Welcome to USOE Professional Development

Student success pivots on good teaching.                                                           - WestEd

This web site contains information on professional development opportunities for Utah educators. Activities listed are for Utah State Office of Education credit, relicensure requirements, and university credit. Please note that credit requirements for lane change may vary by district.

USOE Credit/Professional Staff Development Credit

• Recorded on CACTUS if it meets NCLB criteria. (District/USOE sends this request for approval prior to class offering.)
• Credit is placed on CACTUS for educator by the District/USOE.
• 14 content hours plus 4-hour assignment = 1 credit.
• Counts towards re-licensure. 1 credit = 18 points

This type of credit is offered through the school districts, USOE, and UEN professional development courses that have been pre-approved through USOE to offer for-credit courses.

When educators take the course for USOE Credit, they fill out a form with their CACTUS ID (now used in place of Social Security number) and name in order to prove attendance. This form is turned in to the school district/USOE provider of the course, and the provider submits the educator’s information to USOE for credit to be posted on CACTUS.

University Credit

• Recorded on University Transcript only
• An official transcript (not a copy) must be obtained by the educator and is submitted to principal or USOE only at the time of license renewal, along with all other licensure points certificates, application and fee.  This official transcript does not need to be in a sealed envelope.
• These points will never appear on CACTUS. When the educator’s license is renewed, that is proof of receipt by USOE.
• 14 content hours plus 4-hour assignment = 1 semester credit
• Counts towards re-licensure. 1 semester credit = 18 re-licensure points
• Courses must have a subject matter or pedagogical connection to your work in the classroom and/or license or license endorsement.

Re-licensure Points Only

• Meets re-licensure criteria.
• Points are awarded per contact hour.
• Teacher must get re-licensure/points certificate at end of course. These are submitted to school principal/USOE only when applying for license renewal, along with application and fee. It is a good idea to retain a copy of your points certificates for your own records.
• These points will never appear on CACTUS. When the educator’s license is renewed, that is proof of receipt by USOE.

To find out about renewal fees and points requirements for each type of renewal, visit Educator Quality Services .