Education department examined

For the past few days, the EMU Education Department has been under review by NCATE, the National Council of Accreditation of Teacher Education. The initial report by the Board of Examiners recommends that all standards have been met at the initial and advanced levels.

In an e-mail sent by Mark Hogan, NCATE Coordinator and EMU Professor, to EMU students, faculty and staff on Wednesday, he wrote, "...the last few days have been very humbling and more than encouraging about the view of EMU in the community. I have had numerous (actually unanimous) positive commendations brought forth from area school administrators and business leaders about the excellence of faculty and students at EMU. This was not limited to praise of candidates and faculty in Teacher Education. What became overwhelmingly clear was the respect the whole campus has within the community."

The six standards as listed by NCATE are: first, Candidate Knowledge, Skills and Disposition; second, Assessment System and Unit Evaluation; third, Field Experiences and Clinical Practice; fourth, Diversity; fifth, Faculty Qualifications, Performance, and Development; and finally, Unit Governance and Resources.

Amanda Stauffer participated in a session Monday night where NCATE reviewers interviewed 15 student teachers. Students were asked to name one strength EMU's program had in how they were prepared for their teaching experience.

"The woman said it was obvious to her that EMU had a very good program," Stauffer said. Regarding a different meeting Sunday evening, Stauffer said, "they [the reviewers] seemed in awe of the professional organizations students are connected to while still in schoool."

According to Hogan, the reviewers pointed out three areas for improvement: there is limited diversity among the unit's full-time faculty; an increase is needed in scholarly productivity, especially at national/international professional presentations and publications; and it needs to be addressed that the heavy workload for faculty adversely affects their involvement and productivity in scholarly activities.

The initial review of the report was given to the Education Department, and will be submitted to the NCATE Unit Accreditation Team. This group will make the final decision in March.

"I am excited because once again," Hogan wrote, "EMU has an opportunity to showcase what it does well to a world that uses different standards. I hope you join with us... in celebrating the opportunity to live out a life of faith and service on this campus."