Initial Teacher Licensure Undergraduate, Master of Education in Initial Teacher Licensure, School Counseling and Instructional Leadership degrees lead to licensure in the state of Tennessee. Candidates who have completed all program and testing requirements and are ready to apply for licensure need to log into TNCompass and complete the personal affirmation page once recommendation has been completed by LMU. Candidates applying for licensure must provide the TN Office of Educator Licensing with an official transcript of all coursework completed. For LMU coursework, candidates must complete a transcript request form and submit it to the LMU Registrar's office along with the required fee. It is preferred that Sue England be listed as a pick-up person on the LMU transcript request form for the transcript to be uploaded directly into TNCompass. Otherwise, an official transcript should be mailed directly to the TN Office of Educator Licensing. Any questions concerning licensure should be directed to Sue England, Director of Licensure and Testing at 423-869-6253 or tywana.england@lmunet.edu.
Candidates who only need to add a degree to their existing license must also complete the transaction through TNCompass and submit an official transcript to the TN Office of Educator Licensing. This transaction does not require LMU recommendation and is the responsibility of the candidate.
Documents needed for Licensure
All licensure transactions must be completed through the TN Department of Education's new electronic database, TNCompass. Also, below is the TNCompass Licensure Educator Guide to provide instructions for the various transactions administered through TNCompass.
TN Compass Licensure Educator Guide
Below is the address that should be used for transcripts mailed to the TN Office of Educator Licensing.
Tennessee Department of Education
12th Floor, Andrew Johnson Tower
710 James Robertson Parkway
Nashville, TN 37243
Admissions Testing
There are 2 phases of testing required in Teacher Licensure programs at LMU. The first phase is pre-admission testing. The second phase of testing includes the state required content knowledge Praxis II exam required for licensure. Students wishing to enter either the Undergraduate or Master's Initial Teacher Licensure program are required to submit pre-admission test scores. Initial Teacher Licensure students may submit either ACT, SAT, or the Praxis Core Academic Skills or Educators (CASE) scores less than 5 years old and meet minimum score requirements.
- ACT =21
- SAT = 1020
- CASE =
- Reading = 156
- Math = 150
- Writing = 162
Students who are taking the CASE exam for the first time should register for the combined test code 5751.
In order to obtain education licensure in Tennessee, Praxis exam are required. LMU requires that Initial Licensure Students take all required Praxis exams prior to entering the student teaching portion of the program. Instructional Leadership students must take the SLLA exam as a requirement for degree conferral. School Counseling students must take the exam in order to apply for TN K-12 School Counselor licensure.
Click on the link below to see the current Praxis requirements for Tennessee.
- Link to required testing: http://www.tennessee.gov/education/licensing/praxis.shtml orhttp://www.ets.org/praxis/tn/requirements/
- Link to Available Testing Centers and Test Dates
- Link to Register for Praxis Test:
- Link to ETS study materials:
- Link to ETS fee waiver:
When registering for an exam with ETS be sure to list TN Department of Education and LMU as score recipients.
LMU codes for Graduate tests
- LMU school code for Praxis = 1408
- LMU school code for ACT = 3982
- LMU school code for SAT = 1408
- LMU school code for GRE = 1408
- LMU School code for MAT=1745
Add-on Instructional Leadership Program
Instructional Practice and Educational Leadership graduates of the Educational Specialist program who wish to earn Instructional Leadership Licensure may do so through the Instructional Leadership Add-On Licensure Program. To obtain information about admissions requirements contact Stephanie Johnson (for Instructional Practice inquiries) or Lisa Horton (for Educational Leadership inquiries).
Once the add-on licensure program is completed, applications for TN licensure should be returned to Sue England, Director of Licensure and Testing for LMU recommendation and submission to the TN Office of Educator Licensing.