IU School of Education at IUPUC Receives Historic Recognition

Columbus, IN –The IU School of Education at IUPUC has received national recognition for three of its teacher preparation programs. The National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) recently recognized IUPUC’s Elementary Education, English as a New Language Dual License, and Special Needs Dual License programs.

This was IUPUC’s first attempt at receiving national recognition for teacher preparation programs.

The road to accreditation is a two-step process which occurs every seven years. The first step is program review; programs must demonstrate that teacher candidate performance meets standards set either by the state or by the professional organization associated with a particular program. In 2002, the last time these programs were reviewed, IUPUC’s programs were evaluated as part of their parent IUPUI programs.

The second step is a review of the teacher education unit and will involve IU School of Education at IUPUI, IU Bloomington, and IUPUC. The second step will be completed in April of 2010.

Only four Indiana colleges and universities to date have sought and received national recognition for elementary education programs. Three Indiana colleges and universities have received national recognition for special needs programs, and there are currently only two Indiana schools, including IUPUC, with nationally-recognized English as a New Language programs.

The IU School of Education at IUPUC spent the last two years preparing the program reports to submit to NCATE. Aija Pocock, Ph.D. and clinical assistant professor of English as a second language education, prepared IUPUC’s report for the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages program. NCATE officials were so impressed by Pocock’s report that they placed the report on NCATE’s Web site as a model for other colleges and universities to follow.

“NCATE was a rigorous self-study process,” said Pocock. “We felt that the national standards would be an important step to take for our first independent program reviews. We are celebrating our graduates. National recognition showcases the strength of preparation of IUPUC teacher candidates.”

NCATE currently accredits 623 institutions which produce two-thirds of the nation’s new teacher graduates each year.

For additional information about the IU School of Education at IUPUC, visit www.iupuc.edu/education. More information about NCATE is available at www.ncate.org.