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To: Referees for Bachelor of Education Candidates

From: Education Faculty

Re: Reference Guidelines

Date: September 16, 2004

Thank you for agreeing to serve as a referee for an applicant to St. Thomas University’s Bachelor of Education degree programme. Your comments will be considered carefully by our admissions committee.

Please include your affiliation/relationship with the candidate. Were you a supervisor, CEO of a company, Mentor, or Professor? It is important to indicate this to us. While a Professor may see academic skills, a supervisor may be able to identify work habits. Your comments on the candidate’s attributes and qualities that will enhance performance as a classroom teacher are of particular interest to us.

Please concentrate on several different aspects of the person. Specifically, identify his /her skills, attitudes, personal attributes and growth, as well as his/ her contributions to and performance within your organization.

Following is a list of attributes (compiled by the National Association of Colleges and Employers) which is often listed by employers as tools on which to base eventual selection. These are excellent points to address:

- ability to communicate
- self-confidence
- initiative
- energy level
- flexibility
- self knowledge
- goal achievement
- appropriate vocational skills

- intelligence
- willingness to accept responsibility
- leadership
- imagination
- interpersonal skills
- ability to handle conflict
- competitiveness
- direction

A national publication (1991 ACUS Annual) listed the following eight intangibles as important when evaluating teaching candidates.

· empathy
· native intelligence
· a divergent, abstract thinking style
· a high level of commitment
· the ability to be a self starter
· a high energy level
· the recognition that excellence is a journey, not a destination, and
· the potential ability to lead.

Reference: JobWeb.com-Career development and job search help for college graduates. National Association of Colleges and Employers, 62 Highland Avenue, Bethlehem, PA 18017-9085

Please note: your letter of reference should be completed on letterhead when possible. In the event that letterhead is not an option, please provide your full contact information (i.e., phone and fax numbers, including appropriate area code, as well as your e-mail address) for reference verification. Please ensure that you identify the candidate by both first and last names, as well as the nature of your association with him/her, in your letter. All reference letters must be received prior to January 15, 2005 for the application to be considered complete. Address reference letter to:

Admissions Office, St. Thomas University
Fredericton, New Brunswick E3B 5G3