TEA extended full accreditation and 12 commendations to TCU

Fort Worth, TX

8/4/2009

In February 2009, the TCU College of Education hosted an on-site accreditation visit conducted by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). The TCU teacher preparation program was first “recognized” by the Texas State Department of Education in 1893 and since that time has consistently maintained a fully accredited status.

The opening session was well attended by university personnel as well as administrators from surrounding districts and members of the COE Board of Visitors. Dr. Nowell Donovan, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, and Dr. Mary Martin Patton, dean of the COE, introduced special guests and welcomed the TEA visitors. Dr. Ranae Stetson led the COE accreditation team that included certification officer Diana Woolsey, and COE graduate assistants Sarah Davis, Allison Haley and Lauren Kephart. Dr. Stetson provided the overview and highlights of the undergraduate teacher certification programs during the opening session.

A variety of individuals were interviewed during the site visit, including Advisory Council and partnership members, cooperating teachers, directors, deans, faculty, field supervisors, principals, program staff and student teachers. In addition to full accreditation, the COE received 12 commendations for the following:

• The extra tier of collaboration and commitment for specialized content areas and students, including laboratory schools that promote success for special needs students. The college’s spirit of commitment and passion for students is evident.
• Community collaboration and participation
• Admissions committee procedures that go beyond the admissions criteria and consider qualitative measures of applicants
• Outreach efforts for diversity through its recruitment process. Scholarship programs with local schools encourage diversity
• Electronic databases that keep track of students’ progress and facilitate early intervention
• Extensive syllabi format that includes standard criteria and depicts alignment with State Board for Educator Certification Standards (SBEC)
• Professional practice seminars to promote student success on state teacher exams
• Field experiences that expose educator candidates to various grade levels and diverse student populations
• Focus on practical application of content and pedagogical theory
• Creation and support of two campus laboratory schools, which afford educator candidates the opportunity to work with special needs students
• The “Go Green” philosophy and its eCollege online component
• Supervised and structured student teaching experiences in diverse classroom settings

The TEA accreditation team noted, student teachers as well as graduates consistently talked about the connections with their professors and TCU personnel. Students also noted that the caring and passion demonstrated by TCU faculty and staff impacted their success in the classroom.