Frequently Asked Questions

What are professional development credits?

These credits are graduate-level credits and are offered at $60 per credit to teachers, school counselors/social workers and school administrators for the purpose of recertification or salary increases.

The $60 fee is for the transcripted credits only. In some cases, additional fees for the courses will apply.

It is best practice to verify that your district and State Department of Education accepts Boise State professional development credits before you register for a class.

Professional development credits cannot be used to satisfy degree requirements and are graded Pass/Fail.

No. Because the fees for these credits are already drastically reduced, no financial aid is available and fees are due in total as soon as enrollment is completed.

While Boise State University does not automatically send a transcript on your behalf, requesting one is a simple process. Go to our transcript request page for more information about requesting the transcript that is right for you.

Registration deadlines are very firm, since failure to adhere to them means holding enrollments and grades for teachers who registered on time.

If there were extenuating circumstances that prevented you from completing your registration on time, you may complete Boise State University’s academic appeals process by completing and submitting a written appeal. Appeals will only be accepted for courses offered within the last 12 months.

For instructions on completing this process, please contact us at (208) 426-3713 or by email at k12professionaldevelopment@boisestate.edu.

You will receive credit registration instructions from the instructor or coordinator of the course containing a registration link. This link will remain open until the date specified in the email and will provide a simple, one-stop register-and-pay process for you to complete.

Boise State Extended Studies
Open Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
(208) 426-1709
extendedstudies@boisestate.edu

A course qualifies for professional development credit if:

• It carries a documented 15 contact hours per credit
• It meets with the quality standards to be granted approval through a University academic department

While there are no absolute guidelines for making this determination, courses are expected to directly impact student outcomes by equipping and enhancing teacher skills and educational tools. Participant learning outcomes should be easily identifiable and bolster classroom instruction abilities.

A new course that qualifies for professional development credit can take up to three weeks to set up for credit. All new courses have to go through an approval process that can involve a back and forth exchange to clarify expectations. Previously approved and run courses should take two weeks or less to set up.

All new professional development instructors must be approved by the Boise State University Graduate College, as well as the College of Education. Instructors are expected to have an advanced degree in their field and be able to document professional experience related to the course. The person you choose to be the instructor of record must complete the following application in order to initiate the new course approval process.

• Complete and submit the Professional Development Course Application

Submitting the form early enables us to seek all of the appropriate approvals simultaneously and will shorten the timeline for getting your course set up to receive registrations.

A course qualifies for professional development credit if:

• It includes 15 contact hours per credit, up to 60 hours/4 credits
• It meets the quality standards to be granted approval through a University College of Education. (While there are no absolute guidelines for making this determination, courses are expected to directly impact student outcomes by equipping and enhancing educator skills and educational tools. Participant learning outcomes should be easily identifiable and bolster instruction/leadership abilities.)

Please let us know if you have any questions about the forms. It takes up to three weeks to approve and process a course before we have an active registration link for you to share with participants.

We ask that you attach supplemental documentation such as a course syllabus, schedule of activities/sessions, course materials, and/or any other items that will give a clearer picture of course structure and educational goals. There is an attachment button at the bottom of the form that will allow you to upload files.

The form must contain dates and times for your course since these are used to document the minimum 15 contact hours per credit.

It is strongly advised that you submit as much supplemental material as is possible regarding the course (i.e. itineraries, syllabi, course outlines, etc.) as these provide the respective approvers with a better base of information to review.

You will have the opportunity when completing the Course Setup Application to indicate that some or all registrants will have credit fees paid for by your organization. The registration link that is sent to course instructors to share with participants will indicate that no fees are due at the time of registration. 

It’s imperative that you include current email information for the PO contact person, as all invoices are dispatched via email. Invoices are typically dispatched within two (2) weeks of the course end date.

After your course has been approved, you will receive two emails from us.

• • The first will contain information regarding your role as the instructor and steps for accessing our system.
  • In a second email immediately following, you will receive a registration notification and link that can be distributed to potential registrants. We recommend simply forwarding this email on to your participants, but the method of distribution is entirely up to you (i.e. posting the link on a website accessible to participants). This second email contains information regarding transcript requests, Extended Studies contact information and more.

If you indicated on the Course Setup Application that you’d like us to publish the course to our website, registration information will be published there as well.

Yes. In addition to receiving the credit registration link to be forwarded to potential registrants, you will receive a link and login credentials for an instructor login that will allow you to view a current roster of individuals in your course who have registered for credit.

When your course registration closes, you will receive an email notification from Extended Studies Customer Service or the program coordinator indicating that registrations are complete for the course. The email will include instructions for you to post grades. You can follow the link contained in the email or view the detailed instructions for posting grades.

If you have not received this notification, or if you notice discrepancies with the roster (students who should not be on the roster or students who are missing), please call Extended Studies at (208) 426-1709.

We encourage you to monitor your course registrations and request help with any changes prior to posting grades.

Once the credit registration deadline for your course has passed, you’ll receive an email from Extended Studies Customer Services prompting you to log in and post grades. We ask that you make every effort to post your grades as quickly as possible (out of consideration for those who registered). This should be no later than one week after the course end date.

If you require additional time, please notify the program coordinator as soon as possible. Boise State’s courses are set up by seasonal term (spring, summer or fall), so in some cases, a course that ends very near to the end of a given term will have a shortened timeline for posting grades. If you have questions about when grades are due and course deadlines, please contact Extended Studies Customer Service.

All professional development courses are graded as Pass/Fail. Rather than giving a failing grade, we would prefer to drop students who have not completed the course. That way, their transcripts are not negatively impacted and the student is eligible to retake the course. With instructor approval, Extended Studies Customer Service can drop any students who have a failing grade prior to finalizing the grade roster.

PD instructors can assign students Incomplete grades if the student meets the following criteria:

• The student has completed 75% of the coursework and is in good standing.
• The student and instructor have an Incomplete Contract that outlines an agreed upon timeline for completing the missing work.
• The contract is shared with Boise State and available to the student through their student account.

If you feel that a student who is eligible for an Incomplete is likely to finish the work and earn a passing grade, then you can follow the instructions on how to grade to submit an Incomplete contract. If you are unsure about their ability to complete the work, then we recommend requesting that they be dropped from the course. Incomplete grades are automatically turned to a failing grade if the work is not completed and a formal grade change request made by the instructor within a year.

If you have followed the instructions on how to grade for entering and submitting your grades, you do not need to take any other steps. You may direct any of your registrants who have questions regarding transcripts or any other administrative tasks to Extended Studies Customer Service for further assistance.

Extended Studies Customer Services
Mon.- Fri., 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
(208) 426-1709
extendedstudies@boisestate.edu

Terra Feast
K-12 Professional Development Program Coordinator
(208) 426-3713
k12professionaldevelopment@boisestate.edu