Duquesne School of Education Receives Continued Accreditation from NCATE

The education unit at Duquesne University—the School of Education, the department of music education in the Mary Pappert School of Music and the department of speech and language pathology in the Rangos School of Health Sciences— has received official approval of its continuing accreditation for 2012-2019 from the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

NCATE accreditation of programs means that the School of Education has met national professional standards for the preparation of teachers and other school specialists. Through accreditation, prospective teachers are assured that Duquesne’s programs are up-to-date and relevant, and will prepare them for licensing examinations and successful futures as educators.

“Securing NCATE accreditation affirms the excellence of the education unit at Duquesne University,” said Dr. Olga Welch, dean of the School of Education. “This is no small achievement as NCATE national accreditation represents the ‘gold standard’ in teacher education. Programs that achieve this distinction can confidently assert that they have met the most rigorous of teacher preparation standards.”

The continuing accreditation review process involved a significant collaborative effort among the three schools and the certification programs. This effort included an on-site review by the NCATE Board of Examiners Team of 154 respondents representing administration, program faculty and students, alumni, staff, the School of Education, the Mary Pappert School of Music and the Rangos School of Health Science.

The reaccreditation review process was spearheaded by Dr. Susan Munson, associate dean for teacher education in the School of Education. “We are very pleased to be awarded a full seven-year continuing accreditation that reflects our commitment to benchmarking the quality of our instructional certification programs through a voluntary, external review based on national standards of excellence,” Munson said. “Our programs are clearly aligned with the NCATE belief that every student in the nation’s schools deserves a caring, competent and highly qualified professional educator.”

Through the accreditation process, NCATE determines how effectively the University designs, manages and evaluates its programs. In order to qualify for national accreditation, each of the 17 instructional certification programs in the education unit was reviewed by its respective specialty professional associations (SPAs) and was awarded national recognition. The University must provide information on how it prepares students for work in preschool through 12th-grade settings. Much of the information presented for accreditation is based on program data about candidates, graduates and clinical practice.

During this process, teacher preparation programs are evaluated on six standards:

  • Candidate knowledge, skills and professional dispositions
  • Assessment system and unit evaluation
  • Field experiences and clinical practice
  • Diversity
  • Faculty qualifications, performance and development
  • Governance and resources.

Founded in 1954, NCATE helps ensure high quality teacher, specialist and administrator preparation programs by providing professional program accreditation. The U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation recognize NCATE as an accrediting body for teacher preparation programs throughout the country. The organization currently accredits 656 schools of education, including Duquesne University and 19 other institutions in Pennsylvania.