School of Education E-newsletter

by: Marilyn Feldmann, NCATE Coordinator

The Citadel is preparing for a follow-up visit by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) that will occur on September 30 to October 2, 2007. The purpose of the visit is to provide evidence to the Board of Examiners team that we meet NCATE’s assessment standards. We must show that education candidates enrolled in the undergraduate and graduate programs possess the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that are required by NCATE, the South Carolina Department of Education, and the national professional specialized member associations. A three-person team will spend three days on campus conducting interviews of education candidates, faculty members, administrators, and representatives from the local schools; reading the Institutional Self-Study Report; and reviewing numerous documents.

Faculty members in the School of Education and in the departments outside the School have been working hard since mid-summer to develop assessment instruments so that data can be collected beginning in classes this semester. A highlight of this process is the adoption of LiveText in many of the education classes. Candidates will use LiveText in their education classes to create assignments, portfolios, resumes, and other materials, as well as to share these documents with classmates and professors.

Faculty members in the School of Education and throughout the College are very optimistic that continuing NCATE accreditation will be granted to The Citadel through spring 2012. Only about 700 of the 1,200 colleges and universities in the country that prepare P-12 teachers and other school professionals are accredited by NCATE.