EMU | COE NCATE 2003 Standard 6.A Unit Leadership and Authority

Recruiting and admissions practices, Materials and processes related to admission to the university are handled through the EMU Admissions Office. Requirements for admission to professional education programs are found several places on the EMU web site, including in the catalogs (click here for the 2003-2005 EMU undergraduate catalog for requirements to the initial teacher preparation program), (click here for the admission requirements of the advanced program, as given in the 2003-2005 EMU graduate catalog, listed under each program) and on the COE web site. COE web site sources related to admission requirements include advising office materials (click here for initial program admission criteria and materials) and departmental materials.

Recruitment for the university is generally handled through the EMU Admissions Office, supported by many other offices on campus. For example, it will be noted that the EMU home page, www.emich.edu, is very student-recruitment oriented. Specific recruitment for the professional education programs is frequently handled by electronic means, although there are increasing numbers of program-specific print materials. A new COE video was released in the early fall of 2003, suitable for recruitment, among other purposes. For example, the "student information" links from the COE home page receive thousands of "hits" per year from persons who appear to be prospective students.

Recruitment for off-campus and on-line professional education courses is primarily handled through the university's Continuing Education unit. Recruitment for "special populations" of potential professional educators, such as the COE's Urban Teacher Program in Detroit and Flint, is handled through a mix of personal contacts, print materials, and on-line materials.

Publications accurate and current. The official university undergraduate and graduate catalogs are updated once every two years. However, because professional educator preparation programs change frequently (due both to internal and external initiatives), in order to serve candidates and advisers in a timely manner, the COE maintains an on-line "Professional Education Supplement" to both the Undergraduate Catalog and the Graduate Catalog. The Supplements are updated as changes are approved. Although they are "unofficial," they appear to be used by candidates and faculty members more frequently than the less "user friendly" (and quickly dated) official print and on-line versions of the EMU catalogs.

COE-affiliated web pages are updated on an "as needed" basis and are dated as of the most revision. The reader will find these to be appropriately current. Some months ago, the COE received a gift of more than $155,000 for the purpose of updating and expanding COE promotional and recruitment materials. As a result, departments/programs in the COE are making strides toward having quality print and electronic promotional materials.

Advising and counseling. In 1997, NCATE found the initial preparation programs of EMU to have weaknesses in the area of advising. Since then, EMU and the COE have put considerable effort and resources into the advising function. Highlights of COE progress will be found in the annual narrative reports given in Exhibit G-6. A summary of those, plus additional recent information, may be found in Exhibit G-7. Since the 1997 NCATE/State review, the COE advising office has been established, now under the leadership of an assistant dean.

In general, at the initial level, EMU undergraduate students, including prospective teacher candidates, are advised by the EMU Academic Advising Center until they find an academic home elsewhere, e.g., declare a major, are admitted to the initial teacher preparation program, etc. Once admitted to the initial teacher preparation program, students are advised by their "home" department--most elementary teacher candidates in Teacher Education, special education candidates in Special Education, and secondary or K-12 candidates in the department that houses their major.

Post-baccalaureate teacher certification candidates are advised in the COE Office of Academic Services, as are most students merely seeking an additional or professional-level advanced endorsement on their teaching credential. Advanced-level professional education candidates are advised by the faculty members in their major field of study.

The assistant dean coordinates all this advising-related activity, provides information to and training for advisers, conducts or assists in conducting group advising sessions for various constituencies, and provides/oversees some direct advising services for candidates who have some urgent situation and can't get to their regular adviser.

Counseling services for professional education candidates are available through two mechanisms. The COE's Counseling Clinic is a relevant source of help. In addition, the campus' Snow Health Center provides comprehensive counseling services.

Collaboration with P-12 practitioners. Extensive collaboration with P-12 practitioners occurs through activities under the auspices of the COE Office of Collaborative Education. These collaborations include, but by no means are limited to, the long-standing and award-winning Collaborative School Improvement Program (C-SIP) and the three consociate schools. Both projects include professional educators from multiple EMU colleges.

Sponsored projects provide another major way for EMU professional educators to collaborate with P-12 colleagues. For example, the recently concluded, decade-long experience of serving as the "university partner" for the implementation of the Comer Schools and Families Initiative (Comer Project) in Detroit annually brought together dozens of faculty members from all four COE departments, along with faculty members from Nursing and Social Work, to interact with hundreds of Detroit P-12 professionals. The "Supporting Beginning Mathematics and Science Teachers" project, the Microsoft grant in partnership with Lincoln school district, the Ameritech support for work with cooperating teachers, the Michigan Teacher Network, the Michigan Coalition for School Technology Improvement, Si, Se Puede (work with the Detroit Hispanic community), and Michigan Middle Start are but a few of the externally-funded projects obtained by faculty members (or P-12 agencies) such as to create collaborative, mutually beneficial partnerships.

P-12 practitioners are used as members of program advisory committees in a variety of contexts, including the COE advisory committee, the Department of Teacher Education advisory committee, and various others. (See Exhibit 5.6.) The proposed revision of the COE governance structure, mentioned above,
calls for P-12 practitioner participation in formal initial- and advanced-program governance in a more extensive way than is now the case.

Unit as leader. It would be difficult to find a local-area educator who wasn't at least generally aware of EMU's rich history of preparing professional educators. Starting in 1849, the institution, through its several name changes, did little but prepare educational professionals until about 1960. As the institution has grown and matured to become a comprehensive, metropolitan institution, the College of Education is well known for being the campus unit on which this extensive tradition has devolved. It would be almost as difficult to find a local-area educator who wasn't well aware of the fact that EMU is the nation's largest producer of professional educators. It is well known, at least on campus, that the College of Education is second only to the College of Arts and Sciences in terms of any measure of size (possibly excepting the alumni base, in which the COE would be larger). The COE is perceived by many on campus as relatively well funded among the campus units. It is also well known and interpreted very positively that the COE has been growing very rapidly in recent times (all-time high number of student credit hours generated in 2002-03, a 46% increase in admissions to the initial teacher preparation program in six years, etc.), generally faster than the overall rate of growth of EMU. This generally positive perception is reinforced by the COE's strong distinguishing features, numerous external recognitions received by the professional education programs, and prominent alumni.

Provision of professional development. Most COE-sponsored professional development activities are widely advertised to and often participated in by faculty members from elsewhere on the campus. Each of the holders of the John W. Porter Chair in Urban Education has facilitated conversations. For example, Nel Noddings, the holder of the Chair in 2002-2003, conducted a session on collaborative activities for campus academic leaders--leaders who
were invited to participate by the deans of the College of Education and the College of Arts and Sciences.

The campus' Faculty Center for Instructional Excellence (FCIE), dormant now but being reorganized into a new faculty development unit, had as its last director a former faculty member in the Department of Teacher Education. During the heyday of the FCIE, COE faculty members were disproportionately heavily involved in providing professional development opportunities for the remainder of the EMU faculty.