News:

BLACKSBURG, Nov. 17, 2003 – Following a meticulous review process, the Virginia Tech School of Education has once again received a thumbs-up by the National Council for Teacher Accreditation (NCATE). Institutions that gain NCATE accreditation meet national standards in areas such as design of curriculum, assessment of candidate performance, faculty qualifications, supervision of clinical experiences, and adequate and up-to-date resources. NCATE accreditation is based on results—results that demonstrate that teacher candidates know the subject matter and can teach it effectively. It is a mechanism to ensure high quality teacher preparation.

“The whole emphasis is on program quality,” said Jerry Niles, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. “Accreditation is the result of intense conversation on the national scene. Our education programs have once again passed a rigorous assessment and planning process.”

Part of the accreditation includes assessment of students by an outside source. Educational Benchmarking (EBI) ranked Virginia Tech tops in its peer group in six of 14 categories, including overall satisfaction, quality of instruction, administration services, satisfaction with faculty and courses, fellow students in program, and research methods, professional development and societal implications. Virginia Tech also averaged a higher mean than the means of all other institutions in every category.

“VT is one of the best education packages going,” said Susan G. Magliaro, Director of the Center for Teacher Education. “Our students graduate with an undergraduate degree in a content area plus extensive practical field experience with a degree of readiness and responsibility for the enterprise. They are rated as more mature and confident with a firm knowledge base with regard to SOLs.”

return to top