Professional Development Hours

Cooperating educators can earn professional development hours through ISBE for activities that result in their own professional growth while supervising one or more UIC teacher candidate(s) during field experience or student teaching.

We have recently updated our process and transitioned from paper forms to PD+ submissions, which are now housed in ELIS. This streamlines this process for all parties involved, making it easier for Cooperating Teachers to receive their professional development hours (CPDUs). You will need to use the link provided for your term and type of service to register for CPDUs earned in each term. Please access your respective link below for the field or student teacher in spring 2026 and complete the registration of your service. You will have to complete this process for each term of service, as they are separate links. If you have any questions, please contact us at uic_cte@uic.edu.

Fall 2026 Field Observations – https://apps.isbe.net/pdplus/index.html#/educator-activity-reg?id=17257

Fall 2026 Student Teaching – https://apps.isbe.net/pdplus/index.html#/educator-activity-reg?id=17256

The UIC Council on Teacher Education (CTE) processes these requests in January and June. Please submit completed the ISBE 77-21A Evaluation form in ELIS by January 15 (for fall semester cooperating teachers) or June 15 (for spring semester cooperating teachers).

You have the opportunity to earn one hour of professional development for every one hour that you spend on activities that result in your own professional growth, with a maximum of 30 hours earned per UIC semester for hosting student teachers and a maximum of 15 hours earned per UIC semester for hosting field observers. Professional development credit is awarded in clock hours to the nearest quarter of an hour (23 IAC §25.855(h)).

For submissions prior to January 2026 service:

The UIC Council on Teacher Education (CTE) processes these requests in January and June. Please submit the completed and signed Professional Growth Log and completed ISBE 77-21A Evaluation form to uic_cte@uic.edu by January 15 (for fall semester cooperating teachers) or June 15 (for spring semester cooperating teachers). Most importantly, please allow ample processing time to meet your ISBE deadlines. After checking that the professional development requirements have been met, the UIC CTE will issue you a completed ISBE 77- 21B Evidence of Completion form, which you can then submit to ISBE.

Individuals and organizations that host professional development activities and are affiliated with UIC can work with the CTE to provide professional development credit to participating educators. Professional development credits are awarded on a 1:1 basis – 1 clock hour of attendance = 1 professional development hour. Professional development hours will not be awarded for health-related, mandated trainings.

Activities must align with one or more of the Learning Forward Standards for Professional Learning. This alignment is indicated in the Professional Development Activity online form in step 2. Without this alignment, professional development hours will not be issued.

Please note that we have recently updated our process and transitioned from paper forms to PD+ submissions within ELIS. This streamlines this process for all parties involved, making it easier for professional development clock hours to be awarded. In order for, professional development clock hours to be awarded, the following steps must be complete the following steps must be completed:

1. Track attendance at the professional development activity using the CTE standardized attendance sheet. If this is an online, webinar, or other individualized activity, please contact CTE for information on how to track the number of hours educators actually spend working on an activity.
2. Within one week after the event, please complete the Professional Development Activity online form. This form requires the activity coordinator to describe the purpose of the activity and how it aligns to multiple types of standards. This form also requires the activity coordinator to upload the attendance sheet that was completed at the professional development activity.
3. CTE will add the activity in PD+ and distribute the link for online submission of the ISBE form 77-21A Evaluation form to participants using the attendance sheet.

After receiving the online form, the attendance sheet, and the individual evaluations, the CTE will verify the professional development in ELIS.