Yorkville University’s master’s degree programs now meet the category upgrade qualifications for the Teacher Qualification Service, Daren Hancott Yorkville University’s Campus Principal in British Columbia (BC) explained.
The Teaching Qualification Service (TQS) is a not-for-profit body that evaluates BC public school teachers’ professional and academic qualifications and assigns categories based on these qualifications.
“It is the regulatory body that approves applications for category pay increases and evaluates all courses, all credentials and all master’s programs and decides to approve or not,” explained Hancott.
With a TQS approved graduate level degree a teacher in BC may apply to upgrade the category in which they fall and thereby their pay grade.
Not all graduate degrees are acceptable, so before enrolling in courses or programs for upgrade, teachers would, in many cases, be required to submit a program approval request. But, Yorkville has already obtained written approval, thereby eliminating this step for students of its Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology, Master of Education in Adult Education and Master of Education in Educational Leadership.
“We already have the letter saying it is approved, so it saves them time and gives them a level of comfort,” Hancott said.
In order for a graduate degree to be recognized for TQS categorization purposes, it must be relevant to an academic subject offered in BC public schools or to teaching and educational practice in British Columbia. The program must also include a minimum of thirty semester credits of work and have a major research component.
Yorkville University offers leading professional degree programs through an innovative online learning platform. Yorkville University’s programs offer adult learners the flexibility needed to complete a degree while balancing other commitments by providing a supportive, highly collaborative and interactive online learning community. Find out more about Yorkville University and its programs here.
