College of Education Recommended for Full Accreditation
The college received overwhelmingly positive review from both state and national accreditation boards.
San Diego State University’s College of Education has been recommended full accreditation by both state and national accreditation boards, it was announced today.
An in-depth, two-month process
The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) site visitation teams recommended continued accreditation for the college after a two-month, in depth evaluation process that included six days of on-site review by teams from both CCTC and NCATE.
“SDSU started as a teachers college and it remains one of our core missions,” said Dean Ric Hovda.
“We work hard to provide San Diego with the best prepared teachers in the region and this new accreditation validates the excellent work being done by our faculty, staff and students.”
Leader in the region
SDSU is one of the leading teacher educators in the region, credentialing an average of nearly 600 new teachers each year.
During the accreditation period, the college was evaluated on a number of key measures including: overall leadership and climate for educator preparation at an institution, as well as standards pertaining to quality features that are common to all programs including reviews by past graduates and employers.
The accreditation team for CCTC, the nation's oldest independent state teaching standards board, recommended full accreditation on all standards and for all programs. The purpose of CCTC, a state agency, is to ensure integrity and high quality in the preparation, conduct and professional growth of the educators who serve California's public schools.
'Overwhelmingly positive accreditation review'
“After many years of doing this, it is unusual for a college this large to have such an overwhelmingly positive accreditation review from both the state and NCATE,” said Teri Clark, co-chair of the state’s CCTC accreditation team.
NCATE, which helps ensure highly qualified teachers for America’s children and the largest teacher education accrediting body, also determined the college met all six of its standards for both basic and advanced programs.
NCATE accreditation confirms SDSU’s College of Education meets the rigorous national standards in preparing teachers and other school specialists for the classroom. Teacher candidates who graduate from NCATE-accredited schools are said to be better prepared for initial licensing and advanced board certification.
The CCTC and NCATE team recommendations will become official in April after approval by the respective accreditation boards.
