Eastern Michigan University has two more years before the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) sends a team of examiners to see how the university's teacher training programs stack up.
But don't let the date fool you. Since NCATE requires universities to present three years' worth of data on their education programs, EMU's next NCATE accreditation is happening right now.
To keep the nearly 200 faculty and staff involved in the accreditation in tune with the latest requirements, EMU's College of Education will host its third annual Professional Education Winter Assessment Conference Jan. 25, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., in the Student Center Ballroom. Faculty in the colleges of technology, health and human services, and arts and sciences who teach methods classes to COE students — in short, everyone involved in the teaching of teachers — also will be involved.
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Gollnick |
Speakers include NCATE Executive Senior Vice President Donna Gollnick and Michigan Department of Education consultant Bonnie Rockafellow. Vernon Polite, dean of EMU's College of Education, also will use the conference to showcase a new partnership with area school districts that's been two years in the making.
"We're so large and we only have this one opportunity a year to come together to talk about what we're doing to implement the assessment strategy," Polite said. "The university has been very generous. The first year, they gave us $730,000 to begin planning for NCATE accreditation and, this year, they've given us $103,000. So, this is a major investment from the university budget in difficult financial times, and we want to make sure, on our end, that we're doing everything we need to do to make sure we're up to par come accreditation time."
Gollnick, the keynote speaker, is an authority on multicultural education and has written or co-authored several textbooks, including "Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society" and "The Joy of Teaching." Gollnick has been NCATE's executive senior vice president since 1991, helping institutions prepare for accreditation visits, training examiners and ensuring national standards take diversity issues into account.
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Rockafellow |
"She doesn't (normally) do these talks," Polite said. "She's coming to Eastern only on the condition that I invite all the other NCATE accredited institutions in the state, so we will be hosting our colleagues from other NCATE institutions on that day as well."
Gollnick will discuss changes in NCATE requirements, including one spurred by Polite and EMU, which ensures teacher candidates will learn about the effects of discrimination based on race, class, gender, sexual orientation and exceptionality.
During lunch, Polite will sign an agreement establishing a partnership between EMU's College of Education and the Ann Arbor, Inkster, Lincoln, Washtenaw Intermediate, Willow Run, Wayne-Westland and Ypsilanti school districts. The agreement provides the districts help with curriculum planning and professional development. On the other end, it creates focused field experiences for EMU students and gives EMU faculty a chance to collaborate with schools in research.
The afternoon session features Rockafellow's presentation on state-level changes in special education status and requirements for education minors seeking teaching endorsements. She'll also discuss state-approved accreditation options for teacher education programs.
EMU has been accredited by NCATE since the organization began enforcing standards for teaching colleges in 1954. Not achieving NCATE accreditation simply is not an option, said Polite. Almost one quarter of the students at EMU are in teaching programs and many of them bypass universities closer to home in favor of EMU. Losing accreditation, Polite says, would mean losing students.
"If we were to lose accreditation, I'm certain it would have a major negative impact on enrollment and the quality of life at the university, so it's not an option," he said.
