FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 12, 2005

MUW’s education department receives accreditation

By Jill D. O’Bryant

COLUMBUS, Miss. – The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) has accredited Mississippi University for Women’s Division of Education and Human Sciences at the initial teacher preparation and advanced preparation levels. MUW has been continuously accredited by NCATE for 41 years.

“MUW’s teacher education faculty from across the campus have worked several years preparing for this review,” said Dr. Hal Jenkins, head of the Division of Education and Human Sciences. “The outstanding report is a testament to their hard work and the quality of our teacher education programs.”

The accreditation agency currently accredits 602 institutions which produce two-thirds of the nation’s new teacher graduates each year. Ninety institutions are candidates or pre-candidates for accreditation.

“This accreditation decision indicates that the unit and its programs meet rigorous standards set forth by the professional education community,” said Arthur Wise, president of NCATE, in his letter to the university.

NCATE revises its standards every five years to incorporate best practice and research in order to ensure that the standards reflect a consensus about what is important in teacher preparation today.

In the past decade, NCATE has moved from an accreditation system that focused on curriculum and what teacher candidates were offered to a data-driven performance-based system dedicated to determining what candidates know and are able to do.

“Our program offers a personal experience for our students,” Jenkins said. “The close relationship between students and faculty and the large amount of field experience make our students well-prepared when they enter their first teaching position.”

The university’s next visit from NCATE is scheduled for fall 2009.

For more information about MUW’s education program, please contact the Division of Education and Human Sciences at (662) 329-7175.