Participant Policies

The After School Professional Development Program (ASPDP) reimagines professional learning in service of equity by offering critically conscious professional learning that equips educators to confront race, power, and privilege, and to disrupt inequities in order to maximize outcomes for all students, particularly Black, Indigenous, and other students of color, students experiencing economic hardship, Students with Disabilities, Multilingual Learners, LGBTQI+, and other students who have been marginalized by systemic inequities.

All courses may be applied to salary differential requirements for A+ or P credit, and to the New York State Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE) 100 hour professional development requirement to maintain Professional Certification. All educators may take ASPDP courses.

By registering in any ASPDP course, you consent to the terms outlined in this program policy. For more information, email ASPDP@schools.nyc.gov or call 718-935-5753.

Participant Policies.

ASPDP and A+ Partnership.

Eligibility and Benefits.

Course Registration.

Fees.

Attendance for In-Person Courses.

Withdrawals, Transfers, and Course Cancellations.

Surveys, Grades, and Transcripts.

Salary Differential

CTLE Requirements.

Academic Integrity Policy.

Additional Requirements.

ASPDP and A+ Partnership

ASPDP’s Foundational Beliefs

We believe that all teachers must partner with students and continually engage with their school communities to develop their pedagogical practices in support of equity and justice for students who have been historically and are currently pushed to the margins. As part of educators’ ongoing development of effective pedagogical practices, they must also work to disrupt and replace any beliefs and practices that may contribute to inequitable learning environments and experiences for students. All courses approved by ASPDP endeavor to embody the guiding principles below:

• Critical awareness of and reflection on one's identity, sociopolitical context, and the influences of these entities on teaching and learning are key components for all adults engaged in this work, including instructors and course designers. 

• This builds critical consciousness, a mindset that prompts the individual to: 
• Disrupt existing narratives. 
• Confront issues of race, power, and privilege in society and within their sphere of influence
• Become an agent for institutional and social change. (Center for Strategic Solutions, 2015) 
• Students are valuable partners in the learning process and bring an abundance of personal knowledge and experience. Teachers should co-construct learning experiences with their students by integrating student voices in the design and implementation of instruction.
• Teachers must continually engage with their ever-evolving climate, context, and the individuals in their school communities, as a necessary part of their professional responsibilities. 

Eligibility and Benefits

All educators and school staff may take ASPDP courses to further their own knowledge and develop their instructional practices. Teachers may take any approved A+ course, even if it is not in the subject area or grade level they are certified for. A participant will not receive credit for passing a course that he/she has previously taken and passed. Please note that a duplicate course will not be accepted on your transcript by the Office of Salary Services and will not count toward your A+/P credit as well as your New York State (NYS) hours. 

NYC DOE teachers may count ASPDP courses for A+ or P credit toward their salary differential, as well as hours toward the New York State (NYS) 100 hours of Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE) requirement. Guidance counselors may count P credit courses in the “Guidance” and “Special Education” categories.

If you are a fully appointed teacher hired or rehired on or after September 1, 2019 then you must obtain a minimum of 18 A+ credits in order to earn your salary differential, unless you have already attained an additional Doctorate, or an additional Master’s in an approved related area as determined by the Joint Accreditation Committee (JAC).

If you are a fully appointed teacher hired on or after September 1, 2017 but before September 1, 2019, then you must obtain a minimum of 6 A+ credits, unless you have already earned your salary differential before September 1, 2019. (There is a six month application window for teachers hired between September 1, 2017 and September 1, 2019 and who have completed their 30 credits above a masters by September 1, 2019, but who have not yet finalized the application process for their differential.)

If you are a teacher hired before September 1, 2017, then you are not required to use A+ credits to obtain your salary differential. If you choose to submit A+ credits towards your salary differential, you must obtain a minimum of 6 A+ credits. These rules went into effect on September 1, 2019. If you have specific questions about your eligibility for A Plus, please email Aplus@schools.nyc.gov.

Course Registration

To begin taking ASPDP courses, you must first register for an ASPDP account. NYC DOE teachers should register using their file numbers and using your DOE email address. Non-DOE educators may also register on the website.

You may enroll up to 12 credits per each semester. Note that courses are offered for one (1), two (2), or three (3) credits depending on the number of hours of instruction. For more information on how to register, please review the FAQ, “Who may register for the courses and what benefits are they eligible for?” and “How do I enroll in a course?”.

Participants must register with both ASPDP and the Educational Partner Organization before the course registration deadline. You will not receive A+ or P credit towards your salary differential for your course if you do not register with ASPDP before the registration deadline. You can review the registration deadlines once you review the course details page for the course that you are interested. Please note that the registration deadlines varies by course.

The participant is responsible for using the registration link posted in the ASPDP catalog to register for ASPDP approved courses. If participants register for non-ASPDP approved courses with the education partner, ASPDP cannot provide a refund and participants will not receive A+/P credit for completing a non-ASPDP approved course.  We strongly recommend that you confirm that the courses you have selected are eligible for A+/P credit on the ASPDP website before completing your registration with the education partner (s). 

Fees

You can pay the ASPDP fees on the ASPDP website. We are only able to accept payment by credit card. Payment must be made at the time of course registration. ASPDP fees are listed in the course details pages in the course catalog.

Education Partners typically charge an additional registration fee for their course, which range from $0-400. Education Partner fees, if applicable, should be paid directly to the Education Partner. You can find directions for completing the Education Partner payment in the course details for each individual course on the ASPDP website.

Please see chart below for fee information.

Remember that your registration is not complete unless you have registered both with ASPDP and with the Education Partner by the registration deadline.

ASPDP occasionally offers discount codes for the ASPDP fee that must be used within a certain time period as we have indicated in our " News". Any discounts offered by the partner organizations may only be applied to the partner fee and not to the ASPDP administrative fee.

ASPDP is not able to transfer your ASPDP course fees to future or past semesters.

Attendance for In-Person Courses

Participants should attend all in-person classes regularly and punctually, and remain until the end of each session. Participants should ensure they are able to attend every session before registering for the course.

Instructors may choose to cancel a class session for inclement weather or other emergencies. If a class session is cancelled, instructors will provide make-up work; participants are responsible for completing any work assigned.

If absent from class, participants must make up any coursework missed; excused absences are at the discretion of the instructor. If you do not complete make-up work for hours missed, you will not receive credit for the course and are not eligible for a refund.

As noted above, participants are expected to attend all sessions of in-person courses, including the first and final sessions. Participants who do not attend the first or final class will receive a failing grade, barring extenuating circumstances as determined by the instructor.

Withdrawals, Transfers, and Course Cancellations

Participants must carefully review course registration information and fees prior to enrollment. Failure to complete the course or inability to attend all sessions are not reasons for a refund. Please note that participants will not be able to withdraw from a course on or after the last day of the course. We encourage you to carefully review our participant policy and our FAQ.

You may receive a refund if you withdraw from your course and send a written request for the refund one (1) week prior to the registration deadline for the same semester. If you enroll in a course and you withdraw less than one week prior to the registration deadline, you will not be eligible for a refund.

You may withdraw and transfer to another course within the same semester if you withdraw from the original course no later than one (1) week prior to the registration deadline. If there are no courses with open registration within this time frame, ASPDP will provide a refund if you are eligible. You may only transfer into courses in the same semester which have open registration. Once your transfer is complete, you may not transfer to another course within the same semester.

ASPDP cannot accommodate course transfers to future or prior semesters.

You are responsible for e-mailing the course instructor when withdrawing from a ASPDP course. Please note that the Education Partners have their own policies about refunds and fee transfers, which may differ from ASPDP’s.

If ASPDP or the education partner cancels the course, we will refund the ASPDP fee or transfer the ASPDP fee to an open course of your choice, please let us know.

Surveys, Grades, and Transcripts

Courses are graded according to the grading policy of the provider. You must earn a passing grade in order to count toward your salary differential. Please note that all participants are responsible for thoroughly reviewing the syllabi for each course in which they are enrolled in order to develop a clear understanding of the expectations for each course, including but not limited to assignments, due dates, rubrics, and grading policies. Please note that ASPDP does not grant grades to participants; any questions or concerns about course grades should be conveyed directly to your course instructors.  

In order to view your grades, you must submit your course survey while logged in to the ASPDP website. Your survey link will be accessible one week before the last day of the course, and will be open for four weeks. Please be sure to complete the survey as soon as possible; you will not be able to submit your survey after this four-week window has already closed. 

ASPDP requires course instructors to submit grades within two weeks of the semester end date. Once the grade has been submitted, ASPDP will verify the grade and validate it for credit. The credit validation process may take up to 6 weeks after the semester ends.

You must wait to submit your salary differential application until your grades are validated for credit on your ASPDP transcript. The timing of your grades will not impact your differential, since you will receive the salary increase retroactively as long as you submit your salary application by the deadline for that semester. Please see below for a chart of salary differential deadlines.

You may view and print your transcript and certificates of completion at any time on the ASPDP website.

Your instructor is allowed to grant a short extension at the end of the course; however, the extension will only be granted at the instructor’s discretion, and all grades are due within two weeks of the last day of the course. ASPDP does not make decisions about whether or not to issue extensions.

Salary Differential

NYC DOE teachers may take any ASPDP course for A+ credit toward their salary differential. All ASPDP courses will be accepted as both A+ and P credit courses, starting in the Fall 2019 semester.

NYC DOE guidance counselors may only take Guidance or Special Education category courses for credit towards the salary differential. All participants may only take a course once for credit.

Once you have completed all credits required for the salary differential, you should apply via the online application. As of Fall 2019, the Office of Salary Services requires all educators to upload transcripts with their salary differential application. You may print your ASPDP transcript from your profile on the ASPDP website. For more information on applying for salary differential, please contact the Office of Salary Services at 718-935-4000.

The Office of Salary Services uses the semester date, not the date your grade was entered or validated, in which coursework was completed to determine when the differential is applied to your salary. Salary differential pay is retroactive to the “effective date” of your application. Please see filing deadlines below:

ASPDP courses cannot be used towards university or college credit, unless they are independently certified by the National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS) through the partner organization. Some partners may offer multiple versions of a course, including some that are eligible for A+/P credit in partnership with ASPDP (as long as you register with ASPDP by the deadline), and others that may be eligible for professional development credits at an institute of higher education but not A+/P credit. Please check with the partner organization to ensure you are registering for the correct version of the course if you are seeking salary differential credit.

CTLE Requirements

Educators can count ASPDP courses toward the New York State Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE) requirements. If you hold a professional certificates in the classroom teacher or educational leadership service, or if you have a Level III Teaching Assistant certificate and are practicing in a New York public school or board of cooperative educational services (BOCES), you must complete 100 hours of CTLE during each five-year registration period. Holders of permanent certificates do not need to complete the 100 hours of CTLE with their registration.

You can find more information about the CTLE requirements and certification at the following sites:

NYSED Resources on New Registration and CTLE Requirements

TEACH Online Services

NYSUT Teacher Registration Regulations Fact Sheet

Your ASPDP transcript serves as your record of CTLE completion for any courses that you successfully completed during this time period. Note that some partner organizations may be independent CTLE providers, however, you cannot count the same courses twice for CTLE hours (i.e. credit from ASPDP and from the partner organization).

If you have questions regarding CTLE requirements, please contact NYSED at CTLE@nysed.gov or call 518-474-3901. In-service DOE members may also contact the United Federation of Teachers at 212-331-6311.

Academic Integrity Policy

ASPDP maintains an academic integrity policy for all participants taking ASPDP courses. Plagiarism of any kind violates ASPDP policies. The academic integrity policy is as follows:

• Work must be entirely one’s own.
• Participants may not copy any parts of another (present or past) participant and submit that work as their own.
• Participants may not collaborate on any assignment or assessment unless your instructor explicitly gives directions to work in a group.

Participants who violate the ASPDP academic integrity policy will receive a failing grade for their course and may be suspended from taking ASPDP courses for up to three semesters. ASPDP will not refund any course fees for participants who violate the academic integrity policy.

If you repeatedly violate the ASPDP academic integrity policy, as reported by an Education Partner or instructor, you may be permanently suspended from taking ASPDP courses.

Additional Requirements

• You are responsible for ensuring you have met all hardware and software requirements for taking online courses. ASPDP will not refund course fees for participants who do not have the required hardware/software to complete their courses.
• You cannot access ASPDP online courses during your regular school day working hours.