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[node:field_meeting_type] | December 2008

Monday, December 1, 2008 - 8:00am

sed seal                                                                                                 

 

 

THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

 

 

                                                                                                         

 

TO:

FROM:

Johanna Duncan-Poitier

 

SUBJECT:

Continuation of Regents Accreditation of Teacher Education Programs at the College of New Rochelle

 

 

DATE:

December 2, 2008

STRATEGIC GOAL:

Goals 1, 2 and 3

AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Issue for Decision

 

              Should the Board of Regents continue the accreditation of teacher education programs at the College of New Rochelle?

 

Reason(s) for Consideration

 

Required by State regulation.

             

Proposed Handling

 

The question will come before the Higher Education Committee at its December 2008 meeting, where it will be voted on and action taken.  It will then come before the full Board at its December 2008 meeting for final action.

 

Procedural History

 

The Board of Regents adopted a new teaching policy, "Teaching to Higher Standards:  New York's Commitment," in 1998.  As a result of that policy, in 1999 the Board adopted Section 52.21(b)(2)(iv)(c)(1) of the Commissioner’s Regulations, which requires New York State teacher education programs to become accredited by an acceptable accrediting organization. 

 

 

The College of New Rochelle (CNR) selected Regents Accreditation of Teacher Education (RATE) and was granted seven years’ accreditation of the College’s teacher education programs, identified in Appendix A, with the condition that a focused site visit be conducted before March 14, 2008, to address the issues cited by the State Professional Standards and Practices Board for Teaching (PSPB).

 

Background Information

 

The College of New Rochelle is an independent college that was founded in 1904 by the Ursuline Order as the first Catholic college for women in New York State. The College fulfills its mission of intellectual development using high standards of academic excellence through its commitment to providing lifelong learning opportunities to a diverse population of candidates exhibiting a wide range of ethnic, socio-economic and age differences. The College is comprised of four schools. The School of New Resources offers undergraduate liberal arts degrees; the School of Nursing includes undergraduate and graduate programs; the undergraduate education School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) is dedicated to educating traditional college-aged women; and the education Graduate School (GRS) offers study opportunities to both women and men.

 

In the fall of 2007, CNR served 6,051 students in programs housed in the four schools.   Enrollment in the School of Arts and Sciences was 379; 683 in the School of Nursing; 3,992 in the School of New Resources; and 997 in the Graduate School.  Of these, 212 graduate students are enrolled in courses co-sponsored by the College and teacher centers in New York City and the metropolitan area and offered, under the supervision of the College, at on and off-campus locations. 

 

The purpose of the focused site visit was to address the issues cited by the State Professional Standards and Practices Board for Teaching (PSPB) and the Board’s stipulations.  Their concerns centered on underrepresented faculty, development of an effective assessment system, alignment with the learning standards and meeting the regulatory requirements for full-time education faculty.

 

Team’s Findings

 

              The focused site visit took place on March 2-4, 2008. The focused site visit team consisted of three peer reviewers and one staff person. As identified in Appendix B, the team determined that two of the four Board of Regents stipulations were satisfied and that progress had been made on the remaining two; and that 15 out of 16 identified areas for improvement across two standards - Standards for Program Registration and Assessment of Candidate Achievement - were satisfied.  Progress had been made on the remaining area for improvement.  

 

Staff Recommendation to the Professional Standards and Practices Board

 

After a review of the evidence and careful consideration of the findings, staff recommended to the Professional Standards and Practices Board that accreditation be continued until March 14, 2012, with the condition that the College’s annual reports demonstrate compliance with the Commissioner’s Regulations - the majority of credit -bearing courses in each program is offered by full-time faculty [Section 52.21(b)(2)(i)(h)]. 

 

Professional Standards and Practices Board Recommendation

             

On September 18, 2008, the Higher Education Subcommittee of the State Professional Standards and Practices Board for Teaching met to consider the continuation of accreditation of the College’s teacher education programs. The Subcommittee reviewed the Focused Site Visit Review Report (comprised of the Draft Focused Site Visit Review Report, the Colleges’ June 8, 2008 response, and the Department’s summary and preliminary recommendation for accreditation action). The Subcommittee’s interest was around continued development of the current assessment system to provide data for continued improvements toward producing effective teachers. Following review and discussion of the focused site visit review report on the teacher education programs, on the basis of the record before it, the Board recommended to the Senior Deputy Commissioner of Education that accreditation be continued until March 14, 2012, with the condition that annual reports document continuing progress toward increasing faculty diversity, implementing a coherent assessment system and ensuring that the majority of core pedagogical courses are taught by full-time faculty.

 

Recommendation

 

Consistent with the recommendations of the Professional Standards and Practices Board for Teaching and the Senior Deputy Commissioner of Education, P-16, it is recommended that the Board of Regents continue accreditation of the teacher education programs offered by the College of New Rochelle for a period beginning immediately and ending on March 14, 2012, with the condition that the College submits annual reports that confirm its continuous efforts in 1) increasing faculty diversity; 2) fully implementing a coherent assessment system; and 3) meeting the regulatory requirement that the majority of credit-bearing pedagogical core courses are being taught by full-time faculty.   The Department will monitor compliance with these terms on an annual basis.


Appendix A

 

The teacher preparation programs offered at the College under the initial RATE review are as follows:   

 

 

Department: School of Arts and Sciences Teacher Education Programs (Undergraduate)

 

 

Program Title

Degree Award

Certification Title*

Biological Studies

BA

Early Childhood Birth-2; Childhood 1-6; Biology 5-9; Biology 7-12; SWD 1-6; SWD Biology 7-12

Chemistry

BS, BA

Early Childhood Birth-2; Childhood 1-6; Chemistry 5-9; Chemistry 7-12; SWD 1-6; SWD Chemistry 7-12

Interdisciplinary Studies

BA

Early Childhood Birth-2; Childhood 1-6; SWD 1-6

Communication Arts

BA

Early Childhood Birth-2; Childhood 1-6; SWD 1-6

Classics

BA

Early Childhood Birth-2; Childhood 1-6; SWD 1-6

Religious Studies

BA

Early Childhood Birth-2; Childhood 1-6; SWD 1-6

Mathematics

BA, BS

Early Childhood Birth-2; Childhood 1-6; Mathematics 5-9; Mathematics 7-12; SWD 1-6; SWD Mathematics 7-12

Economics

BA

Early Childhood Birth-2; Childhood 1-6; SWD 1-6

Latin Education

BA

Early Childhood Birth-2; Childhood 1-6; SWD 1-6; Latin 7-12; Latin 5-9; SWD Latin 7-12

Spanish

BA

Early Childhood Birth-2; Childhood 1-6; SWD 1-6; Spanish 7-12; Spanish 5-9; SWD Spanish 7-12

French

BA

Early Childhood Birth-2; Childhood 1-6; SWD 1-6; French 7-12; French 5-9; SWD French 7-12

English

BA

Early Childhood Birth-2; Childhood 1-6; SWD 1-6; English 7-12; English 5-9; SWD English 7-12

Sociology

BA

Early Childhood Birth-2; Childhood 1-6; SWD 1-6

Psychology

BA

Early Childhood Birth-2; Childhood 1-6; SWD 1-6

Political Science

BA

Early Childhood Birth-2; Childhood 1-6; SWD 1-6

History

BA

Early Childhood Birth-2; Childhood 1-6; SWD 1-6; Social Studies 7-12; Social Studies 5-9; SWD Social Studies 7-12

Philosophy

BA

Early Childhood Birth-2; Childhood 1-6; SWD 1-6

Art History

BA

Visual Arts, Early Childhood Birth-2; Childhood 1-6; SWD 1-6

Art Therapy

BFA; BS

Visual Arts

Art Education;

BFA

Visual Arts

Art

BFA, BA

Visual Arts

 

Department: Graduate School Division of Education

 

Multilingual/Multicultural Education

Advanced Certificate

Bilingual Extension

Multilingual/Multicultural Education

MSED

TESOL

Childhood Education

MSED

Childhood 1-6 Professional*; Childhood 1-6

Childhood and Special Education

MSED

Childhood 1-6; SWD 1-6

Alt Cert Childhood Education/Childhood Special Education

MSED

Childhood 1-6; SWD 1-6

Early Childhood

MSED

Early Childhood Birth – 2 Professional*; Early Childhood Birth – 2

Early Childhood and Early Childhood Special Education

MSED

Early Childhood Birth – 2; SWD Early Childhood Birth – 2

Alt Cert Early Childhood Education/Early Childhood Special Education

MSED

Early Childhood Birth-2;  SWD Birth - 2

Gifted Education Extension

Advanced Certificate; MSED

Gifted Education Extension Initial; Gifted Education Extension

Literacy Education

MSED

Literacy Birth-6; Literacy 5-12

School Building Leader and School District Leader

Alt Cert School District Leader

MS; Advanced Certificate; Advanced Diploma

School Building Leader; School District Leader – Professional

Art Education

MA

Visual Arts Professional; Visual Arts

* Unless otherwise specified, B.A./B.S. leads to initial certification and M.S.ED. leads to initial/professional certification.


Appendix B College of New Rochelle Stipulations and Areas for Improvement                            

Stipulations/Areas for Improvement

Findings of Focused Visit Team

Satisfied1

Making Progress2

Not Satisfied3

Board of Regents Stipulations

  • Evidence of progress toward representation of currently underrepresented groups on the full- and part-time teacher education faculty that more closely matches the diversity among program candidates.

 

x

 
  • Compliance with the regulatory requirement that a majority of courses in each teacher education program are offered by full-time faculty.

 

x

 

 
  • The development and implementation of a formal and systematic assessment plan that reflects a coherent program, is tied to explicit national and State standards, and includes evidence of candidate performance and performance of students taught by candidates and graduates.

 

x

 
  • Written evidence explicitly demonstrating that the following elements are addressed across the curricula in formal syllabi and in teaching by faculty and candidates
  • Inclusion of students at all ability levels
  • Multicultural perspectives
  • Alignment of curricula with State learning standards in all specialty areas

 

 

x

 

 

 

 

Areas For Improvement Cited in Compliance Review Report

 
  • There is an evident need for the employment of more diverse faculty to reflect the rich diversity in the candidate body and the students they serve in the field. Efforts must be strengthened in future searches, and demonstrated results are essential.

 

x

 
  • The excessive use of part-time faculty in many graduate programs needs to be addressed.

x

 

 

 
  • Exit interviews could be customized for each program with the addition of questions specific to each program.

x

 

 
  • Program evaluation procedures initiated for the Self-Study and site visit should be continued and revised as needed in the future to keep them dynamic and relevant.

x

 

 
  • A coalition built on the good will that exists in local cooperating schools and with CNR alumni could benefit on-going program assessment.

x

 

 
  • The program courses could more consistently reflect the infusion of appropriate ways to adapt, enhance and modify curriculum and teaching strategies to accommodate the needs of children identified as at-risk, disabled and/or gifted.

x

 

 
  • There is an expertise among some faculty in differentiated teaching/learning that could be shared across programs where it is lacking, not only in the curriculum but in the methods some faculty employ to teach. Faculty who model a broad repertoire of methodologies designed to meet the needs of all learners strengthen the program. In education courses, in particular, modeling varied teaching methodologies can be very beneficial to the pre-professional preparation of teachers.

x

 

 
  • The program courses could more consistently reflect the infusion of issues of multiculturalism, diversity, and multilingualism to better prepare candidates to teach all students. This can include sensitive examinations of candidate’s own diversity, and the diversity of the students they see in the field.

x

 

 
  • Course descriptions and syllabi are not consistent in explicitly demonstrating how their objectives align with national and state standard.

x

 

 
  • SAS and GRS faculty should explore ways in which they can reduce their professional isolation as they deem appropriate.

x

 

 
  • The Education Department should seek to enhance/expand the collaboration and participation of cooperating teachers and field experience teachers with education candidates and the faculties as many of these individuals are residing/working close by.

x

 

 
  • Networking with cooperating teachers and local teachers could be enhanced by promoting a greater number of special lectures/activities on campus which they could attend. These same teachers should be encouraged to use some of the resources on campus such as the library or the teacher resource center.

x

 

 
  • There is a need for the Education Department and the Graduate School to consolidate their student teacher and field experience placements so as to not overtax the available local resources.

x

 

 
  • Graduate faculty need to have computers on their desks. While candidates are supposed to arrive with transcripts in hand for advisement, they often do not. Further, throughout the semester, when candidates drop-in for other kinds of assistance, online transcript access is frequently an essential tool in advisement.

x

 

 
  • Graduate writing samples are submitted upon entry to the program. The review of these samples would be more effective if:

The faculties were involved in developing fair and uniform rubrics against which these samples could be read

The faculty were involved in reading the samples

 

x

 

 
  • Candidate scores on standardized teacher certification examinations would be more useful in program evaluation if they were broken down by discrete program for consideration of the faculty in each program. 

x

 

 

Note:

1This concern has been satisfied.

2Progress is being made toward addressing this concern.

3This concern is not satisfied.

 

 

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