School of Education E-newsletter

by: Marilyn Feldmann, NCATE Coordinator
 
Preparations for the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) follow-up visit scheduled for September 30 to October 2, 2007 continues.   The purpose of the visit is to demonstrate to the Board of Examiners (BOE) that we meet NCATE's assessment standards.
 
During the past year (fall and spring semesters), professional education faculty have compiled candidate performance data using assessment instruments developed as part of our new assessment system.  Using LiveText-an electronic data base system-program faculty have generated, compiled, and analyzed data that both enables us to monitor candidate progress and to make changes for continuous improvement.  Data from the fall and spring semesters have been generated and disseminated to faculty for analysis.  In addition to separate program reports, comprehensive unit reports have been generated and all of this data has been shared with the Professional Education Board (the newly established governing board responsible for professional education at The Citadel).  The Professional Education Board (PEB) is charged with reviewing these data reports and recommending changes to improve individual programs and the unit as a whole.  
 
This process is now formally institutionalized.  Faculty members are using this data collection and analysis process to monitor candidate performance throughout their individual programs and to make changes to improve the programs based on data.
 
During a May retreat, both professional and content area faculty reviewed the progress made in preparation for the fall NCATE visit.   During this all day session, faculty from across The Citadel provided feedback on drafts of the Institutional Self-Study and Assessment Handbook developed during the 2006/2007 academic year.  The Institutional Report will be finalized and submitted to NCATE by the end of July and the Handbook and accompanying exhibits will be available for the BOE team next fall.
 
A special thank you is extended to all Citadel faculty and staff, candidates, and our P-12 colleagues for helping to implement the assessment system this year and for providing other assistance in preparing for the fall 2007 NCATE visit (9/30/07-10/02/07).