The first step in determining the pool of eligible students is to establish a selection process. The initial pool of students identified must be enrolled as a completer in an approved CTE program of study (POS). This means the student is enrolled in the final course of an approved CTE course sequence and would be considered completing the program by the end of the school year and enrolled in grade 12. From this initial pool, the LEA must identify the top 5% of students, based on locally determined criteria. It is recommended that a committee of stakeholders be convened to determine what criteria should be used to determine the top 5%. Criteria may be a combination of data values such as GPA, course grades, attendance, discipline, awards and accolades. This is not an exhaustive list, but examples of what criteria could be used in making this determination. The LEA must develop a process to gather and evaluate data to determine which students would be identified as the top 5%. Districts can create a scoring rubric or other evaluative materials to be as transparent as possible in the selection process. From this pool of candidates, the LEA will nominate individual students who are identified as being in the top 5% and who meet criteria outlined in the following sections. In summary, students must be a CTE POS completer, enrolled in grade 12, in the top 5% of the senior class and meet Criteria 1-4 as outlined in the following sections.

Criteria 1

The student must demonstrate a high level of achievement in a CTE POS for all the following categories. Acceptable evidence includes:

Criteria 2

The student must demonstrate a high-level of achievement in at least three (3) academic courses for all the following categories. Acceptable evidence for each category includes:

Criteria 3

The student must successfully complete a college-level course or a work-based learning (WBL) experience. Acceptable evidence for one of the following categories would include:

Criteria 4

The student must participate in a Career and Technical Organization (CTSO) or a community service project. Acceptable evidence of one of the following categories includes:

NJDOE Homeroom Application

CTE Scholar Award Program (CTE SAP) nominations are submitted through an NJDOE Homeroom application titled CTE SAP which is the abbreviated version of CTE Scholar Award Program. The CTE SAP landing page contains valuable information to reference, including CTE Scholar legislation, criteria and the CTE SAP contact information. To access the submission portal, a representative from the LEA would need to log in to the CTE SAP application. Please contact the district’s Homeroom Administrator to gain access to the application for submission.

Once logged into the CTE SAP application, LEAs can access information related to the program and other guidance and reference materials. This is also where student nominations will be submitted. Please carefully read the information provided on the page to ensure all necessary information is submitted so there is no delay in receiving the award.

Getting Started

The first section of information on the CTE SAP landing page outlines what steps should be taken before submitting nominations for the CTE SAP. After reviewing this document, download the Statement of Assurances document, the CTE SAP Data Spreadsheet Template and the CTE-SAP Student Release Form. These three documents will need to be completed and uploaded to the CTE SAP application repository to nominate students for the award.

Documents to Submit

CTE SAP Data Spreadsheet Template

Students nominated for the CTE SAP are submitted via the data spreadsheet. The information requested will allow CTE SAP reviewers from the Office of Career Readiness (OCR) to verify all the criteria were met for students to receive the award. This spreadsheet should be submitted only once to avoid duplicate nominations. Please ensure this document is complete as every column should have a value, and no column should be left blank. An explanation of each field to be completed in the CTE SAP Data Spreadsheet Template is provided on the CTE SAP landing page. Use the following naming convention for this document: County code-district code_Data (ex: 01-1111_Data).

Statement of Assurances

The LEA’s Chief School Administrator (CSA) must agree to and sign the Statement of Assurances document, certifying the nominated students have met all criteria. The signed Statement of Assurances must be uploaded to the CTE SAP application. It is the district’s responsibility to ensure all nominated students have met the outlined criteria. This includes ensuring that students are enrolled in a CTE program of study approved by the NJDOE. All documentation must be available to NJDOE staff upon request. Use the following naming convention for this document: County code-district code_SoA (ex: 01-1111_SoA).

CTE SAP Student Release Form

The CTE SAP Student Release Form gives the NJDOE permission to use students’ photos and names when announcing CTE SAP award recipients. Release forms must be signed by a parent or guardian and uploaded to the CTE SAP NJDOE Homeroom application for each nominated student. All release forms should be saved to one file. Please ensure all nominees have a completed form prior to submission. Use the following naming convention when saving this document: County code-district code Release (ex: 01-1111_Release).

Submitting the CTE Scholars

Nominated students must be submitted through the NJDOE Homeroom CTE SAP application to receive recognition as a CTE Scholar. Students are submitted by uploading the CTE SAP Data Spreadsheet Template, CTE SAP Student Release Form and Statement of Assurances. Documents must be complete and accurate to not delay the verification process.

Uploading documents

To upload the documents for submission, log into the NJDOE Homeroom application titled CTE SAP and navigate to the section labeled Upload Documents. The district Homeroom Administrator may need to grant access to the individual uploading the documents.

Use the choose file button to select the file to upload. Once all files to upload have been selected, click the upload button to submit. Please submit only one copy of each required document. If the need arises to resubmit a document, choose a file name that indicates the file is a resubmission (I.e., V2 after the file name for version 2).

Receipt of submission

Once the required documents are uploaded, users will be able to view a submission receipt to ensure documents have have been uploaded successfully. A submission receipt can be generated by clicking on the receipt button in the banner at the top of the page. Any submitted documents will be listed there. If a document that was thought to be uploaded does not appear on this receipt, repeat the uploading documents process. If there are any on-going issues with submission, email CTE Scholar Awards. 

Accessing the certificate

CTE Scholar Award certificates will be available through the CTE SAP NJDOE Homeroom application. To access the certificates, log into the CTE SAP NJDOE Homeroom application and navigate to the Download Documents section. The certificates will appear as links under this section. Click on the hyperlinked text to view, save or print the certificates. Verify that all nominated students received an award. Any discrepancies should be immediately reported to CTE Scholar Award Program.

Distribution

Once CTE Scholar Award certificates have been accessed from the CTE SAP NJDOE Homeroom application, districts must determine a course of action to distribute the awards. It is the discretion of the district to determine how and when to distribute the CTE Scholar Awards. Students will not receive a certificate directly from the NJDOE.

Contact Us

Please send all communication related to the CTE SAP to CTE Scholar Award Program.

• Academic Class - Courses within one of the following subject areas as identified by the NCES SCED codes: English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Comprehensive Health and Physical Education, World Language, or Visual and Performing Arts.
  
  
• Advance Placement Courses - Courses aligned with course descriptions provided by the College Board and intended to provide students with the opportunity to complete college-level studies during secondary school.
  
  
• Approved Program - Career and technical education programs of study that are developed and implemented in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:19-3.1, Program requirements, 3.2, Program approval and N.J.S.A. 18A:54-24, Approval of courses of study.
  
  
• Articulated Credit - College credits a student earns for successfully completing a college course are “banked” at the community college until the student enrolls in a program at the community college. College credits are awarded after the student completes additional college requirements.
  
  
• Articulation Agreement - A written commitment that is approved annually by the lead administrators of a secondary LEA and a postsecondary educational institution to provide students with postsecondary credit through transfer agreements between the two institutions.
  
  
• CTE Completer - A student who completed a whole sequence of courses of a state approved CTE program of study.
  
  
• CTE Program of Study - A coordinated, non-duplicative sequence of academic and technical content at the secondary level that incorporates challenging state academic standards; addresses academic, technical and employability knowledge and skills; is aligned with the needs of industry along with occupation-specific instruction; and culminates in the attainment of a recognized postsecondary credential.
  
  
• Career and Technical Student Organization - An organization for individuals enrolled in a career and technical education program that engages in career and technical education activities as an integral part of the instructional program. Such organizations must have State and national units that establish and coordinate the work and purposes of instruction in CTE at the local level.
  
  
• College-Level Course - A course that allows students to attain postsecondary dual/concurrent credit or postsecondary articulated credit within a sequence of courses in a CTE Program of Study.
  
  
• Community Service Project - Students participate in any project, program, or undertaking designed to provide, or assist in providing, activities or services to promote conservation, restoration or preservation of natural resources, open space of the environment, or public health, education and welfare among the general population or segments of the population having identifiable needs or deficiencies.
  
  
• Concurrent/Dual Credit - Students simultaneously earn both credits towards high school graduation requirements and college credits for successfully completing a college course.
  
  
• End of Course Assessment - Assessment given at the culmination of a course to determine the level of proficiency in meeting standards, as determined by course content. Examples include but are not limited to final exams or final benchmark assessments.
  
  
• Full-time - Students attend the district location offering the CTE program of study for the entire school day. Students participate in both academic and CTE courses at this location.
  
  
• High-level of Achievement - A measure of attainment based on outcomes that exceeds average expectations.
  
  
• Industry Recognized Technical Assessment - Technical skills assessment” means a written and/or performance assessment that may result in licensure, an industry certification, or a credential related to a specific career. See the Technical Skills Assessment List on NJ Smart’s Resources for download page.
  
  
• Shared-time - (For County Vocational School Districts only) – Students attend the district location offering the CTE program of study for part of school day and attend their home district for the balance of the school day to receive academic instruction.
  
  
• Student Training Plan - A written plan describing the student learning objectives, activities and assessments as part of a WBL experience.
  
  
• Work-Based Learning - Sustained interactions with industry or community professionals in real workplace settings, to the extent practicable, or simulated environments at an educational institution that foster in-depth, firsthand engagement with the tasks required in a given career field, that are aligned to curriculum and instruction.

The CTE SAP Data Spreadsheet Template is the mechanism to nominate students for the CTE Scholar Award. This template asks for specific information to verify students have met the criteria for the award. The information below is meant to clarify what the expected values would be in each field of the template. Carefully consider this information when inputting values in the data template to be uploaded.