Risk Control Center, University of Wisconsin-Stout
If you've been thinking about becoming DPI certified to teach High School Drivers Education and/or DOT certified to teach driver education on a private school basis in Wisconsin, this information is for you.
The University of Wisconsin-Stout offers the five courses (15 total credits) required to become certified to teach drivers education in the state of Wisconsin. The courses are offered each semester, including summers, on a correspondence basis. That means you can set up a schedule to complete respective course assignments that will meet your own time demands. Class sizes during the fall and spring semesters are limited and are filled on a "first come-first served" basis.
The line-up of five three-credit driver & traffic safety courses offered through Stout’s program can be taken in various options as follows:
As a 9-credit program for eventual DOT (i.e., private driving school) licensure where the individual would need to complete at a minimum the RC-371, RC-374 and RC-375 courses. The current State of Wisconsin DOT contact regarding private instructor certification is dotdrvrtrnschool@dot.state.wi.us.
As a 15-credit program for eventual DPI licensure (provided the individual has graduated with a recognized teaching-oriented major) where all 15 credits worth of the core traffic safety education courses would be completed.
As a 22-credit minor for eventual DPI licensure (provided the individual has graduated with a recognized teaching-oriented major) where all 15 credits worth of the core traffic safety education courses plus at least 7 other approved college-level credits would be completed.
For more information or if you have questions, contact:
Dr. Brian Finder
University of Wisconsin-Stout
Risk Control Center
188 Micheels Hall
Menomonie, WI 54751
Telephone: (715) 232-1422
Fax:(715) 232-5236
Email: finderb@uwstout.edu
Applying for Admission
If you have never been a student at UW-Stout, or if you have been but are not currently enrolled, you must apply for admission (as a new student or a re-entry) and be accepted before you can be registered for classes. Since you will enroll in courses for a certification only, not a full degree, you should apply as a "special student". This status means you don't pay an application fee and you don't have to provide transcripts from institutions you've attended previously. If you're currently enrolled at UW-Stout please contact me for registration assistance with these courses.
Undergraduate and Graduate admission have their own application forms (see links in numbered statements below) and their own tuition and fee schedules. Students can take graduate and undergraduate courses in the same semester. Depending on your situation as well as term that is being applying for, below are three admission options that you would choose from:
For new as well as reentry undergraduate special students who are applying for fall or spring terms, download and complete this web-based application form by hand, indicate with a sticky note attached to the form the course(s) you wish to enroll in, and then send or fax the form directly to Brian Finder.
For new graduate special students who are applying for fall or spring terms, download and complete this web-based application form by hand, indicate with a sticky note attached to the form the course(s) you wish to enroll in, and send or fax the form directly to Brian Finder.
- For all students desiring to enroll in summer courses, download and complete this web-based application form by hand, indicate with a sticky note attached to the form the course(s) you wish to enroll in, and then send or fax the form directly to Brian Finder.
NOTE: After the applicant's registration form has been received, UW-Stout's Registration and Records Office will contact the applicant via email with instructions on how to complete the online Payment Plan Agreement form. Course registration cannot take place until this online form has been completed.
It is recommended that off-campus students not take more than three of the required courses during any given fall/spring term or no more than two of the courses during the summer session. Fall & spring enrollments will be maintained at 5 students per course while summer session enrollments are essentially unlimited. Up to May 15 for the fall term, December 15 for the spring term, and April 1 for the summer session, continuing and reentry students will be enrolled in their selected courses on a first-come first-served basis. After these dates, new students will be allowed to enroll until such courses have either filled or the final registration deadline has been reached (approximately one week prior to the beginning of the term). Students who were unable to gain enrollment into their desired course(s) will be provided the opportunity to maintain their registration priority through to the next term.
General Information Regarding
the Driver Education CoursesEach of the five basic courses will be available during the fall, spring and summer terms. Upon receipt of the student's application form, the Risk Control Center will send the course materials (e.g., requirements/assignments, supporting documentation, electronic resources, etc.) approximately one week prior to the beginning of the term. These courses are correspondence-based, and therefore the student must be self-motivated to complete the course requirements by the end of the term.
Various resources are required for the RC-271, RC-371/571, RC-374, and RC-375 courses and may be acquired during the week prior to the beginning of classes. As indicated in the course requirements, these resources will need to be acquired by contacting the UW-Stout Instructional Resources Service at (715) 232-2492. All resources acquired through Instructional Resources Service must be returned by the last day of the semester to avoid receiving a fine.
Grading
Final course grades that are submitted to the Registration and Records Office by the course instructor are based solely on the quality and timeliness of submitted work and therefore should be considered as being earned. As per university policy, any student that receives an incomplete (i.e., "I") grade from the instructor must complete the outstanding assignments within 12 months from the end of the term that the incomplete grade was registered, or else receive an "F" grade. Stout no longer sends the students' grades through first-class mail. Consequently, students can access their grades by utilizing either of the following two options:
- Acquire an unofficial or official transcript by contacting the Registration and Records Office in writing.
- Acquire the previous semester's grade report by completing this web-based request form and sending it with a self-addressed envelope to the UW-Stout Registration & Records Office.
Brian J. Finder, Risk Control Center
University of Wisconsin-Stout
finderb@uwstout.edu
Updated: January 2, 2010