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Using the GaPSC Online Application

Guidance for current and future Georgia educators

Contents The Applications Tab .............................................................................................. 2

Creating a New Online Application ........................................................................ 3

Uploading Documents ........................................................................................... 7

Submitting Supporting Documentation ................................................................. 9

Online Application Status ..................................................................................... 10

Case Status ....................................................................................................... 11

Cancelling an Application ..................................................................................... 12

Updating Your Account ........................................................................................ 13

For Further Assistance ......................................................................................... 14

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The Applications Tab After logging into your MyPSC account, you may access the Online Application by clicking on the

Applications tab at the top of the screen.

Your Case History is also listed in the Applications tab:

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Creating a New Online Application You may apply for most certification transactions using the online application. Please note that if you complete the online application, you do not need to complete, print, or upload the application form found in the Download Forms section of www.gapsc.com. However, there may be other required forms, such as the Verification of Lawful Presence Form, that you will have to print out, complete, and upload along with your online application. In order to access any online application features, you must first login to your MyPSC account. Then, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Applications tab.

2. Click to complete the online application:

3. Indicate whether you are employed as an educator in a Georgia school or agency. If you are employed as a substitute, please answer “no” to the employment questions.

4. Choose the certificate transaction you would like to request. Please note: the following

transactions should only be chosen if you currently have an open case:

Submit documentation – this WILL NOT open a case

Submit missing documentation for an open case

5. Enter required information. This may vary depending on the transaction requested.

Education Information:

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Out-Of-State Assessment History: This does not have to be entered if you have not taken any out-of-state assessments or you have previously submitted those you have taken. You must press Add before Proceed in order to save information that is entered.

Out-Of-State Certification History: This does not have to be entered if you have not taken been certified out-of-state or if you have previously submitted any out-of-state certifications. You must press Add before Proceed in order to save information that is entered.

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6. Answer “yes” or “no” to each of the Personal Affirmation Questions.

7. Type your name and MyPSC password. This serves as an electronic signature.

8. If you have supporting documents to upload, you may do so now. You may also upload documents for this application at a later time by returning to the Applications tab. To upload documents, please follow the steps outlined in the next section.

9. You must click Finish to complete the submission. After successfully completing the submission, you will see the following screen:

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If you go back to the Applications main screen (or click Close) you will see the application listed under Submitted applications:

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Uploading Documents In order to upload document(s) on the Summary page, you must complete the following steps:

First, select the appropriate file description for the file. Browse for the file you wish to upload. They must be in .pdf, .tif, or .tiff format, so you should save any scanned documents in one of those file formats. You will NOT be able to select multiple files at a time. To add more files, you must first provide description for the file and then browse to the file.

Once the file has been selected, the description of the file will be listed below in green text along with the original file name, click Upload. Repeat steps if you need to upload additional files.

You will see the following message after your files have been uploaded:

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After 15-30 minutes, you can view your submitted application and uploaded documents in the

Documents tab of your account.

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Submitting Supporting Documentation

If you already have an open case, you may need to submit supporting documentation. These may be documents that were requested in a correspondence posted to your MyPSC account. Please note that if you do not have an Open or Holding case listed in your Case History and you submit supporting documentation without an application, the documents will be added to your file but the Certification Division will not take any action.

If you have recently submitted a MyPSC application, you should have the option in the Applications tab to upload documents for that case:

If you see that option, you may click upload and then follow the instructions in the Uploading Documents section of this document to upload your files.

If you do not see the Upload option, please follow these steps to upload supporting documentation:

1. Click to complete the online application:

2. Indicate whether you are employed as an educator in a Georgia school or agency. If you are employed as a substitute, please answer “no” to the employment questions.

3. Choose one of the following certificate transactions:

Submit documentation – this WILL NOT open a case

Submit missing documentation for an open case Once you reach the Summary page, follow the instructions in the Uploading Documents section of this document to upload your files.

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Online Application Status The status of any online application or additional documentation submitted will be displayed on the main Applications page. You may also want to check the Case History section located at the bottom of the page to see the status of any cases that have been created for you.

Possible online application statuses are as follows:

Case Creation in Progress – this means that your application as submitted and is being transmitted to the Certification Division. This status should change to “Case Created” after about 30 minutes. Any documents you uploaded with your application will not show in the Documents tab of your MyPSC account until the status changes to “Case Created.”

Case Created (date) – this means that your application was submitted and a certification case has been created. Cases are processed in the order in which they were created. You may view any documents you uploaded with this application in the Documents tab of your MyPSC account.

Waiting for File/Mail – this status will appear if you indicate that you are submitting documentation (but not opening a new case), but you do not upload a file. Applications with this status will have both an “upload” and “withdraw” option next to them on the list. Until you upload a file, nothing has been submitted to the Certification Division with this transaction.

File Received – this status will appear after you upload documentation using the “submit documentation” application transaction. It means that your files were successfully uploaded, but they have not yet been transmitted to the Certification Division, and they will not yet appear in the Documents tab of your MyPSC account. This status should change to “Document Created after about 30 minutes.

Document Created – this means that the file(s) you uploaded using the “submit documentation” application transaction have been received by the Certification Division. You may view these documents in the Documents tab of your MyPSC account.

Case Closed (date) – this means that your case is no longer open (active). Please see the Case Status section of this document for an explanation of this status.

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Case Status The Case History section at the bottom of the Applications page in your MyPSC account will indicate the status of any certification case that has been created for you, whether or not it was created with an online application. Please note that even if you submit multiple applications, these documents will be combined into a single case; you will not have more than one open case at a time.

When a case is first created, there will be no status listed. This means that your application was received and a case was created, but Certification Division staff members have not yet started working on your case. Once a staff member begins to work on your case, possible case statuses are as follows:

Open – A GaPSC staff member has begun to work on your case. Please continue to be patient and monitor your MyPSC account for status updates or correspondence.

Holding – this status means that further documentation is needed to process your application. The case will remain open for 90 days, but is on hold pending receipt of certain documents. Please check the Correspondence tab in your MyPSC account for a “Hold Letter” detailing the missing documents. You may upload most missing documents by following the instructions in the Submitting Supporting Documentation section of this document.

Case Closed (date closed) – cases may be closed for one of several reasons:

o Your request was processed and your certificate is available in the Certificate tab in your MyPSC account.

o Your request was denied. If this is the case, correspondence explaining the reason for denial will be available in the Correspondence tab of your MyPSC account.

o The case was placed on hold for missing information, but the necessary documents

were not submitted within 90 days. If this is the case, there will be an automatically generated correspondence available in the Correspondence tab of your MyPSC account.

o The case was closed because it was simply a duplicate of a case that was already open.

For example, if you mail an application to the GaPSC then decide to submit it online because it will be faster, the second case that is created for the same request will be closed to avoid duplication.

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Cancelling an Application Until you submit your application, you may Quit, which will delete the application you have begun.

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Updating Your Account Even if you are not submitting an application, you can update your MyPSC account with information about degrees you hold, any out-of-state certification assessments you have taken, and any out-of-state educator certificates you hold. When you do submit an application, you will have to submit supporting documentation such as official transcripts, test scores, or certificate copies. To update your account, please click on the Account link located in the upper right corner once you are logged into your MyPSC account:

On the account page, you may choose any of the four tabs to edit your information:

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For Further Assistance The GaPSC online application has been carefully constructed to shorten and simplify the certification application process. We are optimistic that it will help us all conserve time, paper, and resources. However, we are standing by to assist applicants with any problems or questions that may arise during the launch of the online application. Educators and applicants may contact us anytime at mail@gapsc.com or on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 404-232-2500.