Watermark Student Learning & Licensure (formerly VIA)
The School of Education and other programs on the SUNY New Paltz campus use an assessment platform, Student Learning & Licensure by Watermark, to facilitate the collection and maintenance of data that are mandatory for licensure and certification-granting programs. Such data include performance on assessments during clinical experiences, time logs, and ability to demonstrate acceptable performance on industry-specific competencies.
Certain programs at SUNY New Paltz have been using such an assessment platform since 2013, and in 2019 we transitioned from LiveText to VIA (both are Watermark products). Our decision to continue to use the Watermark product is based largely on the ability for our candidates to create a personal and professional ePortfolio housed in a secure cloud storage environment that highlights their educational experiences and showcases their knowledge, skills, and growth to prospective employers.
Who is Required to Have Student Learning & Licensure?
Initial Education Preparation Candidates: Student Learning & Licensure is a program requirement for all candidates in initial certification teacher preparation programs (i.e., all BA/BS, MST, and MAT programs), including Art Education, beginning with the first Methods course.
Professional Education Preparation Candidates: Student Learning & Licensure is a program requirement for all candidates in professional certification teacher preparation programs (i.e., the MSED programs in Literacy, Special Education, TESOL, and Childhood Education), beginning in the first semester of the program.
CAS in Educational Administration: Student Learning & Licensure is a program requirement for all candidates in the Educational Leadership programs (i.e., CAS in SBL/SDL and the CAS in SDBL).
Other Professional Preparation Programs: Student Learning & Licensure is a program requirement for all candidates in the Music Therapy, Counselor Education, and Applied Behavior Analysis programs.
How Do I Get a Student Learning & Licensure Account?
Your Watermark membership will be procured in one of two ways.
Watermark Course Fee: Most of the programs that require a Watermark membership have implemented a course fee to cover the cost of the membership. This allows students to use funds from their financial aid package to pay for the membership, and also removes the need for the student to manually set up their membership. Below is a list of programs and the course in which the course fee has been embedded.
If you are in one of these courses, you will receive an email from the School of Education with information on activating your membership within the first month of the semester.
Individual Membership Purchase: Students in the MSED in Literacy Education program do not have a course fee, and so the purchase of the Watermark Student Learning & Licensure membership is included on the syllabus for each course in the program.
How Do I Activate My Student Learning & Licensure Account?
You can log in to the platform by going to www.vialivetext.com. SUNY New Paltz will automatically set your login to your school email, and your password the first time you log in will be your student ID. If you have any difficulty in logging in, you can go through the password recovery process, or call Watermark Support at 1-800-311-5656.
Once you have logged into the system, you will either be asked to pay for the membership or provide a key code to activate the membership. If you are registered for one of the courses above, you will have received your key code information via email within the first month of the semester. Otherwise, you will need to activate the membership by paying for it with a credit card.
