News Brief - 11/1/06
Western Governors University Teachers College Receives NCATE Accreditation
This is the first online institution to receive NCATE approval
SALT LAKE CITY -- The Teachers College of Western Governors University (www.wgu.edu)
has received full and unconditional five-year accreditation by the National Council
for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
This is the first ever NCATE accreditation for an online institution. According to
NCATE, "In 2001, NCATE modified its standards in part to anticipate the accreditation
of non-traditional providers, and WGU is the first to engage the opportunity." The
approval ratifies WGU's focus on the quality of its teacher preparation programs.
It further validates that WGU's online, competency-based programs meet the highest
criteria by which professional education programs are evaluated.
WGU President Robert Mendenhall is elated about the accreditation. "WGU is rapidly
becoming one of the largest teacher education programs in the country, and as we
have teacher education graduates seeking licensure in all 50 states, it was important
for us to have NCATE accreditation in addition to our own quality standards," says
Dr.Mendenhall. "We are very pleased with the growing acceptance of competency-based
education not only by students, but by accrediting organizations, state departments
of education, school districts, and the U.S. Department of Education. It is a tribute
to NCATE that they were willing and able to apply their standards of quality to
a non-traditional program, that is both online and that measures learning rather
than time."
WGU's Teachers College continues to grow more than 40 percent annually. After just
three and a half years, the college now enrolls more than 4,000 students, with approximately
1,000 of these students concentrating on math and science education. Approximately
600 candidates for licensure will graduate this year. Because WGU's Teachers College
is online, it serves a national audience. Today, WGU graduates can apply directly
to more than 40 states for teacher certification, and WGU students are eligible
for reciprocity in most of the remaining states. With the NCATE accreditation, WGU
students will be able to apply for certification directly in even more states.
WGU offers bachelor's and master's programs leading to initial teacher certification
in interdisciplinary studies (primarily for elementary teachers), in the high-need
areas of mathematics and science, and in social science. WGU also offers master's
programs for already-certified teachers in mathematics, science, English language
learning, learning and technology, management and innovation, and measurement and
evaluation.
Eighty-five percent of WGU students are from underserved populations. Underserved
populations are classified by WGU as either economically disadvantaged, rural, first-generation
college student, Hispanic, African American, Native American, or a combination of
two or more of these categories. The average age of students is 37; most (77 percent)
are female. Most (85 percent) are currently employed, the large majority of them
full-time.
NCATE (www.ncate.org) is the largest accrediting
body evaluating the professional education programs of universities, colleges, and
departments of education. It seeks to determine whether the programs meet rigorous
national standards for preparing teachers and specialists for the classroom. NCATE
represents a coalition among 35 national education organizations.
WGU received NCATE candidacy in November 2005 and underwent a lengthy and detailed
review process, which included an on-site visit during the spring of 2006 by an
NCATE Board of Examiners to determine whether WGU met six institutional standards.
The examiners determined that the university successfully met all six standards.
NCATE's Unit Accreditation Board then made the final decision in favor of accreditation.
The university now joins the ranks of 623 other colleges and universities, such as
Stanford, Teachers College of Columbia University, Purdue, Texas A&M, BYU, Southern
Utah State, and others with NCATE accreditation. Nearly 100 other programs are currently
seeking the highly recognized NCATE accreditation.
Patti Harrington, Utah state superintendent of public instruction says, "Western
Governors University is a unique and exciting option in the rapidly changing delivery
pattern of higher education. With the newly awarded and prestigious NCATE accreditation
to its credit, WGU will attract even more aspiring educators to its electronic campus.
I heartily congratulate WGU for earning the accreditation and very much appreciate
their innovation and rapid-response approach to online learning."
