TMI

TMI Online General Information

TMI 1 is composed of two modules. Module A includes classroom management and course planning and instructional methodologies. Module B is an introduction to special education and the diverse learner. During the course, candidates will be required to participate in online discussions, take weekly quizzes, and submit weekly written assignments or lesson plans. Candidates should anticipate spending 6 to 8 hours per week on the course.

In addition to completing all coursework, candidates are required to:

• Attend mandatory orientation
• Attend other Zoom meetings as required
• Prior to admission provide proof of non-education bachelor’s degree from a regionally or nationally accredited institution of higher learning (certain international institutions may not be acceptable)
• Prior to admission provide passing scores on the Praxis Core (or 21 ACT/SAT or 3.0 GPA replacement) to accompany the passing Praxis Subject Assessment you submitted for admission

Upon completion of TMI 1, candidates are recommended to the Mississippi Department of Education for a temporary, non-renewable teaching license (valid for up to three years, depending on initial date of certification). Additional endorsements may be added to the license. Once a candidate has secured a teaching position at a MDE accredited public or private school, he or she may then join TMI 2.

TMI 2 is a 13-week (11-unit) online course taken during the first, second, or third year of employment. TMI 2 is the internship/indoctrination portion of the program. The format of the TMI 2 course is similar to TMI 1 in that candidates will participate in online coursework, however this component includes visits from a site supervisor at your school to observe you teaching.

In addition to coursework, candidates are required to:

• Attend two live classroom management seminars
• Work with a site supervisor who serves as a mentor and completes evaluations on candidate progress
• Complete a one (academic) year “internship” in a MDE accredited school.

Upon completion of TMI 2, candidates are recommended to the Mississippi Department of Education for a five-year standard, renewable teaching license. Reciprocity with other states and upgrading license (higher degree) is not available until this point.

Requirements for Admission

In order to be eligible to apply for admission to TMI 1, you must meet three requirements:

• Have a bachelor’s degree in an area that does not lead to teacher certification (or be in your final semester before degree completion)
• Have a 3.0 overall undergraduate GPA –OR– passing scores on the Praxis Core examination –OR– an ACT composite score of 21 (or SAT equivalent). See Testing Requirements section of this brochure for additional information on Praxis or ACT.
• Have a passing Praxis Subject Assessment (formerly Praxis II) in a subject area the candidate wishes to teach. The list of Praxis exams TMI can accept, along with the specific score requirements for each exam, can be found in the Testing Requirements section.
• Additional endorsements can be added to both the three-year license received after TMI 1 and the standard five-year license received after TMI 2. For more information on supplemental endorsements to a teacher license, visit this MDE Webpage.

Available subjects and grade levels:

• TMI accepts all K-12 Praxis Subject Assessments approved for initial Alternate Route certification: Art, Chinese, French, German, Health, Latin, Library/Media, Music, Physical Education, and Spanish.
• TMI accepts all 7-12 Praxis Subject Assessments approved for initial Alternate Route certification: Biology, Business Education, Chemistry, Economics, English, Family and Consumer Science, Marketing Education, Mathematics, Physics, Social Studies, and Speech Communications.
• TMI cannot accept the 4-6 Elementary Education, nor the K-6 Elementary Praxis Subject Assessments. Only certain MAT programs may accept this endorsement area.

Geographical, Financial, and Time Commitments

• TMI coursework is online. Your internship will be your first teaching position (paid as first year teacher, bachelor rate). Only live seminars may require travel to specific locations on specific days.
• TMI Online is a non-credit certification program; candidates are not enrolled in graduate courses. As such, TMI has a lower tuition. TMI 1 is $1,600 and TMI 2 is $1,300.
• Candidates should be prepared to commit 6 hours per week to TMI.
• TMI Online is a non-credit certification program. This means no college credit is awarded for course completion (please note that you will never need to request a transcript from The University of Mississippi for your TMI coursework, as no credit will be listed). The benefit of being a non-credit program is that our program is less costly than a college credit-based program. The drawback of a non-credit program is that because the program does not provide college credit, candidates are not eligible for FAFSA-based student aid (loans) through The University of Mississippi.

License vs Endorsement?

• A teaching license allows a candidate to be employed as a teacher. A license is not subject specific, rather the subjects a candidate can teach are listed on the license as endorsements. To get a license, a candidate must have the following: a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college/university, a recommendation from a teacher education program or alternate route program (such as TMI), passing Praxis Core (or ACT/SAT replacement), and a passing Praxis Subject Assessment in an initial license area (listed in the testing information of this document).
• Endorsements are listed on an educator’s license, these are the subjects and grade levels an educator can teach. The initial endorsement will be in the subject area corresponding to the Praxis Subject Assessment the candidate passed to become licensed. Adding additional endorsements can be added using college credit (18 hours, “C” or higher, in an endorsable area), Praxis Subject Assessments, or by recommendation. For more information (including lists of acceptable Praxis exams and acceptable coursework), visit the Supplemental Endorsement page on the MDE website.
• In order to teach a course, an educator must have a license, and at least one of the endorsements required to be the teacher of record for the course. Endorsement names are not directions, just a name. For example, an educator with the “181” endorsement will see “Biology (7-12)” listed on their license. With the 181 endorsement, that educator can teach any biology course in grade 7-12, any science elective grade 7-12 (i.e. physical science), and 5th or 6th grade science (not limited to just “7-12 biology courses”). Visit this MDE Webpage to use the Endorsement Codes Search Portal to view courses associated with specific endorsement codes (or vice versa).

Internship Requirement

All alternate route programs require an internship. In TMI, the internship is associated with the full-time job that you must secure in order to enroll in TMI 2. Any MDE-accredited public or MDE-accredited private school is allowed (no limit on distance from UM campus). Candidates must teach a full academic year at an MDE accredited school in order to be eligible for the standard, renewable (5-year) license. Enrollment in TMI 2 is concurrent with candidate’s employment as a teacher.

Critical Shortage Areas

The critical shortage subject areas in Mississippi are math, science (biology, chemistry, and physics), foreign language (French, Spanish, and German), and special education. As these are the subject areas in the highest demand by Mississippi school districts, candidates with endorsements in these areas will have greater employment opportunities. The phrase “Critical Shortage Area” also applies to 103 school districts across the state that have difficulty filling all positions (these districts are primarily in rural areas, thus a smaller population from which to find staff). Seeking employment in one of these districts may entitle you to moving assistance and home buying/closing cost assistance.

Job Search Assistance

The goal of the Mississippi Teacher Center (MTC) is to connect Mississippi school districts with a pool of certified prospective teachers. Educators can submit information into a database of prospective teachers and access district job vacancies. The MTC also maintains the list of critical subject shortage areas and districts. For more information on critical shortage areas and job search assistance, visit the MDE website.

Salary Information

The salary scale is available at the MDE Teacher Salary Schedule page.

Once candidate is issued the five-year standard license, higher degrees can be recognized (master’s degree = AA pay, specialist = AAA pay, doctorate = AAAA pay). At that point, candidates also begin moving up the salary scale. Each year of teaching experience increases salary. When setting position on the salary scale, district has the option of accepting previous teaching experience, in-state or out-of-state, public or private.