OSU College of Education Receives Continuing Accreditation

Friday, January 19, 2007

Oklahoma State University’s Professional Education Unit has been awarded continuing accreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and from the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation.

 “We are very pleased with the announcement that our professional education unit at OSU has received this continued accreditation from NCATE, the most widely recognized and highest level of program review any professional education program can receive, and continued accreditation from OCTP,” said Dr. Pamela Fry, dean of the OSU College of Education.

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education is a non-profit, nongovernmental alliance of national professional education and public organizations that support quality teaching. It is the profession’s mechanism to help establish high quality teacher preparation.

The NCATE accreditation team conducted its OSU site visit for continued accreditation in April, according to Dr. Leah Engelhardt, associate director of Professional Education and OSU NCATE coordinator. The next accreditation visit is scheduled for 2012.

OSU’s Professional Education Unit is unique in the nation because it is not exclusively housed in the College of Education.

 “Our professional education unit partners are the OSU College of Arts and Sciences, OSU College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, and the OSU College of Human Environmental Sciences,” Fry said. “Working together as a team, people in all four colleges worked for months to prepare for this highly successful accreditation visit.”

Through the process of professional accreditation of schools, colleges and departments of education, NCATE works to make a difference in the quality of teaching and teacher preparation today, tomorrow and for the next century.

NCATE’s performance-based system of accreditation fosters competent classroom teachers and other educators who work to improve the education of all K-12 students. NCATE believes every student deserves a caring, competent and highly qualified teacher.

The Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation voted Dec. 14 to grant continuing accreditation for the full seven years to the OSU Professional Education Unit. According to Dr. Fry, the state commission’s vote follows the national board vote.

 “We commend Dr. Pamela Fry and her staff for the hard work and dedication to establish a quality teacher education program at your institution,” said Ted Gillispie, OCTP executive director.