Educator Preparation Program Support
Updates related to Educator Preparation Program Management
New: Vetted Teacher Residency Program Applications (FYI, no action required)
Applications are currently undergoing final review and notification is still on track for September 2023. All applicants will be notified individually and will receive a comprehensive summary of their application’s review. In the meantime, please see the opportunity above to register for the Texas teacher residency programs learning series that begins this Friday, September 8, 2023.
New: Dyslexia Training through TEALearn
Due to the changes from HB 3928, the Dyslexia course has been temporarily closed for required updates. TEA is working as quickly as possible to ensure correct information is updated and we anticipate that the course will open again soon. TEALearn anticipates the course will open by next week.
Reminder: TEA has updated the School District Personnel Certification Information page on the TEA website. School district personnel are responsible for ensuring that individuals serving in positions requiring educator certification hold the appropriate Texas credential. The questions and answers on that page address new and current certification processes and the most common hiring inquiries. EPPs will find this information helpful.
Countdown to ASEP Reporting
To assist EPPs with completing ASEP Reporting with ease, we have developed weekly reminders for EPP staff who work on ASEP Reporting. Each week, you will receive a weekly reminder in this Newsletter that will include a timely task that will lead to successful completion of data reporting by September 15. Please remember that the Technical Manual published on the Program Provider Resources page on the TEA website is a wonderful ‘how to’ resource for using the various functions needed for reporting in ECOS and contains some useful tips for problem solving, if needed.
New: Reminder Week 9 Final ASEP Task: Make any final corrections and submit your affidavit.
Submit with confidence that your EPP has gotten everything perfect and ready to go. Submit your affidavit to the Educator Testing and Preparation Programs Help Desk. Be sure to name your affidavit according to the instructions on the Affidavit template. The affidavit will be posted to the Program Provider Resources after the end-of-year datasets are sent out.
Reminder Week 8 ASEP Tasks: Review your data.
Compare your final EPP data with the data sets from TEA just to be sure you have not forgotten anything or anyone in your reports. Make any final corrections if needed. Reach out to your assigned specialist with any questions or issues.
Reminder: Week 7 ASEP Tasks: Report your Applied Data.
Use the new Applied portal in ECOS Entities > ASEP to report the number of individuals that applied to any of the programs within your EPP in 2022-2023 (from 9/1/2022-8/31/2023). The Applied data is reported as a total of ‘All’ that applied and is also reported as disaggregated by demographic group. This Applied portal will lock when ASEP locks so data must be entered before the 2022-2023 ASEP locks on September 15. Be sure to review the 2022-2023 Technical Manual on the Program Provider Resources page if you need assistance using the Applied portal.
Reminder: Week 6 ASEP Tasks: Enter all observations
1. Verify that all of the observations completed in 2022-2023 (9/1-8/31) have been entered into ECOS. Observations must be reported for all teacher and non-teacher candidates completing clinical teaching, internship, or practicum.
2. Ensure that all your field supervisors are on your field supervisor list in ECOS. If they are not there, please enter them so observations for candidates assigned to those field supervisors can be entered into ECOS.
3. Complete the Request for Exception (RFE) form, if necessary, to submit an exception for a candidate whose observations should not be included in the data calculations. The ASEP Observation RFE Form is located on the Program Provider Resources page under ASEP Reporting 2022-2023 Forms. Submit forms securely to Educator Testing & Preparation Programs > Data Reporting in Help Desk.
-
For best functionality of RFE forms, use Google Chrome and download and save the form on your computer before completing. After the form is complete, e-sign the form which will lock it from further edits. Save the signed form and attach it to a Help Desk ticket to submit to TEA.
Note: You can download the observation data from ECOS into a spreadsheet to assist with reviewing and verifying your data. Be sure to review the 2022-2023 Technical Manual on the Program Provider Resources page if you need assistance with downloading records from ECOS.
Reminder: Week 5 ASEP Tasks: Create Clinical Experience Records
1. Verify that each candidate that completed any part of a clinical experience (clinical teaching, internship, or practicum) in 2022-2023 has a Clinical Experience Record.
2. Ensure that all cooperating teachers, mentor teachers, and site supervisors are entered to create the Clinical Experience Record (TEA ID numbers for cooperating teachers, mentors, and site supervisors are optional for Clinical Experience records for 2022-2023. ECOS will begin requiring those TEA ID numbers starting 9/16/2023).
Note: You can download the Clinical Experience Records from ECOS into a spreadsheet to assist with reviewing and verifying your data. Be sure to review the 2022-2023 Technical Manual on the Program Provider Resources page if you need assistance with downloading records from ECOS.
Reminder: Week 4 ASEP Tasks 8/3-9/2023 Update the Finisher Records List
1. Verify that all 2022-2023 finishers are correctly listed on the Finisher Record List (FRL) with a status of “Finisher” (F). If a finisher is on the FRL for certificate categories they are not finishing, please be sure to remove those certificate categories from the list for the candidate.
2. If candidates left your EPP without finishing requirements during the year 2022-2023, be sure that you have removed them from your Finisher Records List (and that you have removed their test approvals). Once ASEP closes, you will not be able to make any changes to the FRL.
3. Additionally, remember to review the candidates from your mid-year data set that have been enrolled for 5 or more years and remove any from your 2022-2023 list that are no longer actively enrolled. Note: Candidates that are removed will need to apply and be admitted if they want to work with the EPP in future.
Reminder: Week 3 ASEP Tasks 7/26-8/2/2023 Complete all admission reporting
1. Verify that each candidate admitted in 9/1/2022-8/31/2023 has an accurate admission record. Verify all required admission data has been included in the record. If you need to update a record, you can do so manually or by bulk upload.
2. EPPs can download admission data in ECOS into a spreadsheet to help verify the admission data that has been reported to date.
3. Remember: Admission records for candidates admitted in 2022-2023 cannot be created after 8/31/2023 except for candidates admitted in the last week of August. Those records can be entered until ASEP locks on 9/15/2023.
4. Be sure to review the 2022-2023 Technical Manual on the Program Provider Resources page. It is located under Forms and Documents. This is a helpful resource as it provides useful information needed to complete ASEP Reporting.
Reminder: Week 2 ASEP Tasks 7/19-26/2023
1. Ensure that TEA has your updated EPP Contact Information.
2. Each EPP should have one Legal Authority or Primary Point of Contact and at least one Backup Legal Authority. If you have recently had a change in these staff, please contact your Education Specialist assigned and we will send you the template so you can request the changes to be made in TEA records.
3. Each EPP must have a Primary Title II Pearson and Title II IPRC contact and should have a Secondary contact for each, if possible. Ensure TEA has these current contacts. The following organizations must also have current contact information for your Title II contacts:
4. Make sure that the following contacts are correct (your assigned TEA specialist can provide you a list of contacts that we have on file for your EPP):
-
Your LBB contact if you are a college or university.
-
The staff that handles your data.
-
The staff that receives your EPP ASEP Invoices.
-
The staff, other than your Legal Authority, that may need to receive Accreditation Letters.
To verify and/or update contacts with TEA, please contact your Education Specialist.
Reminder: Week 1 ASEP Tasks 7/12-19/2023:
1. Know your assigned Education Specialist. This is the TEA staff member that you will need to reach out to when you have questions about ASEP Reporting. The EPP specialist assignment list is published on the Program Provider Resources page under Forms and Documents. Your Education Specialist is one of five staff members:
-
Lorrie Ayers, Director
-
Vanessa Alba
-
Irene Chacon
-
Linda Mott
-
Keena Sandlin
2. Become familiar with the Help Desk which EPPs should use for all questions related to ASEP Reporting. Your Education Specialist will address your EPP’s questions in the Help Desk. We are in the Help Desk under the Educator Testing and Preparation Programs tile:
3. Review the 2022-2023 Technical Manual on the Program Provider Resources page. It is located under Forms and Documents. This is a helpful resource as it provides useful information needed to complete ASEP Reporting.
4. Register for the ASEP Reporting 2022-2023 webinar on Thursday, August 3 at 10:00 am central. The webinar will provide useful information and reminders about state reporting processes and tips to improve the reporting experience. Please find the link in the Upcoming Events section above.
Reminder: Reporting Applied Counts via ECOS
One of the updates that TEA IT has been able to make this year for ASEP reporting is creating a portal for reporting Applied counts in ECOS. Previously this reporting required EPPs to download a spreadsheet from the website, fill it out, and submit it. You can now submit these numbers directly in ECOS.
Please see the updated Technical Manual with information about this report. Additional information will be provided during the ASEP webinar. We are excited to simplify this step in your annual reporting! | 
