Application, Registration and Online Offerings

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Professional learning that fits your goals and schedule.

Expand your expertise, meet professional requirements or take the next step in your career.  Our graduate-level courses combine the academic rigor of the College of Charleston with the evolving needs of educators, schools and educational orgranizations.

The Office of Professional Development in Education (OPDE) offers flexible online and face-to-face courses designed for working professionals.

Pursue professional growth on your schedule while gaining graduate-level knowledge you can put to work in your classroom, school or organization.

 

Application & Registration Process

Select the Graduate Professional Development option that applies to you. Begin with a "New Student Application" if you are new to OPDE graduate professional development courses or if you have not completed an OPDE graduate PD course within the past two semesters. Proceed directly to the "Register for Courses" option if you have recently completed an OPDE graduate PD course (within the past two semesters). All students must complete the OPDE Registration Form.
  • New Student Application

    Begin the application process here if: 

    • You are new to OPDE graduate professional development courses
      or
    • You have not enrolled in a graduate professal development course within the last two semesters.
    1. Use the link below to create an account and password
    2. Check email
    3. Login to Portal - Under Education - start application
    4. Under New Application choose "Professional Development"
    5. Select Term
    6. Complete Graduate School Professional Development Application
    7. Select your Program - Education - Professional Development
    8. Press "Continue" after each section
    9. Complete Application and Upload Documentation (transcripts are not required unless you do not have a teaching certificate)
    10. Review and submit application
    11. Graduate School Reviews and accepts application
    12. Register for course(s):  Go to OPDE Registration

    For technical issues, please contact the OPDE at OPDE@cofc.edu. 

    Application ( new or re-activating)
  • Returning & New Students: Register for Courses

    Proceed with these instructions to register for courses if you have:

    • Completed a Graduate Professional Development course within the last two semesters
      or
    • Completed the application form prior to registration (New and Returning Students)
    1. Use the link below to complete the OPDE Registration Request Form
    2. Participant Information
    3. Semester Selection - Select up to four courses*
    4. Payment and Certificate Information
    5. No need to send copies of teaching certificate and driver's license unless expired.  If expired please send to: OPDE@cofc.edu
    6. Before submitting, please make sure your email address is correct.
    7. Complete form and submit
    8. After submitting you will receive a verification of registration via email
    9. OPDE reviews and processes registration
      *VSC courses are offered through VirtualSC PD.  You must first register with VirtualSC PD before you register through the College of  Charleston. VirtualSC PD will then give you instructions for registering through our website. Registration through VirtualSC PD begins August 10, 2026.

    For technical issues, please contact the OPDE at OPDE@cofc.edu. 

    OPDE Registration Form

Fall Online Courses

Ready to move up the teacher salary schedule? Earn your +18 or +30 hours with our courses and advance your certificate class level for higher compensation. Please check back frequently for updates!
  • EDPD 829 K60: Before, During, & After Thinking: Prob. Solving ...
    • Fall 2026 Online - synchronous (Zoom or in-person option) and asynchronous sessions for Two Hours of Graduate PD Credit
    • Increase your pay with a Master’s plus 30 

    EDPD 829 K: Before, During, and After Thinking: Problem Solving and Mediation Principles for Children 
    Course Description
    This course equips educators with a practical, developmentally aligned framework for teaching communication and conflict-resolution skills to children. Grounded in the Addressing Basic Conflict (ABC) model, it shifts the role of the educator from problem-solver to facilitator of student reasoning, reflection, and thoughtful choice-making.
    The title names the structure. Before is where most of the work happens: a class builds its resource in advance, on impersonal goals, while everyone is calm — because good ideas are hard to come by in the moment. During the conflict itself, when a child in hot cognition needs something already built to reach for. After is the reflective return, non-accusatory and with room for the good choices as well as the hard ones. Participants learn all three, and the applied work follows the same order: two taught lessons and an independent review and pruning make up the Before, and posting the resulting tool and putting it to work with the class covers the During and the After.
    Course Dates: October 6 - December 1, 2026
    Five class meetings, 2 hours each — three live, two recorded
    2 graduate professional development credits
    Format: Online - synchronous (Zoom or in-person option) and asynchronous sessions

    Course Fee: FREE to the first 14 registrants*

    * Course and instructor fees are fully funded by Conflict Resolution for Kids, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

    Registration deadline: September 30, 2026


    Sessions:
    • Session 1 — HYBRID — Tuesday, October 6, 6:00 pm–8:00 pm. Offered on-site at The Bays on Coleman, Charleston, SC, with the option to log in virtually. For those who join in person, dinner will be provided.
    • Session 2 — RECORDED. Release Date October 20. Response segment addresses questions raised after Session 1.
    • Session 3 — HYBRID — Tuesday, October 27th, 6:00 pm–8:00 pm. Offered on-site at The Bays on Coleman, Charleston, SC, with the option to log in virtually. For those who join in person, dinner will be provided.
    • Session 4 — RECORDED — released November 10. Response segment addresses questions raised after Session 3.
    • Session 5 — HYBRID — December 1, 6:00 pm–8:00 pm. Offered on-site at The Bays on Coleman, Charleston, SC, with the option to log in virtually. For those who join in person, dinner will be provided.
    • All work is due by December 1, 2026.  
    Apply & Register
    If you have not previously taken an OPDE graduate professional development course or if you have not taken an OPDE graduate PD course in the past two semesters, you will need to complete a College of Charleston Graduate School application before registering for a course.
    Register for EDPD 829 K60
  • EDPD: 829 B60: Foundations of Artificial Intelligence for the Classroom

    Course Description

    The introductory professional development course equips K-12 teachers with a foundational understanding of artificial intelligence and supports them in integrating AI responsibly and effectively into instruction. Participants explore key AI concepts, ethical considerations, classroom applications, and AI literacy skills aligned with the South Carolina AI Framework.

    Teachers engage in hands-on exploration of AI tools, examine pedagogical implications, practice prompt engineering, and design an AI-supported instructional activity or lesson for classroom use.

    Special Note: We are excited to share this course with as many professional educators as possible. Participants will complete an end-of-course survey to provide feedback and identify desired next steps in the field of AI in education.

    Please note: This course is expected to fill quickly.

    Course Information

    Apply & Register

    View Complete Application/Registration information

    If you have not previously taken an OPDE graduate professional development course or if you have not taken an OPDE graduate PD course in the past two semesters, you will need to complete a College of Charleston Graduate School application before registering for a course.

    Register for EDPD 829
  • EDPD 829 A60: Driving Positive Behaviors: MTSS, PBIS and New Approaches

    Course Description

    This graduate-level professional development course equips educators with advanced training in implementing MTSS for behavior, emphasizing tiered interventions, PBIS, and emerging models such as trauma-informed practices, restorative approaches, and inclusive behavioral frameworks.

    Participants will analyze behavioral data, design school-wide systems, and integrate SEL into sustainable behavior supports.

    Course Information

    Apply & Register

    View Complete Application/Registration information

    If you have not previously taken an OPDE graduate professional development course or if you have not taken an OPDE graduate PD course in the past two semesters, you will need to complete a College of Charleston Graduate School application before registering for a course.

    Register for EDPD 829
  • EDPD 826 Z60: Managing the Post-Pandemic Classroom
    • Fall 2026 Self-Paced Professional Development Course for Three Hours of Credit 
    • Increase your pay with a Master’s plus 30 

    EDPD: 826 Z60 Managing the Post-Pandemic Classroom 

    Course Description
    This course is designed to provide teachers and administrators with an understanding of the negative impact of the pandemic on both students and teachers.  Academic, social, and behavioral support to ensure students' success in the school environment differs from previous endeavors before the pandemic. Students and teachers require a new understanding of the post-pandemic classroom. This new understanding will be examined through learning about trauma and stress related to the pandemic, as well as programs developed to provide a structure for identifying and managing behaviors, instructional and management strategies, and support systems to ensure teacher and student success. 

    Assignments & Assessments

    The course begins on October 18 and ends on November 29. Managing the Post-Pandemic Classroom is an online course comprising nine sessions, spanning six weeks. Starting on Sunday, October 19, participants will be emailed a detailed assignment that includes a written lecture on the topic, numerous websites to visit and read, specific textbook pages to review, and an application assignment.  After completing the session and submitting the assignment via email, the instructor will evaluate it and assign a grade. A new session will be emailed. This self-paced process will be repeated until all nine sessions have been completed.

    The last assignment is due on November 29. Request a syllabus for more details at fbouknight65@gmail.com   

    Course Topics
    • Understanding the effects of trauma during the pandemic on teachers and students
    • The Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS)
    • Classroom management strategies for the whole classroom,
    • Addressing challenging behaviors using MTSS
    • Addressing disruptive behaviors using MTSS
    • Developing a system of support (parents and administration)
    • Engaging students during Instruction
    • Creating an effective classroom management system in the post-pandemic classroom 

    Course Information

    Apply & Register

     If you have not previously taken an OPDE graduate professional development course or if you have not taken an OPDE graduate PD course in the past two semesters, you will need to complete a College of Charleston Graduate School application before registering for a course.

    Register for EPDP 826
  • EDPD 828 Q60: The Charter School Movement in SC: Past, Present & Future

    EDPD 828 Q: The Charter School Movement in South Carolina: Past, Present, and Future

    Course Description

    The course is designed for teachers (K-12, all areas of certification), administrators (K-12), school board members, and others seeking to understand the charter school movement in South Carolina.

    The purpose of this course is to provide students with an in-depth examination of the charter school topics including:

    • National charter school movement
    • The charter school movement in South Carolina
    • The Charter School Act
    • Charter school sponsors
    • Charter school funding
    • The application process
    • Teacher benefits and rights
    • Management companies
    • Charter schools vs. traditional schools
    • Athletics and extracurricular activities
    • Virtual charter schools
    • The future of charter schools in SC.
    Upon completing the course, students will be well-informed about charter schools in South Carolina. Students will understand the advantages, disadvantages, and challenges facing charter schools.

    Assignments & Assessments

    This self-paced online course comprises nine sessions over six weeks (August 30-October 11). Beginning on August 30, participants will be emailed a detailed assignment that includes a written lecture on the topic, numerous websites to visit and read, specific textbook pages to review, and an application assignment. After completing the session and submitting the assignment via email, the instructor will evaluate it and assign a grade. A new session will be emailed. This self-paced process will be repeated until all nine sessions have been completed.

    The last assignment is due on October 11. For more information, request the syllabus from fbouknight65@gmail.com

    Course Information

    Apply & Register

    If you have not previously taken an OPDE graduate professional development course or if you have not taken an OPDE graduate PD course in the past two semesters, you will need to complete a College of Charleston Graduate School application before registering for a course.

     

    Register for EDPD 828 Q

Spring & Summer Online Courses

Stay on schedule with convenient spring and summer course offerings.
  • Spr. 2027 - EDPD 829 L60: Ed. Gen Z: Student Dev. & Wellbeing in the Digital Age

    Course Description

    This NEW graduate professional development course examines the developmental, emotional, social, and educational experiences shaping Generation Z learners in contemporary digital environments.

    Participants will explore how smartphone-based childhoods, social media ecosystems, artificial intelligence, and digital culture are influencing adolescent wellbeing, identity development, attention, belonging, motivation, and student engagement.

    Participants will critically examine current research and public discourse on the following topics while developing practical, school-based approaches to support students in today’s learning environments.

    • Youth mental health
    • Digital culture
    • Educational outcomes

    Throughout the course, participants will connect research to their own educational contexts and design concrete strategies that promote healthy digital-age learning environments.

    Special Note: We are excited to share this course with as many professional educators as possible. Participants will complete an end-of-course survey to provide feedback and identify desired next steps in the development of understanding of the Gen Z and beyond..

    Please note: This course is expected to fill quickly.

    Course Information

    Apply & Register

     Registration is not yet available for this course

    If you have not previously taken an OPDE graduate professional development course or if you have not taken an OPDE graduate PD course in the past two semesters, you will need to complete a College of Charleston Graduate School application before registering for a course.

  • SUMMER 2027 - EDPD 828 I60: Charleston Library Society - Special Course

    Course Description

    The Charleston Library Society presents its popular one-hour credit Professional Development course. Shakespeare: Books and Screens.

    The course offer a hands-on learning opportunity for area secondary school educators, including English, theater, history and science teachers.

    Offered through the College of Charleston’s School of Education, the course guides teachers in creating lesson plans and assignments that link their teaching of Shakespeare and his era in their classrooms to the resources of the Igoe Shakespeare Collection and CLS, including the CLS collection of Shakespeare-related visual arts, and films.

    Participants will learn more about the library’s history, the collections (with particular emphasis on the Igoe Shakespeare Collection), and will visit the Bindery for a workshop during one of their sessions. Classes will meet at the Charleston Library Society on select days.

    Through a generous donation from the Igoe family, the course is offered for $50 per teacher. Additionally, the Library Society will provide free one-year memberships to course participants. Parking vouchers will be provided for nearby garages, though the availability of parking spaces cannot be guaranteed.

    Course Information

    Registration

    Watch for registration information coming soon.

Additional Graduate Professional Development Online Offerings

VirtualSC PD Graduate Professional Development (3 hours graduate PD credit)

VirtualSC PD is a program of the South Carolina Department of Education and is an important partner in offering courses for course renewal credits and approved College of Charleston graduate professional development courses. These course offerings can meet the requirements for endorsement and certification programs: 

Learn More About VirtualSC PD