|
UNCP's School
of Education Ranked Exemplary Again
 UNC
Pembroke's School of Education received its third
consecutive exemplary rating on the state Department of Public Instruction's
comprehensive performance report of teacher education programs.
UNCP joined six
other universities in obtaining the highest ranking. Only one other
of the state's 48 colleges and universities that train teachers has
received the highest state Board of Education rating every year of the
report.
UNCP is the only
public university with enrollment under 7,000 to achieve an exemplary
rating, making the achievement all the more significant, administrators
said.
Also raising the
degree of difficulty is UNCP's status as the fastest growing teacher
education program in the state. The school has increased the number
of students seeking teacher certification by 78 percent since 1999.
"This is the
ultimate stamp of approval for one of our most important academic programs,"
said Chancellor Allen C. Meadors. "We are very, very proud of our
School of Education because it demonstrates the high quality programs
that this entire university is well-known for."
"Through history,
UNC Pembroke has made it mark as a premier training ground for public
school teachers," Chancellor Meadors said. "With a crisis
in teacher availability looming, we are playing an important role in
solving this problem for our state."
New interim Dean
of the School of Education Warren Baker said he is extremely proud and
pleased with the rating and praised the teacher education staff and
faculty for their efforts in the achievement.
"I think it
validates our faculty's commitment to quality as well as our obligation
to support our public schools," Dr. Baker said. "This rating
also reflects a consistency in the overall quality of our teacher education
program because UNCP is only one of two institutions that has earned
exemplary status for three consecutive years."
UNC Pembroke scored
126 points on a comprehensive battery of evaluations, that include state
and national accreditation, student scores on national competency tests,
student and employer satisfaction and more.
Rounding out the
list of universities with exemplary ratings were East Carolina, Appalachian
State, Western Carolina, UNC Greensboro, UNC Wilmington, and Elon.
State Board of Education
Chair Phillip Kirk Jr. said the report is an important accountability
tool to help teacher education programs improve.
"This is our
report card on how well the teacher education programs in North Carolina
are performing," Kirk said. As North Carolina moves forward to
comply with the federal 'No Child Left Behind' legislations with is
focus on high quality teachers, we especially need our teacher education
programs to be as strong as possible."
For more information
on the program, visit www.ncpublicschools.org.
Return
to University Newswire
|