Application for Licensure

In order to become licensed in teaching, pupil services, or administration, students must complete the application form and be recommended by Kent State University. The application for licensure should be submitted during the first five weeks of the semester in which the program will be completed. Application packets are available in the Office of Student Services, 304 White Hall.

To apply for licensure, you must complete the following documents and return them to 304 White Hall:

• If it has been more than 12 months since program completion, this form must be completed prior to completing the Licensure Application.
  
• Licensure Cover Sheet
• Licensure Application (Initial Licensure Application, Form LN)
• • Please Note: Kent State University is not yet using the online licensure application - coming soon!
    

Application must be completed, signed, and returned to 304 White Hall. An application fee of $160 (or $80 if 2-Year Provisional License) - check or money order made payable to Treasurer, State of Ohio - must be included with your application. Checks over 90 days old by the time the teaching license is issued will not be accepted. Thus, it is recommended that checks be post-dated to the graduation date to prevent delays in processing the application.

Photocopies of Praxis II examination scores must be attached to the application unless the student has specifically requested the scores be sent to Kent State University.

Licensure applications will not be processed by the Office of Student Services until students have successfully completed the Praxis II examinations and have been cleared for graduation. Once the application is approved and sent to the Ohio Department of Education, it takes approximately four to six weeks for issuance provided fingerprint reports are satisfactory. The teaching license will be sent directly to the student upon issuance. Status of the application can be monitored from the certification link on the Ohio Department of Education web site.

If documentation is requested by a school system prior to issuance of the teaching license, a letter of completion can be generated by the Office of Student Services, 304 White Hall. A letter of completion is issued only after a student has cleared for graduation, passed all the necessary Praxis exams, AND has been recommended for licensure.  See below for the request form.

Fingerprinting Information

FIRST OHIO LICENSE

When an individual submits an application for their very first license, certificate or permit issued by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE), a BCI and FBI background check report, completed within 365 days of the date the application is received, must be on file at ODE.

RENEWALS AND ADDITIONAL LICENSES, CERTIFICATES OR PERMITS

If you have lived continuously in Ohio for the past 5 years, an FBI background check is required if the report on file with ODE is more than 5 years old at the date the application is received. A BCI background check is required if you do not have one on file with ODE.

If you have NOT lived continuously in Ohio for the past 5 years, both the BCI and FBI background checks are required if the reports on file with ODE are more than five years old on the date the application is received.

Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) Electronic Fingerprinting
(for the State of Ohio)

• This can be done in the Technology Learning Center (TLC) in room 221 White Hall during operating hours.  For current hours, contact the TLC at 330-672-2353.
• The cost is $25.00 and can be paid with cash, check, or money order made payable to: IRC @ KSU.
• You must bring current, state issued identification (driver's license or ID card).

The results will be mailed to the address you give at the time of fingerprinting. This is your only official copy of your results.  The TLC and the Office of Student Services do not have access to your results.  You can obtain additional official copies for a fee from BCI (740-845-2375).

BCI electronic fingerprinting can also be done at any WebCheck location in Ohio.  For a location near you, go to http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Services/Business/WebCheck. 

FBI Electronic Fingerprinting (Federal)

• This can be done in the Technology Learning Center (TLC) in room 221 White Hall during operating hours.  For current hours, call 330-672-2353.
• The cost is $30.00 and can be paid with cash, check, or money order made payable to: IRC @ KSU.
• You must bring current, state issued identification (driver's license or i.d. card).

The Ohio Department of Education does not accept BCI or FBI paper and ink fingerprints.  All BCI and FBI fingerprint information must be submitted electronically.

How Criminal Conviction/Conduct Affects Licensure

ODE Office of Professional Conduct - Statutes and Rules

Four-year Resident Educator License

Any initial teaching license issued with a July 1, 2011 effective date will be a four-year resident educator license. Provisional teaching licenses may be used to work as a substitute teacher or tutor if the license holder has not obtained a regular teaching position in their licensure area.

Any teacher who has been issued a two year provisional teaching license with an effective date of July 1, 2010 or earlier, whose first year of employment in their licensure area is 2011-2012 or later, will need to apply for a four-year resident educator license in order to complete the four year Ohio Resident Educator Program.

Resident educator licensure application is available by clicking here.

For additional information, click here.

Letters of Completion

Each semester the Vacca Office of Student Services receives numerous requests for "Letters of Completion.  Occasionally the letter of completion is requested by potential employers as verification that you have successfully completed all licensure requirements.  This letter is a special service we offer to our students and will be available one week after you have been cleared for graduation or your license has been processed.

The letter of completion states the following:

"Please be advised that the student named below has met all of the State of Ohio requirements for licensure in the area named.  The application for licensure has been processed by the College of Education, Office of Student Services, and has been forwarded to the Division of Teacher Education and Licensure in Columbus, Ohio.  That office will issue the license directly to the student provided the fingerprints check reports are satisfactory."

In order to be eligible to receive a letter of completion you must meet ALL of the following criteria:

• Cleared for Graduation
• Licensure application on file
• Passing Praxis II score(s)

If you are interested in receiving a letter of completion at the above stated time, please complete a request form.  Completed forms need to be returned to:

The Vacca Office of Student Services
304 White Hall
College of Education, Health, and Human Services
P.O. Box 5190
Kent, Ohio  44242-0001

If you have any questions regarding this process, please feel free to contact the Office at (330) 672-2862.

When should I apply for my teaching license if I know I will be going out of State or do not get a teaching job in Ohio immediately after graduation? 

ODE always recommends that students apply for licensure immediately following graduation.  This is also the recommendation of VOSS  because State licensure or program area requirements change and students may be held to the new requirements.  Once a student graduates, he or she is no longer protected by catalog year in force when a student at KSU. For students who do not get a job in Ohio immediately after graduation, the ODE indicated in March 2012 correspondence that  the rules covering the extension of the new 4 year resident educator license have not yet been established yet.   However, provisions will be made in some manner to extend/renew the 4 year license.  No date has been set for when that provision will be made.