Educational Psychology
Self-paced online Educational Psychology course (Psychology 120). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
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Kansas teaching license renewal: hours, credits and conversions
By the team. Checked 15 Nov 2026.
The short answer
Kansas counts renewal in professional development points. One semester hour of college credit equals 20 points, and one hour of in-service education equals one point. Without an advanced degree you need 160 points with at least 80 from college credit, which is 4 semester hours. With an advanced degree you need 120 points and no college minimum.
The two units Kansas uses
KSDE defines a professional development point as one hour of in-service education. College coursework counts too, at 20 points for each semester hour. Both kinds of point must be earned under an individual development plan approved by your local Professional Development Council.
Because college credit is worth so much more per unit, most teachers use courses for the college minimum and in-service for the rest.
The professional license runs for five years, so the points must be earned during the current term. Points from a course finished before the term began, or after it ended, do not count toward this renewal. Plan the college part early in the term: courses take longer to arrange than district in-service, and the council must approve them on your plan before you start. Leaving them to the last year adds risk if a transcript posts late.
Conversions at a glance
These are the numbers KSDE and the regulation give:
| Activity | Points |
|---|---|
| 1 hour of in-service education | 1 |
| 1 semester hour of college credit | 20 |
| A 3-credit college course | 60 |
| Two 3-credit courses | 120 |
| 4 semester hours (the college minimum) | 80 |
| 8 semester hours | 160 |
Worked plans for 160 points
Without an advanced degree, any of these reaches 160 with at least 80 from college credit:
- Two 3-credit courses (120) plus 40 hours of in-service (40).
- One 4-credit course (80) plus 80 hours of in-service (80).
- Three 3-credit courses (180), all college credit.
- Two 3-credit courses and one 1-credit course (140) plus 20 hours of in-service (20).
With an advanced degree or in a retirement system
A master's degree or higher drops the target to 120 points with no college minimum, so in-service alone can meet it. Advanced-degree holders can also renew with three years of recent accredited experience in the current term, but only for two renewals.
If you take part in an educational retirement system in Kansas or another state, the regulation lets you complete half the points: 80 points with at least 40 from college credit if you have no advanced degree, or 60 points if you do.
Making college points count
Your council decides which courses fit your plan, so list them on the IDP before you start. Ask whether it counts undergraduate credit and which transcript it wants. UPI Study courses carry ACE or NCCRS credit recommendations and reach your council via a college transcript. TESU and UoPeople are partner colleges that consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit.
Keep a running log of points: date, activity, hours or credits, and points. When your renewal window comes, you will have the record your council and KSDE ask for. KSDE asks license holders to keep records of points, coursework or experience in case of verification, so file the council's approval, each transcript and each in-service certificate together.
What to ask in writing
Before you enrol
Ask your local Professional Development Council, and KSDE if needed, in writing whether undergraduate credit on your chosen college transcript counts toward the 80 college-credit points before you enrol.
UPI Study is not a college and is not accredited. ACE and NCCRS review our courses and recommend credit; a college decides whether to give that credit and records it on its own transcript.
ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
Questions people ask
how many points is a 3 credit course for kansas renewal
Sixty. KSDE counts one semester hour of college credit as 20 professional development points, so a 3-semester-hour course is worth 60 points toward the 160 needed, and two such courses cover the 80-point college minimum.
how many hours of in-service equal one kansas pd point
One. KSDE defines a professional development point as one hour of in-service education. Ten hours of an approved workshop under your plan are worth 10 points, while one semester hour of college credit is worth 20.
can i renew in kansas with only in-service hours
Only with an advanced degree. Teachers without a master's degree or higher must earn at least 80 of their 160 points from college credit. With an advanced degree, all 120 points can come from in-service under your plan.
Courses that fit
ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended courses, studied online at your own pace.
Psychology of Diversity
Self-paced online Psychology of Diversity course (Psychology 112). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Abnormal Psychology
Self-paced online Abnormal Psychology course (Psychology 180). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →Start when you have it in writing
Two courses cover the 80-point college minimum once posted on a college transcript.
Sources
- KSDE Teacher Licensure: License Information and Application (Renew a Professional (5 year) License) (official)Professional license is a 5-year license. Renewal options: 160 points including at least 80 from college credit under an approved IDP (no advanced degree); 120 points under an approved IDP filed with the local PDC (advanced degree); 8 credit hours in an approved program, or completing an approved program; one college credit hour is 20 PD points; all plans approved by the local Professional Development Council; retirement system participants complete half the points; Seal of Literacy requirement for some educators from 1 July 2028. Checked on 15 Nov 2026.
- K.A.R. 91-1-205(b), Renewal of a professional license (Cornell LII copy of the Kansas regulation)(b)(3)(C): 160 professional development points under an approved individual development plan filed with a local professional development council, including at least 80 points for college credit, without an advanced degree; 120 points with an advanced degree; (b)(3)(E): three years of recent accredited experience for advanced-degree holders, limited to two renewals; (b)(3)(F): half the points for people in an educational retirement system. Checked on 15 Nov 2026.
- KSDE: Professional Development (official)A professional development point represents one hour of in-service education; one semester hour of college credit equals 20 professional development points. Checked on 15 Nov 2026.