Our course participants include early grade reading practitioners based in countries such as Burkina Faso, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Honduras, Haiti, and the U.S.
Many participants have been national and expatriate staff working for organizations such as EDC, AIR, Banyan Tree, World Learning, World Education, USAID and UNICEF.
If you are a prospective student, please see our Frequently Asked Questions for details on course registration. PLEASE SEE THE MAIN PROGRAM WEBPAGE FOR MOST CURRENT INFORMATION: Early Grade Reading in Developing Countries
If you are a current or returning student, we hope the resources below will be useful to you. Do also check the Frequently Asked Questions for additional help.
Please email egrcert@umass.edu for information and read the EGR Student Handbook for help with administrative procedures and academic resources, including tips for taking these courses.
Q. I’ve finished the course. How do I check my grade?
Q. I’ve finished the course. How can I get a transcript as a record?
Q. I’ve finished the course. Where’s my certificate?
Q. I took a course last semester. How do I register for the next course?
Q. I took a course some time ago. How do I register for the next course?
Q. I took a course some time ago, and I can’t log in to SPIRE anymore.
Q. I’ve finished the course. How do I continue being part of a professional learning community?
Q. I’ve finished the course. How do I check my grade?
A. Your instructor will upload your grade first to the Blackboard course site and later to SPIRE. Grades are normally posted to SPIRE in early January for Fall courses, mid-May for Spring courses, and the end of August for summer courses. To check your course grade:
- Log in to SPIRE (http://spire.umass.edu)
- Go to Main Menu > Academics > My Grades.
Q. I’ve finished the course. How can I get a transcript as a record?
A. Once your grade has been uploaded to SPIRE, we encourage you to log in to SPIRE and print an unofficial transcript for your personal files, as a record of course completion.
Your university transcript will have the UMass Amherst logo and your name, your 8-digit student ID, course ID(s) and course grade(s) on it.
Printing an unofficial transcript is free of charge and must be done while you still have access to SPIRE. So please do this as soon as possible after your course grade is posted on SPIRE (for Fall courses, usually in the first week of January; for Spring courses, fourth week of May; for Summer courses, first week of September). To print a transcript:
- Log in to SPIRE (http://spire.umass.edu)
- Go to Main Menu > Academics > Unofficial Transcript.
- Click on the “View Report” button.
- Your unofficial transcript will be generated as a PDF. Click on the “Download” icon at the upper right hand corner to save a copy to your computer.
Official transcripts (electronic or paper, with a signature and seal) may be ordered for a small fee from the Registrar’s office at any time. To order an official transcript, log in to SPIRE. Go to Main Menu > Academics > Request Official Transcript and follow the instructions.
If you no longer have access to SPIRE, you can go to the Alumni & Former Student transcript page to put in your order.
Q. I’ve finished the course. Where’s my certificate?
A. There is no certificate for taking just one course—the Early Grade Reading Graduate Certificate is awarded to those who complete all 5 courses in the program. In the US university system, the transcript is your record of course completion and course credits earned for individual courses.
More information is available in the EGR Student Handbook.
- If you have completed individual courses, please follow the instructions for Obtaining your transcript.
- If you have completed all 5 courses, please follow the instructions for Completing the Program.
Q. I took a course last semester. How do I register for the next course?
A. If you took a course last semester, you can use your same NetID and password to log on to SPIRE. Please follow Steps 2 and 3 of the registration instructions. NOTE that you still need to create an enrollment appointment before you search for and add the class:
- Get an enrollment appointment.
- Log in to SPIRE (spire.umass.edu).
- Go to Main Menu > Enrollment > Summer/Wntr/Non-degr Enroll Appt and follow the instructions.
- Register for the class. The enrollment appointment should be available immediately.
- Go to Main Menu > Enrollment > Add Classes.
- Search for the class
- Add the class to your Shopping Cart, then select the class from the Cart to enroll.
Q. I took a course some time ago. How do I register for the next course?
A. If you did not take a course last Fall/Spring semester and your NetID is no longer working, you need to go through all 3 registration steps to reactivate your SPIRE account and receive a new NetID and password.
NOTE: Please fill in the Non-Degree Enrollment Application with the same First Name/Last Name that you used the last time, so that the system will recognize and match you to your previous SPIRE ID and account. If you have your 8-digit student ID (check your transcript, if you have one), please add that under “UMass ID” as well.
Q. I took a course some time ago, and I can’t log in to SPIRE anymore.
A. If your NetID has expired, you may still be able to access SPIRE if you still have: a) your 8-digit student ID and b) the non-UMass email account that is on file in SPIRE:
- On SPIRE, click on “Forgot your password?”. This should take you to “Password & NetID Help”.
- Enter your 8-digit SPIRE ID and follow the instructions.
- If you had a non-UMass email account listed in SPIRE, that is where a temporary password or activation code will be sent.
Q. I’ve finished the course. How do I continue being part of a professional learning community?
A. All course participants, whether you have taken one course or completed the whole program, are eligible to be members of the Early Grade Reading Community of Practice. As a member of the community, you can continue discussing issues and sharing resources related to early grade reading with colleagues around the world.
If you are a course participant and have not yet joined the community, please email us at egrcert@umass.edu and we will send you an invitation.
