Short answer
How do PWCS teachers move to a higher column on the salary schedule?
Send the Office of Certification a salary upgrade form and a transcript. Documentation received by September 30 takes effect in the first semester; by January 31, on February 1. Late paperwork earns no back pay. PWCS pays five columns (BA, BA+15, MA, MA+30 and Ed.D.), and plus hours may be graduate or undergraduate semester hours.
Source: PWCS–PWEA Collective Bargaining Agreement, Section 8.8.A. Checked .
TeacherPayGuide is not affiliated with or endorsed by Prince William 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 PWCS teacher salary schedule organized?
Teachers in Prince William are paid on the Certified scale at Grade 12. Section 8.1 of the PWCS–PWEA agreement attaches the 2025-26 and 2026-27 scales as Exhibit A and places each teacher by completed and credited years of service, unless a salary cap applies. The agreement covers July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027; the copy on the district site is labeled Ratified Collective Bargaining Agreement 2.1, with a final approval date of March 4, 2026.
The FY27 grid has five columns: BA, BA+15, MA, MA+30 and ED.D. There is no BA+30 column. A teacher holding a bachelor's degree and 30 extra hours is still paid at BA+15; the next column up requires a conferred master's degree.
Steps run from 1 to 30, and step 1 corresponds to zero years of experience. Below step 30 the exhibit adds a Longevity Step Section, LS1 through LS6, for Grade 12 employees with 30 or more years of service. The agreement describes the "L" steps as temporary: they drop away as the value of step 30 catches up with them.
For new hires, the district's compensation page (in an Internet Archive copy from February 23, 2026, because pwcs.edu pages refused automated requests during this review) credits experience under Regulation 524-2 and caps it at 26 years. That page showed the 2025-26 scale on a 195-day contract. Our explainer on salary lane names covers how labels like BA+15 and MA+30 compare across districts.
Which units count toward a PWCS column change?
Section 8.8.A, Certificated Advancement, defines each upgrade. It applies to employees on the teacher scale whose positions require a license from the Virginia Department of Education or a State Board.
- BA+15: 15 graduate or undergraduate semester credit hours, none of them used to earn the bachelor's degree, plus a current, valid Virginia teaching or State Board license.
- MA: conferral of a master's degree and a valid license.
- MA+30: a conferred master's plus 30 graduate or undergraduate semester hours not used for the bachelor's or master's. The hours must have been earned after the degree was awarded, or come with evidence they were not used for either degree. A master's degree with more than 60 graduate semester hours in total also qualifies.
- Doctoral: conferral of a doctorate, which in Prince William includes a Juris Doctorate.
Undergraduate hours are the unusual feature here. Fairfax and Loudoun count only graduate-level hours toward their plus columns, while the PWCS agreement accepts either level for BA+15 and MA+30. The institution still matters. The agreement defines "accredited" as a four-year institution approved by the Virginia State Board of Education or, for out-of-state schools, by their own state boards and by recognized regional and national accrediting agencies. International credits need Virginia Board of Education approval.
An upgrade does not move you down or up the steps: section 8.8.A keeps the employee on the same step and grade and prorates the new salary. See which units count for how semester, quarter and continuing-education units differ.
Does PWCS require approval before you take a course?
The agreement contains no pre-approval step for coursework. Approval comes at the end, when the Office of Certification reviews the upgrade packet: a salary upgrade form plus an official or unofficial transcript showing the completed courses or the degree awarded.
The district's own instructions add detail. An Internet Archive copy of the Salary Upgrade Process page, captured February 16, 2025, says grade reports are not accepted and that about two weeks after sending a request the employee receives a copy of the approved upgrade form by PWCS e-mail. If that copy never arrives, the employee must resend the packet before the deadline or produce proof, such as a fax receipt, that it was sent. The same page notes that the process does not apply to the Administrative pay scale.
School Board Regulation 524-3, Upgrading of Contracts, still appears in the district's policy system, but a notice on it says the Superintendent has temporarily waived it in favor of the bargaining agreement.
When are transcripts due, and when does the new column take effect?
PWCS processes upgrades twice a year, and the date the paperwork arrives decides when the money starts:
- Received by September 30: effective the first semester of the contract year.
- Received by January 31: effective February 1, the start of the second semester.
The agreement adds that no retroactive payment is made for upgrade information that reaches the Office of Certification after a deadline. Picture a teacher who finishes her master's in mid-October. She has missed the fall cutoff, so the MA column applies from February 1 if her packet arrives by January 31. Mailing it on February 3 would push the change to the following first semester. Our transcript deadlines guide explains why ordering transcripts early protects a date like this one.
Do the same units count toward Virginia license renewal?
Graduate coursework from an accredited institution does double duty. Virginia's ten-year license needs 270 professional development points, and each semester hour of college credit is worth 30, so the 30 hours behind an MA+30 upgrade would be worth 900 points, more than three renewal cycles' worth, if every course qualifies. Quarter hours earn 20 points apiece. The Virginia renewal section lists the eight point options and the passing-grade and transcript rules.
The match is not exact. Prince William accepts undergraduate hours for salary, while renewal points depend on Virginia's own rules for each activity; and a license can be renewed with no college coursework at all, through options that earn nothing on the PWCS salary scale. Our article on renewal versus salary credit lays out where the two diverge. For other divisions, see the Virginia state guide.
Where can PWCS teachers earn graduate-level units?
Every district, PWCS 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 PWCS's human resources office is the safest record to have before you pay.
| Question | What PWCS says | What to look for on the provider's site |
|---|---|---|
| Type of unit | PWCS: Graduate or undergraduate semester hours from an accredited institution | 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 | PWCS: September 30 or January 31 | Published grading and transcript-posting time, and any rush option |
| Approval | PWCS: None in the agreement | 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)
- Fresno Pacific University CE: self-paced, up to 1 year, units through Fresno Pacific University; ≈$475 for 3 credits (price notes)
- Graduate Credit Courses: self-paced, units through Cal Poly Humboldt; $570 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)
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 PWCS has approved a provider or course; only the district can do that. TeacherPayGuide has commercial relationships with some providers it lists; how listings work.
PWCS salary questions teachers ask
What are the PWCS salary upgrade deadlines?
September 30 for an upgrade effective in the first semester and January 31 for one effective February 1. The Office of Certification must have the documentation by those dates.
Does Prince William County have a BA+30 column?
No. The FY27 Certified scale has five columns: BA, BA+15, MA, MA+30 and ED.D. Moving past BA+15 requires a conferred master's degree.
Do undergraduate credits count for a PWCS upgrade?
Yes. Section 8.8.A accepts graduate or undergraduate semester hours for BA+15 and MA+30, as long as they were not used for an earlier degree and come from an accredited institution.
Will I get back pay if my upgrade packet is late?
No. The agreement says no retroactive payment is made for documentation received after the deadline; the upgrade takes effect at the next processing date.
Where can PWCS teachers take graduate-level courses for salary credit or renewal?
PWCS 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, Fresno Pacific University CE, Graduate Credit Courses, Model Teaching and PD Courses (University of La Verne). 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
- Collective Bargaining Agreement, PWCS and PWEA, July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2027 (Agreement 2.1, final approval March 4, 2026), Section 8 and Exhibit A, Prince William County Public Schools. Checked
- Regulation 524-3, Upgrading of Contracts, Prince William County School Board. Checked
- Salary Upgrade Process, Prince William County Public Schools (Internet Archive copy captured February 16, 2025). Checked
- Salary Scale Information, Prince William County Public Schools, now listing the 2026-27 scales; the experience rule quoted above is from the Internet Archive copy captured February 23, 2026. Checked
Reviewed November 11, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error