Accreditation likely for teacher ed

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The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education has recommended CMU’s education program receive re-accreditation following a campus visit in March.

“Right now, we just have a recommendation. We won’t have a final answer until October,” said Marilyn Feldmann, director of Professional Education and assistant to the dean.

Feldmann said there were no surprises about the methods used March 15 to 19 for determining the quality of the education program.

“They come in and review documents, interview faculty, staff and students and also talk to recent graduates,” she said.

The process for re-accreditation is repeated every five years, and CMU’s education department has been accredited since 1954. 

In his Update #30, University President Michael Rao said the team expressed “appreciation and commendation for the professionalism of faculty, staff and students throughout the university.”

Feldmann said the council cited some areas for improvement.

“They said that the students should be given more background in working with exceptional students and expressed a need for a more centralized data collection and analysis process,” she said.

Feldmann said the College of Education and Human Services impressed the council.

“They said that we have outstanding faculty who are committed to preparing students for education careers, while at the same time remain committed to their own continued professional growth and development,” she said.

The council also praised the Office of Affirmative Action for helping to achieve some goals for a more diverse faculty, and praised the College of Extended learning for its role in creating a diverse student body.

“This recommendation is basically a thumbs up to the university, and it reflects on all six colleges,” Feldmann said.