OHIO’s Patton College granted reaccreditation

The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) granted full, seven-year accreditation to Ohio University’s Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education. The official notice of accreditation came last month following a CAEP site visit last fall.

“CAEP accreditation is a rigorous process based on quality assurance and accountability in educator preparation with a commitment to continuous improvement,” Wendy Adams, Patton’s director of Assessment and Academic Improvement, said. “Receiving a full seven-year CAEP accreditation decision is not an easy task and should be celebrated.”

According to CAEP’s website, accreditation provides a framework to push educator preparation programs to continually self-assess and conduct evidence-based analyses. The website states that “accreditation is quality assurance through external peer review” and that “when an institution or specialized program is accredited, it has demonstrated that it meets standards set by organizations representing the academic community, professionals, and other stakeholders.”

The website also includes that the “accreditation makes sure that educator programs prepare new teachers to know their subjects, their students, and have the clinical training that allows them to enter the classroom ready to teach effectively.”

“The CAEP accreditation decision shows that our programs, faculty, staff, students, and partners truly have a commitment to excellence that shines through in every aspect of candidate preparation,” Adams said.

Patton Interim Dean Sara Helfrich appreciates the effort faculty and staff put into the process. “The results make clear the quality of our programs and the dedication of our faculty and staff to our students’ learning,” she said.

The Patton College has been accredited since 1954 by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), covering initial teacher preparation programs and advanced educator preparation programs. In 2013, NCATE and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council consolidated to form CAEP, which is now the sole accreditor of educator preparation programs.

For more information on CAEP and accreditation, visit https://caepnet.org/.