Dr. Bill Estes
The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation has announced that the Lee University Helen DeVos College of Education is one of 46 providers of educator education programs from 22 states and Puerto Rico to receive accreditation for its programs.
The spring 2018 review by the CAEP Accreditation Council increased to 147 the total number of providers approved under the CAEP teacher preparation standards—rigorous, nationally-recognized standards developed to ensure excellence in educator preparation programs.
“These institutions meet high standards so that their students receive an education that prepares them to succeed in a diverse range of classrooms after they graduate,” said CAEP President Dr. Christopher A. Koch. “Seeking CAEP Accreditation is a significant commitment on the part of an educator preparation provider.”
In order to achieve accreditation, the university had to pass peer review based on two principles: solid evidence that the provider’s graduates are competent and caring educators and solid evidence that the provider’s educator staff has the capacity to create a culture of evidence and use it to maintain and enhance the quality of the professional programs they offer.
“We’ve set a high bar for our teacher preparation program, and CAEP Accreditation validates the hard work we are doing,” said Dr. Bill Estes, dean of the HDCOE. “I appreciate the work of Dr. Pam Browning as she continues to lead the university's assessment team. I'm also appreciative of both Bradley County and Cleveland City schools as they partnered with us in both data collection and evaluation.”
The CAEP advances excellence in educator preparation through evidence-based accreditation that assures quality and supports continuous improvement to strengthen P-12 student learning, said officials.
For more information about the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, visit www.CAEPnet.org.
For more information about Lee University or the HDCOE, visit www.leeuniversity.edu.