 students?

Once you are admitted to a FSEHD program, you become a FSEHD Candidate.

Whether you are a FSEHD community candidate or an initial certification undergraduate, second-degree, RITE, MAT candidate you will enroll in a range of content and pedagogy courses throughout your time in your FSEHD program.

In the first or second semester of program coursework, you will find that most courses include clinical experience opportunities to work with children and youth in school and community settings. Experiences will progress and you will spend more time in classrooms, culminating in a full-time clinical experience in your internship or student teaching placement

What is a BCI? Why do I need a BCI? Where can I acquire a BCI?

A BCI (Bureau of Criminal Investigation) is a required background check.

FSEHD requires all undergraduate and graduate students, who work with children/youth/adults in any setting, virtually and/or face to face, to obtain a new BCI from the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office each year.

Students will upload BCIs in Chalk and Wire.

How do I know if Blackboard will be used in any of my courses?

Log in to Blackboard to find out. If any of your professors use Blackboard you will see the course(s) listed.

Please note that it may take between 24 and 48 hours, after enrollment in a course, to access Blackboard for that course.

What if enrollment in a course puts me over the 18-credit limit?

You are not able to enroll in a course that puts you over the 18-credit limit.

You do not receive a waiver; someone must manually enroll you in the course.

To make your request to be enrolled in a course, download the Over the 18-Credit Limit form.

Fill in all sections of the form and enroll in all courses except the one that would place you over the limit. FSEHD would prefer you enroll in all courses except for one of the FSEHD program courses.

Discuss your plans with your advisor to ensure you taking the appropriate courses.

Once you’ve discussed this with your advisor, email your request to FSEHD@ric.edu, include the completed Over the Credit Limit form and a current transcript. All information must be provided in order to review your request.

The Associate Dean will review previous semester work, GPA and credit load. If approved, the Associate Dean will enroll you in the course that puts you over the limit.

Bursar’s Office

Note: Students who take more than 18 credit hours of course work per semester pay an additional $347 per credit hour (if in state) or an additional $856 per credit hour (if out of state and Northeast Neighbors). Waivers are not eligible for credit overload.

What are the terms used in FSEHD Rubrics?

See the Assessment Glossary

When do I apply to student teach? What are the student teaching requirements and application deadlines?

You will apply to student teach one-year before your intended student teaching semester. An email from the Office of Partnerships and Placements (OPP) office will provide information about the application process and a meeting to describe the preparation steps.

Refer to the Office of Partnerships and Placements (OPP) home page as deadlines and requirements change each semester. Be sure to check regularly with your advisor, and well in advance of the semester you plan to student teach, to make sure all requirements are met.

Do I have to apply for graduation even if I don’t plan to go to commencement?

Yes, even if you don’t plan to attend commencement, you must apply to graduate.

Apply for graduation three semesters before your intended graduation semester.

Applying to graduate generates your degree audit which will be completed by the Records Office.

The Records Office will inform you of any outstanding courses required for graduation.

Please review How Do I Apply to Graduate on the Records Office FAQs page.

Additional questions can be answered on the Graduation page.

What is the education fee on my student account? Why am I being charged?

FSEHD students are assessed a program fee used to support School of Education program related expenses including technology and student professional development expenses.

How do I access my courses?

RIC Email: Read your RIC email. You should receive an email from FSEHD faculty teaching courses you are registered for with information about how to join your class. This information may also be on Blackboard for each of your FSEHD courses.

You should attend the first class.

How do I add and/or join a course if I’m not currently registered?

You can enroll yourself in a course during the first week of the semester. If you have trouble enrolling or you’ve waited until the second week of the semester to enroll: Contact the faculty teaching the course and/or the department chair to determine if you can be added the course.

The faculty member will reach out to you with information for attending class on the first day or as soon as possible. It may take one to two days, once enrolled, to gain access to Blackboard.

What is remote learning?

Remote learning does not mean learning alone or in isolation. We encourage you to stay connected to your peers and faculty. Please access the list of resources to assist you in remaining academically and socially connected.

What is G Suite for Education?

FSEHD students have access to G Suite for Education, a suite of free productivity tools to help students and faculty interact seamlessly and securely across devices.

How do I access my RIC G Suite Account? - https://servicecenter.ric.edu/TDClient/1794/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=96207

I am unfamiliar with G Suite, specifically Google Classroom. How do I familiarize myself with the features?

The RIC Remote page offers resources to familiarize students with Google Classroom and G Suite: http://www.ric.edu/gsuite/

You can also access a full listing of G Suite apps here: http://www.ric.edu/gsuite/pages/Applications-and-Training.aspx

How do I use Google apps like Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, or store documents on my Google Drive?

Google Docs Cheat Sheet

Google Sheets Cheat Sheet

Google Slides Cheat Sheet

Google Drive Cheat Sheet

Some FSEHD courses utilize BlackBoard. How do I access my courses through Blackboard?

Log in to MyRIC and click Blackboard. Any courses using Blackboard will be listed.

You can also access Blackboard courses by logging in https://blackboard.ric.edu/.

Your course instructor will help you understand the course design on Blackboard.

If you have Blackboard issues, send an email to the RIC helpdesk helpdesk@ric.edu.

I am concerned about how to engage in online classes and how to be a good student in online classes.

RIC Remote Learning – The RIC Learn Remote page contains resources to enhance students’ online learning experiences. There are links to Financial Aid; academic resources including tutoring; links to technology frequently asked questions and webinars explaining how to use technology tools such as Zoom.

Check out this brief video from University of Cincinnati students sharing learning strategies and time management tips.

8 Strategies for Success in Online Classes

General questions to be found on the Records Page.

General questions found on the Records FAQ page: changing a major, getting an academic transcript/degree audit, requesting course substitutions, and dropping and/or repeating a course.

Page last updated: April 18, 2021