Quest Center FAQ and Disclaimer

Who is eligible to take classes at the Quest Center?

- Any CTU member.
- Including charter school unionized members.
- Not a member? Email waltertaylor@ctuf.org

Do CTU members (and union partner members – unionized charter schools) receive a discount on classes at the Quest Center?

What is Lane Placement Credit (LPC)?

- Credits that CPS offers to educators via their list of approved providers (CTUF Quest Center is one such provider).
- Garnering enough LPCs allows for an increase in pay.
- One must have a Master’s degree for LPCs to count toward pay increases (moving over lanes).

What are ISBE PD Hours?

- These are professional development (PD) hours that only an approved provider of the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) can provide (CTUF Quest Center is one such provider).
- Educators must take a certain amount of PD hours to renew their licenses every 5 years. Typically, the amount of hours is 120 PD hours within their 5-year renewal cycle
- The educator is responsible for maintaining and submitting hours via Educator Licensure Information System (ELIS).

How do I register for classes?

- Visit CTUF Quest Center Professional Development Catalog – https://ctuf.catalog.instructure.com/
  - You will see a list of PD offerings. Simply click on the offering(s) you are interested in. You will be taken to a page that gives a bit more details about the offering. Also, there will be an “Enroll” button that can be clicked on. Once that button is clicked on, you will be taken to a registration page. You then need to fill out the registration form and click the “Proceed to Payment” button. You will then be taken to a secure page to make your payment.

How do I enter my ISBE PD hours?

- ISBE PD hours can only be entered in your ELIS account which is found on the ISBE website. Please click here to assist you with this process.

How many ISBE PD hours do I need to renew my license?

- This number varies for many reasons. You need to check your ELIS account to be sure you have the correct number for licensure renewal.
- Most people will need 120 hours of PD (within their 5 year renewal cycle).

How many Lane Placement Credits (LPCs) do I need to change lanes?

- You must have a Master’s degree to move from lane 1 to go to lane 2.
  - Once in lane 2, you must garner 15 LPCs to move to lane 3. This is the case for moving from lane 3 to lane 4. This is also true for moving from lane 4 to lane 5. The only way to move from lane 5 to lane 6 is earn a Doctorate or Ph.D.
    - Note: Garnering 15 LPCs does not mean the same thing as having garnered 15 hours of PD.
    - For every 15 hours of PD (offered by a LPC bearing institution like the CTUF Quest Center) equals 1 LPC.
- You can use graduate semester hours from an accredited university or courses registered and completed for lane credit through the CPS Learning Hub. There is a maximum allowed of 9 lane credits, per provider per fiscal year (ex. 7-1-19 to 6-30-20). If you exceed this 9 lane credit maximum you will not get credit, nor will you be able to roll the credits over to the next fiscal year. There is now no limit on the number of LPCs you can obtain from a single provider within a year.

How do I apply for a lane change?

- You can only apply for a lane change with CPS.
- There is an application that you must get and fill out from CPS at cps.edu/hr4u

How do I use a coupon code for Quest Center classes?

- You simply enter the code that has been provided into the box on the registration page.
  - Note: Coupon codes are only provided by CTUF Quest Center a few times a year.

For classes with an online component, how do I access online learning?

- CTUF Quest Center has a learning platform (Canvas) that we use – that will be how to access the online learning.
- The instructor during the first class will explain how to utilize the learning platform.
- Log in at https://ctuf.instructure.com/login/canvas

In order to receive any credit, participants must be in attendance for the entire PD offering.
No refunds will be issued unless the offering is canceled by CTUF Quest Center.
CTUF does not keep paperwork for ISBE credits. It is solely the responsibility of the participant to keep up with their ISBE paperwork.
Please only submit your payment once. Do NOT keep submitting over and over – even if there is an error message, the payment seemingly is not processed, or if the cursor keeps spinning in a circle. Instead, STOP, and email Walter Taylor. He can be reached at WalterTaylor@ctuf.org. We do not want you to have paid more than once by accident.