For admission, candidates must have a bachelor’s degree. LDA requires the bachelor’s degree be earned from a U.S. school accredited by a regional or national accrediting organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the U.S. Department of Education. Regional accreditation includes accrediting organizations such as the Higher Learning Commission, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, and the New England Commission of Higher Education among others.
As an Alternative Teacher Licensure Program, LDA is not an accredited institution at this time and refers prospective teacher candidates seeking credits towards earning graduate degrees to accredited university and college programs.
For students who earned a degree they believe is equivalent to a 4-year BA in the US but from an institution outside of the U.S., LDA Minnesota requires verification of an international transcript and supporting documents through a service with a current approved membership from the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES). Prospective candidates will need to provide official transcripts and supporting documents for verification through one of NACES members. A review of transcripts by a NACES member will determine the academic level or course credit awarded in relation to U.S. educational standards. Applicants must pay the evaluation fee directly to the NACES member. Two members we suggest are World Education Services (WES) or Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE). A full list of NACES current members can be found on their website.