Students at Relay Graduate School of Education must secure a program-aligned instructional role to be eligible to academically progress in Relay’s academic offerings. Depending on the school or partner organization (e.g., Teach For America), a student may or may not know the details of the specific position that they will hold at the time of their application. As a result, Relay requires students to confirm their instructional role details through the School Authorization and Instructional Role Confirmation Form each academic year. If the student’s instructional role does not align with the certification/licensure area of study, the student must submit an area of study change request. Requests to change one’s area of study can be made at any time using the major/area of study change form on a student’s status page. If the student’s instructional role is not aligned to the requirements of their program, the student must submit a transfer application into a program that does align to the instructional role. Failure to submit a transfer application, if necessitated by the student’s instructional role, may delay program completion or result in administrative withdrawal. 

The School Authorization and Instructional Role Confirmation Form is composed of two parts, 1) a student portion and 2) a school leader portion. The student portion is completed by the student and includes the collection of the school administrator’s name and contact information along with details about the student’s instructional role. Upon completion of the student portion, the school administrator will receive a unique link to their portion of the form. The school administrator portion requests verification of the employment details for the student and includes an acknowledgement of school responsibilities. More details about the School Authorization and Instructional Role Confirmation process can be found here.

Table 7

*Failure to meet the student or school leader deadlines will result in the initiation of administrative withdrawal.  

Relay students who transfer programs and/or update their employment may be required to submit a new School Authorization and Instructional Role Confirmation Form. If a new form is required, students will be notified when their request is reviewed. In such cases, the student and school administrator portions will be due within two weeks of notification. Failure to meet the deadline will result in the initiation of administrative withdrawal.  

Review of the School Authorization and Instructional Role Confirmation Form

Upon receipt of the completed form, Relay will review the instructional role details and provide support to students who may require a change in their enrollment (e.g., area of study change, program change, etc.). Students are encouraged to request changes two weeks prior to the start of the term to ensure coursework availability, and must request changes no later than the start of the term. Failure to request changes, if necessitated by the student’s instructional role, may delay program completion or result in administrative withdrawal. See Reenrolling or Transferring Programs and Subject and/or Grade-Level Change for more information.

Changes to Instructional Role After Submission of School Authorization and Instructional Role Form

If a student’s employment situation changes due to a Change in Subject and/or Grade Level or a Change in Teaching Location, the student must notify Relay within one week by submitting a student record update form from their Relay Support tab of their My Relay Portal. In most cases this means the student will also need to submit an updated School Authorization and Instructional Role Form. Students will have two weeks from when the new School Authorization and Instructional Role is assigned to complete the student and school leader portion of this form. Failure to have a completed form on file may lead to an administrative withdrawal and/or require the student to retake and pay for additional coursework. Once the updated form is on file additional consequences may need to be taken if the position is not aligned with a student’s current program.