For Immediate Release
September 7, 2006
New ‘Educator Certification System’ up
and running
System allows Illinois’ educators
easier access to important data
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Board of Education
is launching the new Educator Certification System
(ECS) which will make teacher certification information
readily available to districts and streamline the registration
and renewal process for teachers across the state.
ISBE’s
Online Teacher Information System (OTIS) and Certificate
Renewal Tracking system (CeRTS) have
been merged to form the new Educator Certification
System.
The ECS web site is comprised of two portals,
or doorways, to certification data. In addition to
the educator
portal, district administrators can view educators’ certification
data which is considered to be public information.
Future plans will allow for public access to teacher
credentials.
“This system will provide a giant leap forward
in terms of giving school districts access to information,” said
State School Superintendent Randy Dunn. “In addition,
the system will be much easier for busy teachers to
access and use. I applaud the work that has been put
into the development and launch of the new Educator
Certification System.”
In the first 48 hours of operation this week, the
system recorded roughly 500,000 “hits.”
The
new web-based system now allows for easier access for
educators to their certification data, apply
for certificates and endorsements, record professional
development, renew and register their certificates,
and apply for No Child Left Behind (NCLB) highly
qualified status. The site also accepts credit cards
as a payment option for application services.
The
user-friendly system includes instruction manuals and
a “help desk” link.
This system stems from
priorities set forth by Governor Rod Blagojevich. Those
priorities have been aimed
at reforming education in Illinois. Under Governor
Blagojevich there has been a clear focus on streamlining
the agency’s operations, including eliminating
a massive teacher certification backlog and hundreds
of pages of unnecessary rules and regulations that
have hampered school operations.
ECS facts at a glance:
- ECS contains 807,264 educator records
- 728,009 issued certificates
- 192,130 private educator accounts, which were created
from existing OTIS and CeRTS systems
- 161,505 public school educators records
- Over $2 million has been collected in credit card application
and registration fees in the online systems
- OTIS was previously receiving up to 3 million hits
per month; it is anticipated that this will
increase with ECS
A link to ECS can be found on the Illinois State Board
of Education’s web site at www.isbe.net.
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