By Michelle Hines, University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-5371
Posted 7-2-07
GREENSBORO, NC – The School of Education at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro has received full re-accreditation by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
The UNCG school is one of 59 departments or schools of education nationally that has received initial or continuing accreditation by NCATE’s Unit Accreditation Board this year.
Dr. Betty Epanchin, associate dean of teacher education and school relationships, coordinated preparation for the re-accreditation review. Epanchin was pleased to receive positive feedback from NCATE on several points.
“The NCATE team commended us on the quality of our faculty and the progress we had made moving toward the assessment of outcomes, or the impact of our programs,” she said. “They were also particularly impressed by our work with the K-12 schools. The real purpose of NCATE, however, is not to judge or compare programs; rather it is to improve all programs that prepare teachers and other professional educators. It’s really a program improvement effort. And it’s pretty clear that we have a solid, established program.”
Dr. Dale Schunk, dean of the School of Education, was also pleased with the outcome of the process, which involved a visit from a seven-member NCATE review team. “It re-affirms our belief that we provide excellent preparation for educators. At UNCG we support the commitment to high quality preparation and continued professional development.”
The school’s next re-accreditation review by NCATE will come in fall 2013. Epanchin said NCATE is shifting from five-year cycles to seven-year cycles for institutions seeking re-accreditation, although all accredited institutions must continue to submit annual reports.
“The process we just went through is a very time-consuming and expensive process,” she said. “NCATE has changed the process for accredited programs so that re-accreditation is less cumbersome and more streamlined while still reviewing the quality of programs.”
The UNCG School of Education has 84 full-time faculty and 144 part-time faculty in its six departments: Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations, Counseling and Educational Development, Specialized Education Services, Library and Information Studies and Educational Research Methodology. Departments offer bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. About 670 undergraduate students and 560 graduate students are currently enrolled in the school.
