Teacher and Administrator Certification

Administrator Certification Program

Office of Teacher and Administrator Certification
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5260 USA
(269) 387-3473

As outlined in the Administrator Certification Administrator Rules, beginning September 1, 2018, school administrators, whose primary responsibility is to administer instructional programs, are required to hold a valid School Administrator Certificate. 

New! Beginning Fall 2025, The Elementary and Secondary School Administrator Certification (ES) and Central Office School Administrator Certificate (CO) will require passing the corresponding Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC) subject exam(s). For more information and to view the implementation timeline, please visit the Michigan Department of Education's (MDE) MTTC Administrator Testing website.

To obtain your School Administrator Certificate through Western Michigan University, the following requirements must be completed. 

Complete one of the approved school administrator certificate and/or endorsement programs, through the Department of Educational, Leadership, Research and Technology. Please make sure to work with the faculty program coordinator and obtain a signed program. All students must follow the new standards.

If you do not hold a valid Michigan Department of Education issued certificate, you must provide a background check from within the last two years to the certification office. The Michigan iChat will meet this requirement.

If you have any misdemeanor or felony conviction(s), you must report this on your MOECS application (see Step 5) and the official court documents must be on file in the WMU certification office prior to a certification recommendation. Please review the WMU convictions website for a list of acceptable court documents and for additional details on convictions. 

Beginning Fall 2025, the School Administrator Certificates will require passing the corresponding MTTC subject exam to apply for the endorsement(s) in the Michigan Online Educator Certification System (MOECS). For the implementation timeline, please visit the Michigan Department of Education's (MDE) MTTC Administrator Testing website

  • The Elementary and Secondary PK-12 School Administrator Endorsement (ES) will require MTTC #139.
  • The Central Office School Administrator Endorsement (CO) will require MTTC #140 

Official transcripts showing the approved master's degree and/or courses beyond the master's degree (if not earned at Western Michigan University) must be on file at the University.

Apply for the School Administrator Certificate and/or appropriate endorsement(s) in the Michigan Online Educator Certification System (MOECS). If you do not already have an account, please follow the Michigan Department of Education instructions to obtain MOECS access (see Educator and Educator Candidates).

Honestly report any misdemeanor or felony conviction(s) on your MOECS application.

  • Must report conviction information on all of your applications for current certification and all future certifications.
  • Provide acceptable conviction documentation for each offense to the certification office.

After application, your identified university will review and recommend the application. Please allow five to seven business days for this process; a conviction may delay this process.

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) charges $160 for the School Administrator Certificate with the first endorsement(s). The MDE charges $50 for additional administrator endorsements added at later time.

Once the fee is paid, print the certificate, obtain notarization and provide the certificate to your school (as appropriated). The School Administrator Certificate is valid for five years.

Pre-2014 graduates who did not obtain an Elementary and Secondary P-12 School Administrator (ES) Endorsement

In 2014, the Michigan Department of Education increased the number of internship hours to 240 to obtain the Elementary and Secondary P-12 School Administrator (ES) endorsement. Pre-2014 program completers who did not obtain the endorsement must complete a total of 240 internship hours to be eligible for the ES endorsement. Any WMU degree is still valid but you will likely have to meet the new internship requirements to qualify for the ES endorsement. WMU has two ways to meet the internship requirement (Option I or II): 

Option I: You may enroll in EDLD 6794 Principal Internship II

        OR

Option II: You may apply for Prior Learning Assessment credits (see Route 3) if you believe your current position has provided you with the opportunities to meet ES endorsement internship hours.

Questions: Contact the faculty program coordinator, Dr. Wayne "Rusty" Stitt.

Note: This information is intended to cover most, but not all, situations. WMU reserves the right to modify these decisions as needed to ensure compliance with state laws and policies governing certification.