College earns re-accreditation, with praise for high quality of faculty, students
Posted May 19, 2010
The College of Education at the University of Florida has been granted full, continued accreditation of its educator preparation programs by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, the nation’s primary accreditor of teacher-education programs.
NCATE examiners spent a week in early February at UF conducting their comprehensive evaluation. They recently submitted a copy of their report to the college. While approving all 19 of the college’s educator preparation programs, the examiners cited exceptional strengths in four of the six standards assessed:
- They lauded the ability of UF teachers-in-training to self-evaluate their teaching practices and adjust them based on students’ learning needs;
- Reviewers praised the college’s statewide outreach and school-improvement partnerships with high-poverty schools and school districts across the state;
- The college’s diversity efforts were cited in the bolstered recruitment of minority faculty and students and in addressing the achievement gap of minority students in high-needs schools;
- Examiners also commended the high quality of teaching and innovative research by COE faculty members and their focus on engaged scholarship in addressing critical educational and social needs.
No “areas for improvement” were cited in the report.
UF’s College of Education has held continuous national accreditation since 1954, when NCATE was formed as an independent accrediting body. NCATE is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation to accredit programs for the preparation of teachers and other professional school personnel. Accreditation reviews in most states are conducted every seven years. NCATE currently accredits 623 institutions which produce two-thirds of the nation's new teacher graduates each year.
“For the College of Education to achieve such outstanding results, at a time when both the college and the university faced such difficult times due to the recession, is a superb testament to the talents, character and determination by all faculty, staff, partners and collaborators to exceed expectations and not hold back,” said Dean Catherine Emihovich.
NCATE revises its standards every five years to incorporate best practice and research to ensure that the standards reflect a consensus about what is important in teacher preparation today. The current accreditation process is heavily data-driven and performed-based, requiring teacher preparation institutions to provide compelling evidence of teacher-candidate knowledge and skill in the classroom.
UF's extensive accreditation preparation was headed by Tom Dana, associate dean of academic affairs; Theresa Vernetson, assistant dean of student affairs, and Elayne Colón (pictured right), director of assessment and accreditation.
UF’s college was a pilot institution—the first in the nation—to submit to NCATE’s newly revamped accreditation process, which has been streamlined for cost-efficiency and heightened emphasis on demonstrating program impact on improving student achievement. UF education officials will now work with NCATE on further steps for making the accreditation process more efficient and meaningful.
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