Frequently Asked Questions Related to Licensure

This page is designed to be a resource to answer questions about licensure in the state of Tennessee.  

How do I Register on TNCompass?
Registration for Users Without a TNCompass Account

I need help with my TNCompass Username or Password Username or Password Help

How do I change my name on TNCompass? Need to change your name on your TNCompass Account

What are the required Praxis tests for endorsements? Tennessee Assessment Requirements

How do I add Professional Development Points (PDPs)?

  • Please refer to the guide for adding PDPs and uploading supporting documentation. Adding PDPs Guide
  • How many PDPs are needed to renew/advance?
    • To renew a Practitioner 1st Issuance, there are no PDP requirements, HOWEVER, you must have completed your educator preparation program and passed all required assessments.
    • To renew a Practitioner license, you need 30 PDPs.
    • To advance a Practitioner 1st Issuance or a Practitioner, you need 30 PDPs.
    • To renew a Professional level license, (starting in 2024) you EITHER need 60 PDPs OR 2 years of qualifying experience during the validity period of your license.  The validity period is from the effective/renewal date to the expiration date.
  • Important things to remember:
    1. To see how many PDPs you have, log into your TNCompass account, from the home screen, click on “My Educator Profile.” Click on the Licensure tab and at the top of the page you will see the licenses you have with the status, effective and expiration dates, endorsements, and total PDPs.                                                                                                                                
    2. The only PDPs that can be earned automatically are based on an educator's annual Level of Overall Effectiveness (LOE) Score.  Please note that LOE scores (and corresponding PDPs) are uploaded sometime in the Fall, so you cannot rely on the PDPs earned during the last year of your license.

      Level of Overall Effectiveness (LOE) Rating

      Overall Score of 5 = 20 PDPs

      Overall Score of 4 = 15 PDPs

      Overall Score of 3 = 10 PDPs

      LOE Rating for Educators Employed at a Priority School or Focus School

      Overall score of 5 = 25 PDPs

      Overall Score of 4 = 20 PDPs

      ALL other PDPs are earned by the educator entering PDP requests into TNCompass. 
    3. You can tell if the PDPs you have obtained were earned based on an LOE score or PD hours entered.  On the Licensure tab of your profile, scroll down to the Professional Development Points section, there are two headings (Overall Evaluation Scores and Training, Coursework, or National Board Certifications).  Below each heading shows the points that were earned by each method.  You can also see how many pending PDP requests you have awaiting approval.  The screenshot below does not show any points earned by Overall Evaluation Scores or Trainings, nor do they have any pending requests:
      PDPs
    4. PDPs can only be approved if the Professional Development directly impacts student achievement. While important, professional development on anti-bullying, recognizing child abuse, medical training (i.e. CPR, first aid, and Epi-pen administration), or preventing suicide cannot be approved as PDPs for educators - if these are entered they will be denied.
    5. PDPs are only earned if they occurred during the validity period of your license (from the effective date/last renewal date to the expiration date).
    6. PDPs can only be approved if the educator attended Professional development. Any Professional development that an educator conducted or presented cannot count towards PDPs. If these are entered they will be denied.
    7. You must provide documentation of attendance. You can upload the documentation you received from the event, your PD Transcript from Employee Online, or a certificate from Kick UpPDP requests entered without proper documentation will be denied.  If the certificate from Kick Up has different amounts for the PDP Credit and hours, this is because the hours are automatically calculated based on the start and end time, but often there are breaks (i.e. lunch), that you cannot receive PDP credit for.  You need to enter the amount beside PDP Credit, if you enter the hours amount, the request will be denied:
      KickUp PD credit 
    8. If the PD was completed during a district-wide Professional Development day, please note that clearly in the description and no other documentation is needed if clearly noted (i.e. "District-wide Professional Development day - English Department PD"). If adding a district-wide Professional development day, it can count up to 6 hours - if you enter more than 6 hours it will be denied.  
    9. If you have a Practitioner License and are in a job-embedded program to gain licensure, the coursework you complete from your Educator Prep Program cannot be counted as PDPs. 
    10. If you have already completed an Educator Prep Program and have taken courses such as coursework towards an advanced degree, those can be counted as PDPs.  To add these, you will need to enter each individual course name and corresponding semester hours as separate requests and provide proof of course completion (i.e. transcript). Please note that 1 Semester hour = 10 PDPs.
    11. PDPs can be earned if an educator serves as a Clinical Mentor for candidates completing an educator preparation program.  Educators are eligible for up to 20 PDPs for one academic year of service (10 per semester).  To receive PDPs for service as a clinical mentor, upon conclusion of the clinical mentorship, educators must submit this form to Anne Barbieri to sign.  The educator is responsible for uploading the completed form in TNCompass when submitting the PDP request.
    12. For more information about PDPs, check out this information from the Tennessee DOE website.

How do I Print my License?
Log into your TNCompass account, from the home screen, click on “My Educator Profile.” Then click on the Licensure tab and at the top it lists the licenses you have. On the right side of each license listed there is a blue License button that you can click for your license to open as a PDF that you can print or save.

How do I add a Degree to my License?

  • Contact the college or university where you obtained the degree and request that an official transcript be sent to [email protected]
  • Log into your TNCompass account, from the home screen, click on “My Educator Profile.” Then select the Transactions tab and click Start a new transaction. Choose Add Degree and start the transaction. Follow the prompts of the transaction Wizard to confirm that your transcripts have been ordered and submit your transaction.

What do I do if a transaction is marked Deficient?

If the email does not explain why it was marked deficient, then log into your TNCompass account, go to My Educator Profile and click on the Transactions tab. You will see the deficient transaction with a View button beside it. Click the View button and scroll to the bottom to see the notes left by the consultant who processed the transaction.

  • If you’re able to rectify what was lacking that caused the transaction to be deficient, make the needed corrections and then MAKE SURE YOU RESUBMIT THE TRANSACTION.
  • If you’re not sure what you need to do to be able to resubmit, reach out to Anne Barbieri and she can assist you.