Short answer
How do BCPS teachers move to a higher column on the salary schedule?
Get every transcript and credit record to the Office of Certification. TABCO lanes are BA, MA, MA30, MA60 and DOC. Master's equivalency takes 36 post-baccalaureate semester hours, at least 21 graduate-level; MA30 and MA60 each add 30, at least 12 of them college credit. The change starts the first full pay period after documents arrive.
Source: BCPS Course Requirements for Salary Lane Advancement. Checked .
TeacherPayGuide is not affiliated with or endorsed by Baltimore County Public Schools. This guide summarizes the district's published documents as read on ; those documents and the district's human resources office decide your placement. It is general information, not legal or employment advice. Disclaimer Report an error
How is the BCPS teacher salary schedule organized?
Teachers represented by TABCO are paid on the 2026-2027 scale for 10-month exempt employees, effective July 1, 2026. The scale has five lanes: BA, MA, MA30, MA60 and DOC.
Steps are lettered, and the letters run backward. The first row is Y(6) and the last is A(30), with the number in parentheses giving the step. Each lane is printed twice, once as an annual salary and once as a biweekly amount, and a note at the top explains that the annual figure is divided by 21.4 to get the biweekly one.
The BA lane stops rising at P(15). From there to A(30), a teacher without a master's or equivalency stays at the same rate year after year, while every other lane keeps climbing. That flat stretch is the clearest argument on the scale for reaching the MA lane, by degree or by credits. Our guide to reading a salary schedule explains how to compare lanes row by row.
Which units count toward a BCPS column change?
The Course Requirements for Salary Lane Advancement sheet, from the Department of Human Resources' Office of Certification, defines each lane:
- Master's or Master's Equivalency: a conferred master's, or 36 post-baccalaureate semester hours with at least 21 graduate-level and at most 15 in any mix of MSDE-approved, undergraduate or approved Baltimore County CPD credit. All 36 may also be graduate-level.
- Master's plus 30: at least 12 college semester credits plus 18 in any combination of MSDE CPD, graduate-level or undergraduate credit.
- Master's plus 60: the same mix for a further 30.
- Doctorate: a conferred doctoral degree.
Every course must relate to the current assignment, an anticipated assignment or general education, be earned at a regionally accredited school and finished with at least a C, shown on an official transcript. All credit is converted to semester hours; quarter hours are multiplied by two-thirds, so a 4.5-quarter-hour course counts as 3. See quarter versus semester units for the arithmetic.
The sheet also defines the smaller categories. MSDE CPD credit is coursework from the district's Department of Organizational Development, or from other Maryland school systems, that MSDE has approved. Continuing Education Units are open only to specialists and related service providers, up to 6 semester hours in each of the M+30 and M+60 lanes and none toward equivalency. Supervising a student teacher, intern or observation student earns CPD credit usable in M+30 and M+60, and up to 6 such credits can count toward equivalency.
Then comes the ordering rule. Credits "will be recorded chronologically and cannot be applied to subsequent salary lanes." The sheet's example: on the way to equivalency, any undergraduate, MSDE or CPD credits beyond 15 that were earned before the required 21 graduate credits are lost to every lane. Picture a teacher who takes 18 CPD credits first and then 21 graduate-level credits. Fifteen of the CPD credits count toward equivalency; the other 3 do not carry forward to MA30.
Does BCPS require approval before you take a course?
The lane guide does not describe advance approval. It puts the work on the teacher instead: "It is the employee's responsibility to ensure the Office of Certification receives all documentation." Because of the chronological rule, the most useful planning step is your own. Before enrolling, count how many non-graduate credits you have already earned toward the current lane and whether the next course would push you past 15. Our article on whether a district will accept a course covers the accreditation and transcript questions to ask as well.
A licensing wrinkle sits beside the lane rules. Maryland's Advanced Professional Certificate needs 36 credits of its own, and the sheet excludes two kinds of credit from that count even where they help a salary lane: CPD earned for internship experiences, and credit for supervising student teachers or interns.
When are transcripts due, and when does the new column take effect?
There is no annual filing cutoff on the sheet. Once coursework is complete and the Office of Certification has received and verified all documentation, the salary lane advancement takes effect at the beginning of the first full pay period after receipt. The office updates employee records within 8 to 10 weeks, and where back pay is owed, it can be expected within 2 pay periods after the personnel action confirmation.
The effective date is set by receipt, so a slow records update does not cost a teacher money; a slow transcript does. A teacher whose last grade posts in late January and whose official transcript reaches the office in mid-February is placed in the new lane from the first full pay period after that February date, even if the record changes in April. Our article on transcript deadlines covers how to speed the transcript itself.
Do the same units count toward Maryland license renewal?
College credit counts for both, at 15 professional development points per semester hour toward the 90 that renew a Maryland professional license every five years. MSDE-approved CPD credit also earns 15 points, and a CEU earns 10. Six semester hours cover the whole requirement, as long as the work sits in the supervisor-approved plan and touches the four required areas listed in the Maryland renewal rules.
The ordering rule is where Baltimore County's salary system and the state's renewal system part ways. A CPD credit stranded by the chronological rule earns nothing on the TABCO scale, yet still counts for renewal points. For more on that split, read renewal credit versus salary credit, and see the Maryland state guide for how other counties count CPD.
Where can BCPS teachers earn graduate-level units?
Every district, BCPS included, decides for itself whether a course counts for the purpose a teacher needs it for: a column move, a stipend, license renewal or an added endorsement. No provider, university or website can make that decision, so the rules above come first, and written approval from BCPS's human resources office is the safest record to have before you pay.
| Question | What BCPS says | What to look for on the provider's site |
|---|---|---|
| Type of unit | BCPS: Graduate-level, undergraduate and MSDE CPD credit, within each lane's mix | Semester or quarter units, graduate-level or not, and the university named on the transcript and its accreditor |
| Grade | See units that count | Letter grade or pass/fail on the transcript |
| Deadline | BCPS: None annually | Published grading and transcript-posting time, and any rush option |
| Approval | BCPS: Not described; employee ensures documents arrive | Course descriptions or syllabi you can attach to an approval form |
| Price | Not set by the district | All-in price per credit, including any university or first-course fee (compare) |
Graduate-level credit providers, listed with the same facts
With those rules in hand, compare providers on the same points. Providers listed on this site, each with the same facts:
- Teacher Friendly: self-paced online, units through University of the Pacific; $336 first course for 3 credits (price notes)
- Credits for Educators: self-paced online, units through University of the Pacific; $297 for 3 credits (price notes)
- Model Teaching: self-paced, 1 year, units through a choice of six universities, including University of the Pacific; $359 for 3 credits (price notes)
- PD Courses (University of La Verne): online or pdf, semester-based, units through University of La Verne; $420 for 3 credits (price notes)
- Teaching Channel: self-paced, units through a choice of eight universities; $489 for 3 credits (price notes)
- TLC Graduate Credits: self-paced, units through CSU Pueblo; $425 for 3 credits (price notes)
The provider directory lists 28 providers and programs by what teachers need them for, and Compare sets published prices for 16 of them side by side, with transcripts from 11 universities. A listing on this site does not mean BCPS has approved a provider or course; only the district can do that. TeacherPayGuide has commercial relationships with some providers it lists; how listings work.
BCPS salary questions teachers ask
How many credits is a master's equivalent in Baltimore County?
36 post-baccalaureate semester hours: at least 21 graduate-level, and up to 15 from MSDE-approved, undergraduate or approved Baltimore County CPD credit.
Does BCPS accept quarter units?
Yes. Quarter hours from an acceptable institution are multiplied by two-thirds to convert them to semester hours.
Why didn't all my CPD credits count toward my BCPS lane?
Credits are recorded in date order and cannot move to a later lane. Non-graduate credits beyond 15 earned before the 21 graduate credits needed for equivalency do not count in any lane.
When does a BCPS salary lane change take effect?
At the beginning of the first full pay period after the Office of Certification receives all documentation. Any back pay follows within 2 pay periods of the personnel action confirmation.
Where can BCPS teachers take graduate-level courses for salary credit or renewal?
BCPS decides which courses count, under the rules on this page, so check with human resources before you enroll. Providers that teachers compare include Teacher Friendly, Credits for Educators, Model Teaching, PD Courses (University of La Verne), Teaching Channel and TLC Graduate Credits. They differ in format, transcript university, grading time and price; the provider directory and the Compare page list 16 providers with the same facts for each.
Sources
- Salary Scale for 10-Month Exempt Employees Represented by TABCO, 2026-2027, Baltimore County Public Schools. Checked
- Course Requirements for Salary Lane Advancement, Baltimore County Public Schools, Department of Human Resources, Office of Certification. Checked
Reviewed November 11, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error