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NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Leah Jackson (jacksonl@nsula.edu)
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466
8/29/2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATCHITOCHES -Northwestern State University's College of Education has been accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the profession's mechanism to help establish high quality teacher preparation. The accreditation indicates that the College of Education and its programs meet rigorous standards set forth by the professional education community.
By meeting all NCATE standards with no citations, the NSU College of Education can assure graduates that they are well prepared for their careers, according to Dr. Vickie Gentry, dean of the College of Education.
"Getting through this process, you have to have so much dialogue about how you're meeting the standards," Dr. Gentry said. "In the process of discussing how we are assessing ourselves, we create a constant dialogue that is healthy and makes our programs better. Our students are evaluated and go through beginning teacher assessment. We know they are well-prepared. We had to show that they are well-prepared in the best possible way."
As part of a lengthy accreditation process, a team of external evaluators visited NSU to review all evidence and documentation regarding how the COE was meeting standards. They met with faculty, students and partner schools and prepared a report that was presented to the national board.
"It is very rare for a university to meet all standards with no citations," Dr. Gentry said, explaining that the accreditation reflects positively on the rest of the university, as evaluations extend to specific subject areas, such as math, science and the arts.
"This is a university accreditation, because everybody has a potential teacher in their classroom," Dr. Gentry said.
Sheila Gentry, who earned a master's degree in Student Personnel Services (SPS) and completed course work required for a specialist degree in education technology, served on a committee that addressed concerns about the SPS program. Gentry, currently director of Campus-Community and Housing at Northwestern, found she knew more about the field of education than she thought.
"They asked hard questions and I was able to answer them with confidence," she said. "I was very proud of the education I have received thus far at NSU. I now incorporate active learning and listening skills in all of my classes. Getting students involved in class is hard, but as a teacher, I must come up with innovative methods to help students learn and understand."
Lisa Rougeau had a role in defending NSU's SPED (gifted) master's program, having just completed the coursework required for that certification.
"I could speak from the perspective of an NSU graduate student in the program, as well as a teacher working in the high school gifted classroom," Rougeau said. "Two years earlier, I began serving on a COE committee for the English education degree." Rougeau is NSU Writing Project co-director/school district coordinator, writing consultant and teacher.
"The most important thing that I observed while being involved with the NCATE process is NSU's dedication to meeting and exceeding those standards," Rougeau said. "My colleagues in both the College of Education and the Department of Language and Communications are already preparing for their roles in the next NCATE visit in 2011."
"As a Northwestern graduate in teacher education, I have tremendous appreciation for the importance of NCATE accreditation for our teacher education programs at all levels," said NSU President Dr. Randall J. Webb. "Congratulations are due to so many administrators, faculty and students because our teacher education program embraces academic fields of study throughout the university. Very few programs in the country have such an outstanding reputation as this."
NSU was the first NCATE accredited school in Louisiana and has been accredited since 1954. This fall, the College of Education will begin implementing its redesigned master's of education programs in educational leadership, educational technology leadership, curriculum and instruction and early childhood education. The College will also begin offering courses that prepare teachers for National Board Certification. These courses will apply toward graduate credit in the curriculum and instruction degree program.
The NCATE accreditation process not only improves teacher preparation and strengthens collaborations with other departments on campus, it also benchmarks the school against national expectations and program standards, Gentry said. The process provides an incentive for faculty development and highlights the importance of a diverse teaching corps.
"NCATE makes for healthier programs and forces you to change. It's a chance to prove how effective you really are," Gentry said.