Students are threatening to leave Pitt after administrators in the School of Education told some… Students are threatening to leave Pitt after administrators in the School of Education told some underclassmen this week that they won’t be able to participate in the five-year program they’ve been preparing for because the University hasn’t yet approved it.

Some freshmen and sophomores received an e-mail Wednesday from Alan Lesgold, dean of the School of Education, saying that they won’t be able to participate in the ADP-Plus program, which would have allowed them to earn a bachelor of science, master of education and teaching certificates in early childhood education and special education in five years.

Lesgold told students, “When the program was advertised, we thought it would be approved in time for current freshmen and sophomores to enter it. Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case. We have been asked to make revisions before it can be approved, and although we are currently working on those, we don’t have a definite date for when we will receive program approval.”

Sophomore Danielle Brooks decided during her senior year of high school to come to Pitt because she liked the ADP-Plus program.

She said she is “definitely transferring” now, hopefully to Edinboro or Slippery Rock universities.

“I will withdraw by Tuesday,” she said. “I’ve already talked to an adviser in Arts and Sciences about it. I’m no longer anywhere near an A&S sophomore [in terms of requirements].”

Sophomore Carol Dai said she transferred to Pitt last spring after she saw an advertisement for the ADP-Plus program. It seemed like an “amazing program you can’t get anywhere else,” she said.

Dai plans to stay at Pitt because, “It’s my third semester … I’m settled. I’ve got great friends.”

She said she hopes to apply to the University’s applied developmental psychology program and then pursue a master’s in education and, if possible, special education certification.

“I feel like it’s very irresponsible of the administration and unacceptable to treat students in this manner,” she said. “Retroactively, they’re trying to do the best they can. I wish there was more communication … This situation shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

Lesgold said in a separate interview that the School of Education chose to advertise the program before it was approved because, “Everybody thought it was going to be approved more quickly, and it just didn’t happen. We did check in advance, and I think everybody acted in good faith at every level of the University.”

The program, Lesgold said, is awaiting final approval from the Provost’s Office. He said he’s “not entirely sure” what revisions need to be made to the program, but thinks they relate to the general education requirements.

Contributing to the delay, he said, is the fact that the state is changing its teacher certification requirements.

New regulations will require Pennsylvania teachers who graduate from college in 2013 or later to have a dual certification in special education if they want to teach students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Lesgold said he’s received some fallout from angry students and parents.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all that they’re concerned,” he said. “I would be concerned too if I heard that the path I’m on isn’t going to work.”

He said his office’s goal now is to help students find alternatives.

“I think we’re doing that reasonably well,” he said.

Lesgold said he wasn’t sure how many freshmen and sophomores were preparing for the program, because students don’t officially enter it until their junior year. Two or three students expressed interest in the program on their college applications, but about 60 students are taking the classes that students tend to take only when they’re preparing for the ADP-Plus program, he said.

Some of the classes won’t help the students progress towards any other degree.

To compile his list of students to e-mail, Lesgold worked first with one student preparing for ADP-Plus to devise a list of other students preparing for the program. Another round of e-mails went to students who were taking classes typical of ADP-Plus candidates.

Lesgold’s e-mail tells freshmen to contact Elementary Education Program Coordinator Meryl Lazar at [email protected], because the School of Education is “not able to offer any options” for them yet.

Lesgold offered sophomores two options, guaranteeing students who graduate with at least a 3.0 GPA acceptance into both.

Under the first option, students would earn a bachelor’s degree through the School of Arts and Sciences and apply to Pitt’s Elementary Education program during their senior year. They would then complete either a four-term master’s program or a two-term teacher certification program. Students who want to pursue this option should contact their adviser in the School of Arts and Sciences.

Under the second option, students can apply for admission into Pitt’s Applied Developmental Psychology program and if accepted earn a bachelor’s degree in applied developmental psychology. These students would then complete either a four-term master’s program or a two-term teacher certification program.

Lesgold suggested that students interested in either option meet with an enrollment coordinator at the Admissions and Enrollment Services in the School of Education.