Institutional Report for the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education

Introduction
Candidates seeking professional status as educators may elect to pursue undergraduate majors in Elementary Education, Secondary Education, and/or Exceptional Needs through programs with a strong liberal arts foundation, coupled with high quality professional education coursework and field experiences. The Department’s programs prepare teacher education and school counselor candidates with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to make a difference in the learning and lives of schoolchildren and youth.

In 2002, the Department undertook a significant undergraduate curriculum review and revision. The result of this process was the adoption of a dual or triple-licensable program of study in Mild Intervention and a selected developmental level (Elementary, All-grade, and Secondary) for all education majors. Over the past five years, the Department learned of the regions’ P-12 schools’ needs for professionals capable of addressing the learning demands of diverse student bodies. The Department responded to these needs with the formulation of the dual licensing programs in the academic year 2002. The innovative programs now in place for all undergraduate education majors provide the opportunity for candidates to receive dual or triple Indiana State Teacher licensing. These programs combine a content area with Mild Interventions. The dual licensing, or “new program,” is based on the Department’s firm belief in the worth and dignity of every student, and a corresponding ethical responsibility to meet the needs of a diverse school population.

Prospective candidates may elect to pursue advanced degrees in Exceptional Needs or School Counseling. Curricula in both programs are designed to provide opportunities for intensive study and the enhancement of acquired skills. Specific goals and objectives of the graduate program have been derived from the learning and emotional needs of the P-12 student, state and national standards, learned societies, the wisdom of experience, and the fundamental requirements of a diverse and ever-changing society.

Mission
The Department of Education primarily serves the population of the northeastern region of the State of Indiana through the professional preparation of educators at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The Department’s undergraduate programs lead to state licensing in elementary, secondary, and exceptional needs. The Department offers the option of dual or triple licensing in a content area and Exceptional Needs. Graduate programs prepare candidates for licensure in Exceptional Needs and School Counseling.

The Mission guides the Department in its preparation of candidates who will incorporate in their daily lives and professional endeavors the Franciscan Values that define the Mission of the University. In keeping with the Franciscan intellectual tradition, the Department prepares candidates who will demonstrate confidence in their professional expertise through collaborative work at all levels of a diverse community – local, national, and global.

The Department’s Theme, “Educators facilitating and advancing learning in a diverse, ever- changing society,” expresses the program’s over-arching purpose. This purpose is to develop scholarly, technologically skilled, accomplished, empathetic educators who maintain a stable sense of self in a constantly changing and multi-faceted world; educators who remain independent thinkers living responsibly in interdependent societal and institutional contexts. The Department endeavors to train candidates who blend the most current research-based pedagogical practices with time-honored educational principles, in supported by both student and faculty research. The ultimate outcome of programs is the preparation of educators who can demonstrate the dispositional, skill-oriented, and knowledge-based performances synonymous with quality professional educators.

Administration
Ultimately responsible to the University governance structure, the definitive authority in the Department of Education rests with the Chair of the Department. The Vice President of Academic Affairs, with the approval of the President of the University, appoints this administrator. Supporting and collaborating with the Department Chair are the Directors of Elementary Education, Secondary Education, Exceptional Needs, School Counseling, Student Teaching, and the Unit Assessment System Coordinator and Licensing Advisor. Support staff consists of an Administrative Assistant and additional personnel as considered necessary for the effective and efficient operation of the Department.

Three committees are crucial in the successful design and implementation of teacher education programs. The Department faculty itself functions as a cohesive committee. The Teacher Education Committee (TEC), is comprised of all Department Faculty and Content Faculty representatives from all departments with education programs. The TEC plays an integral role in advising and assessing student progress as well as in program design and delivery. Communication across program faculties is assured through weekly meetings of representatives from each content area department with the Department of Education faculty. The Teacher Education Advisory Council (TEAC) brings to the campus professionals from the community to advise the Department on community, educational, and legal issues affecting the delivery of educational programs.

Faculty members are responsible for upholding the Department’s admission and retention policies, procedures, and criteria for admission into initial and advanced level programs. Additionally, this body is responsible for assuring that IPSB, INTASC, NCATE, and NBPTS Standards are met in each program, course and experience.

Faculty Profile
Currently the Department, is comprised of 6 full-time, 2 half-time members, and 8 adjunct members. The full and half time faculty members bear the primary responsibilities for the following: teaching, advising, supervising, and providing feedback to candidates as they progress through their Teacher Education programs. In addition, there are 7 content faculty members. The Arts & Science (content) faculty members share the responsibility for advising and teaching.
In 1997-98, the Department had five full-time equivalent (FTE) faculty with the earned doctorate. Currently, there are 4.5 FTEs with the earned doctorate, demonstrating a stable trend. An Education Specialist was added in the past year. In addition, the Department has two unfilled, full-time positions in Elementary and Exceptional Needs Education (Table Overview.3). Searches are presently underway for these positions with emphasis on the terminal degree and diversity.

Department of Education Full-time and Part-time Faculty Qualifications 1998-2002

Year	Earned Doctorates		Earned Education Specialist		Earned Master’s		Total
	FTE	%	FTE	%	FTE	%	FTE
97-98	5	71.4%	0	0	2	28.6%	7
98-99	5	83.3%	0	0	1	16.7%	6
99-00	4	80.0%	0	0	1	20.0%	5
00-01	5	83.3%	0	0	1	16.7%	6
01-02	4.5	64.3%	1	14%	1.5	21.0%	7

Teacher Candidates
Total undergraduate enrollment in education programs has increased 32.7% over the past five years. Approximately one-half of the candidates are enrolled in the Elementary Education program. Visual Arts K-12 has maintained the second largest number of candidates (Table Overview.4). Graduate enrollment as indicated by attendance records has shown a decrease of 33% from 1998 to 2002 (Table Overview.5).

Dept/Major	97-98		98-99		99-00		00-01		01-02
	N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%
Art
Visual Art K-12	25	14.6%	28	14.4%	30	14.4%	27	12.7%	36	15.9%
Secondary	3	1.8%	1	0.5%	1	0.5%	8	3.8%	8	3.5%
Biology	5	2.9%	5	2.6%	9	43.%	5	2.3%	2	0.8%
General Science	0	0.0%	3	1.5%	1	0.5%	1	0.5%	1	0.4%
Business	5	2.9%	7	3.6%	8	3.8%	10	4.7%	10	4.4%
Chemistry	1	1.8%	1	0.5%	2	0.9%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%
Elementary Education	66	38.6%	87	44.6%	93	44.5%	97	45.5%	101	44.5%
Secondary Undecided	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	1	0.5%	8	3.8%	14	6.2%
Special Education	34	19.9%	29	14.9%	30	14.4%	23	10/8%	22	9.7%
English	7	4.1%	8	4.1%	7	3.3%	5	2.3%	6	2.6%
Health & Safety	6	3.5%	7	3.6%	9	4.3%	11	5.2%	9	4.0%
Social Studies	18	10.5%	19	9.7%	18	8.6%	18	8.5%	18	7.9%
Licensing	1	1.8%
Total	171		195		209		213		227
Yearly % Increase			14%		7%		2%		7%
Change from 1998-2002									32.7%

Dept/Major	97-98		98-99		99-00		00-01		01-02
	N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%
Reading	9	12.9%	10	14.9%	5	10.4%	5	9.8%	2	4.3%
Special Education	39	55.7%	36	53.7%	26	54.2%	32	62.7%	25	53.2%
School Counseling	22	31.4%	21	31.3%	17	35.4%	14	27.5%	20	42.5%