Back to News 
MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TN (May 20, 2008) — Milligan College’s undergraduate and graduate teacher education programs have been reaffirmed for accreditation by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
Studies show that teacher quality is the most important factor in student achievement. Professional accreditation is one way to ensure the public that schools of education are graduating well-qualified teachers ready for today’s classrooms. Once again, Milligan proved its commitment to producing quality teachers for our nation’s children by achieving accreditation under the performance-oriented standards of NCATE.
“The Milligan College teacher education faculty was pleased to receive affirmation of its continued approval by this national organization and assurance that it continues to meet the rigorous, performance-oriented standards,” said Dr. Lyn Howell, area chair and associate professor of education.
NCATE currently accredits 623 institutions, which produce two-thirds of the nation’s new teacher graduates each year. NCATE-accredited schools must meet rigorous standards set by the profession and members of the public. Teacher candidates must have in-depth knowledge of the subject matter that they plan to teach as well as the skills necessary to convey it so that students learn. The college or university must carefully assess this knowledge and skill to determine that candidates may graduate. The institution must have partnerships with PreK – 12 schools that enable candidates to develop the skills necessary to help students learn. Candidates must be prepared to understand and work with diverse student populations. College and university faculty must model effective teaching practices, and the college must have the resources, including information technology resources, necessary to prepare candidates to meet new standards.
NCATE revises its standards every five years to incorporate best practice and research in order to ensure that the standards reflect a consensus about what is important in teacher preparation today. In the past decade, NCATE has moved from an accreditation system that focused on curriculum and what teacher candidates were offered, to a datadriven, performance-based system dedicated to determining what candidates know and are able to do. The new system expects teacher preparation institutions to provide compelling evidence of candidate knowledge and skill in the classroom. Multiple types of performance assessments are expected throughout the program of study. Candidate qualifications are assessed upon entry, and candidate competence is assessed throughout the program as well as prior to student teaching/internship work and before completion of the program. Meeting NCATE accreditation standards also helps institutions prepare new teachers for new, more rigorous licensing standards in many states. NCATE accreditation standards incorporate the model state licensing principles developed by a task force of the Council of Chief State School Officers.
The U. S. Department of Education recognizes NCATE as a specialized accrediting body for schools, colleges and departments of education. NCATE is composed of more than 30 professional and policymaker organizations representing millions of Americans committed to quality teaching. It was founded in 1954 by the teaching profession and the states.
Milligan teacher education programs include early childhood, elementary, middle grades and secondary education, as well as K-12 licensure in music, theatre and physical education. Teacher education programs are offered on the undergraduate level and the master of education (M.Ed.) level.
For more information about Milligan College’s teacher education programs, visitwww.milligan.edu. More information about NCATE is available at www.ncate.org.