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Welcome to the Teacher Qualification Service online information centre.       This site is designed for teachers working, or planning to work, in the public schools of British Columbia. The primary function of the TQS is to assist teachers and their employing school boards in establishing the qualifications of teachers for salary purposes.

Category Five Plus, often referred to as "Five Plus 15," "Five Plus 30," "PB +15," or "Plus 15," has until recently been assigned by about half of the school districts in British Columbia. Negotiations between the BCTF and the BCPSEA have resulted in these two organizations approaching the TQS to administer this category on a province wide basis. An agreement has now been reached by the BCPSEA, the BCTF, and the TQS regarding the requirements for this category and the Teacher Qualification Service is now ready to begin processing applications. If you believe you qualify for category five plus please click on the menu item "upgrading your TQS category" for information on how to apply. If you have a district assigned five plus category and would like to apply to have this confirmed on a TQS card click on the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) menu item.

March 26, 2007 - TQS Regulations regarding the effective dates of category assignments have been revised as follows:

7.06 Subject to a grace period, applications with all supporting documentation which are received in the TQS office after November 30 and before March 31 are assigned a category effective the intervening January 1 provided all of the academic and professional work required for the category is completed by December 31 (January 31 for graduate students).

7.07 Subject to a grace period, applications with all supporting documentation which are received in the TQS office after March 31 and before June 30 are assigned a category effective May 1 of that calendar year provided that all of the academic and professional work required for the category is completed by April 30 (May 31 for graduate students).

7.08 Subject to a grace period, applications with all supporting documentation which are received in the TQS office after June 30 and before November 30 are assigned a category effective September 1 of that calendar year provided all of the academic and professional work required for the category is completed by August 31 (September 30 for graduate students).

June 17, 2005  - TQS Regulation 4.5 has been changed to read as follows (the added requirement is highlighted in bold underlined italics):

4.05 An “Integrated Program” is one containing a minimum of 30 semester credits of senior level and/or graduate level courses which make up a program containing a common theme or purpose, or a post-baccalaureate diploma containing a common theme or purpose and a minimum of 30 semester credits, 24 of which must be senior level. Senior level course are usually courses numbered 300 and above undertaken at an accredited university or college. An Integrated Program may be all in one academic subject area, or all in Education, or a combination of both Education and one academic subject area applicable to teaching in the BC public school system. At least 20 of the total of 30 credits must be eligible for inclusion in a degree or diploma as part of a major area of study. Courses included in an Integrated Program must be completed within a ten year time period. (See TQS Policy 4.A)

June 17, 2005  - TQS Policy 4.A has been changed as indicated below (the added requirement in highlighted in 3):

4.A Acceptable Course Content (TQS Integrated Program) The senior level courses in an Integrated Program must be eligible for:
1. Inclusion in an acceptable degree program, post-baccalaureate diploma program, or teacher education/certificate program offered by the university giving the courses; and,
2. Inclusion as transfer credit, in an acceptable degree or post-baccalaureate diploma or teacher education program, offered by one of the recognized degree granting institutions in BC; and
3. At least 20 of the total of 30 credits must be eligible for inclusion in a degree program, post- baccalaureate diploma program, or teacher education/certificate program as a major area of study, offered by the university giving the courses.

Not all graduate programs are acceptable for TQS categorization purposes. If you are contemplating taking a graduate degree in order to qualify for a TQS category update, it is advisable to provide a written request to the TQS to confirm that the program is acceptable. In your request please provide the full name of the program, including the area of specialization, the name of the university, and program and course/project descriptive information, or you may provide a web site address where this information is available. TQS will advise you in writing of the status of the program.

August 25, 2004  - Website User Problems

We have had some feedback from website users indicating that they are unable to access some information on our web site.  If you are having trouble  we would appreciate your assistance in correcting this problem.  Please send a note including your PC or MAC information (OS, Browsers)   to our website master by email indicating the nature of the problem.  When possible, please provide your email address as our web site administrator may wish to contact you. .. more