MC_2006_Spring_27
5/9/06
10:10 AM
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School of Ed
Makes the Grade
The school of education is gaining high marks. In early October, the school was awarded accreditation for its teacher preparation program by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC). With this recognition, all three of the College’s professional schools — business, education and engineering — are nationally accredited. The TEAC stamp of approval further validates the quality of Manhattan’s teacher education program, its comprehensive curriculum and the committed faculty. The accreditation notification was the culmination of much hard work and enabled the College to meet a New York State Education Department regulation that teacher education programs be accredited. “This [accreditation] also assures the public that the College prepares competent, caring and qualified professional educators,” says Dr. William Merriman, dean of the school of education. To achieve approval, faculty members from the school of education, as well as the schools of arts and science, spent the past three years establishing and supporting their case. Several members of the College were involved in the TEAC accreditation process, including cooperating teachers, current students and alumni. TEAC’s academic audit verified the accuracy of the evidence provided by the College that student learning meets high expectations and that the teacher preparation program is following processes that produce quality. The quality of the evidence and the system that produced it are key factors in achieving TEAC’s approval, which was a unanimous one.
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Dr. Karen Nicholson, associate professor of education, wrote the inquiry brief and was a member of the steering committee. She says that those involved really stepped up their efforts to make this happen and that, overall, it was a wonderful learning experience. It was a great opportunity, she adds, to work together with other faculty members from different schools and closely examine the curriculum. In addition, TEAC’s accreditation gives the school of education another positive selling point for future students. “Externally, [the accreditation] verifies that our program is really a top quality program,” adds Nicholson, who has been teaching at the College for more than 10 years. “Parents and students can feel good about coming to our College for teacher training.” The school of education has one of the largest enrollments on campus and consists of 18 full-time faculty members. The teacher preparation program offers undergraduate and graduate levels and teacher certification in one of six areas: childhood education, dual childhood/special education, adolescent education, physical education, five-year childhood/special education and graduate special education. Recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and by the U.S. Department of Education, TEAC is a nonprofit group dedicated to improving academic degree programs for professional educators. Its primary work is accrediting undergraduate and graduate professional education programs in order to assure the public about the quality of college and university programs.