Fredonia recently received full accreditation for seven years through the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) as the first institution of higher education in the State of New York to meet all five of the 2013 Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) Standards. It is also one of the first institutions in the nation to be fully accredited through CAEP, the single specialized accreditor for educator preparation in the United States.
“Our CAEP accreditation is a seal of national approval that assures that educator preparation at Fredonia is of the highest quality. This external accountability ensures that Fredonia continues its long history of rigorously preparing the very best teachers and educational leaders. This accreditation also provides a framework in which our educator preparation programs enact a continuous improvement cycle – continually self-assessing and conducting evidence-based analysis of their programs and efficacy,” noted College of Education Dean Christine Givner.
In the final CAEP Site Visit Report, Fredonia was praised for its willingness to be an early adopter of the new CAEP standards and accreditation process and enthusiasm to be a critical friend in forging the way for a new and rigorous national accreditation process. Fredonia’s Educator Preparation Program (EPP) has ensured that courses are aligned with college and career-readiness standards and provides evidence that the unit is attending to providing candidates with developmentally appropriate experiences to acquire the knowledge and skills to impact P-12 learning within a framework of college- and career-ready standards.
The College of Education also documented evidence of strong partnership relationships with 60 school districts. The EPP presented college-wide plans and goals to recruit and support completion of high-quality candidates from a broad range of backgrounds. As well, Fredonia implements a comprehensive and sound quality assurance system that is used regularly and systematically for improvement of candidate, program and unit performance.
Fredonia’s College of Education - Professional Education Unit (COE-PEU) includes 20 percent of the university’s undergraduate students and 80 percent of the graduate student population, enrolled in educator preparation programs. It has an enrollment of 856 undergraduate and 223 graduate students, and offers 15 initial teacher preparation programs (those leading to a first time teaching certificate) and 14 advanced educator preparation programs (those leading to additional certificates). Candidates are served by 44 full-time, tenured or tenure-track faculty, approximately 22 part-time faculty, and seven support staff members. Fredonia graduates and recommends for certification close to 300 educators annually across all 29 of its undergraduate and graduate programs.
The mission of the COE is to challenge, educate and inspire teacher and leader candidates to become skilled, connected, creative, and responsible global citizens and professionals capable of impacting P-12 student learning, and meeting the challenges of diverse student needs. Fredonia’s College of Education, “Believes that all children can learn and that they can learn best by teachers who are responsive." In addition, to become responsive educators, candidates must continue to learn throughout their professional careers.
To learn more about the outstanding programs and distinctive learning opportunities for future Fredonia educators go online to www.fredonia.edu/coe/about.
The CAEP Standards, adopted in 2013, reflect the voice of the education field on what makes a quality teacher. CAEP accreditation ensures that there is solid evidence that a provider’s graduates are competent and caring, and that there is solid evidence a provider’s staff have the capacity to create a culture of evidence to be used for continuous improvement. More information about CAEP go to http://caepnet.org/. The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (www.CAEPnet.org) advances excellence in educator preparation through evidence-based accreditation that assures quality and supports continuous improvement to strengthen P-12 student learning.
