SUMMARY
Issue for
Decision
Pratt Institute has applied for
accreditation of certain of its teacher education programs. Should the Board of Regents accredit
these programs?
Reason for
Consideration
Required by State
regulation.
Proposed
Handling
The question will come before
the Committee on Higher Education and Professional Practice at its January 2006
meeting for action. It will then
come before the full Board at its January 2006 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 by December 31,
2006.
Background
Information
Pratt Institute, Brooklyn and
Manhattan, has applied for Regents accreditation of certain of its teacher
education programs. Pratt has the
following registered programs leading to certification in the classroom teaching
service which are the subject of this application:
B.F.A./M.S., Art and Design Education
Visual Arts
Initial/Professional
B.F.A., Art and Design Education
Visual Arts
Initial
M.S., Art and Design Education
Visual Arts
Initial/Professional
Adv. Cert., Art and Design Education
Visual Arts
Initial/Professional
M.S., Library Media Specialist
Library Media
Specialist
Initial/Professional
(The Institute
offers two other programs which are not part of this
application.)
Pratt Institute is an independent institution
of higher education with its main campus located in the Clinton Hill section of
Brooklyn. Its Manhattan Center was
relocated recently to 144 West 14th Street, Manhattan. Pratt consists of four schools: the
School of Art and Design, which offers two-year, four-year, and graduate
programs; the School of Architecture, which offers undergraduate and graduate
programs, including a five-year first-professional Bachelor of Architecture
(B.Arch.) degree program; the School of Information and Library Science, which
offers an M.S. program in Library and Information Science as well as dual degree
programs with Brooklyn Law School and a joint M.S./M.F.A. program with Art
History; and the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, which offers two
undergraduate programs in writing and cultural studies.
In the fall of 2003, across both campuses
Pratt enrolled 3,149 undergraduates and 1,405 graduate students. They came from 49 states and 63 foreign
countries. An additional 1,600
students are enrolled in the Center for Continuing and Professional Studies,
which is located in the main campus.
Pratt has the second highest percentage of minority students in
independent higher education in New York State. The faculty consists of 741 members, 636
part-time and 105 full-time.
A RATE site visit took place on March 28-31,
2004. The Higher Education
Subcommittee of the Professional Standards and Practices Board for Teaching
(PSPB) reviewed the application for RATE accreditation on March 23, 2005, and
voted to recommend denial of accreditation. On April 7, 2005, Deputy Commissioner
Duncan-Poitier advised Pratt of the negative recommendation. On April 18, 2005, Pratt notified the
Deputy Commissioner of its intention to appeal pursuant to Regents’ Rule
§4-2.6(a)(12)(ii). It submitted its
appeal on July 8, 2005.
Pursuant to §4-2.6(a)(12)(iii), the Deputy
Commissioner was entitled to file a written response to the appeal. After careful consideration of Pratt’s
appellate materials, the Deputy Commissioner determined not to file papers in
opposition to Pratt’s appeal, but instead elected to recommend that the Board of
Regents grant accreditation of Pratt’s teacher education programs, subject to
certain conditions.
The Compliance Review Report dated November
24, 2004, as summarized in the Deputy Commissioner’s revised recommendation
dated November 2, 2005, identified 27 areas for improvement pursuant to
§4-2.5. The Compliance Review
Report evaluated the standards as follows:
|
|
Met |
Met with Areas for
Improvement |
Not Met |
|
Standard |
(1) Commitment
and
Vision
(9) Candidate
Complaints |
(2) Philosophy,
purposes,
and
objectives
(4) Teaching
effectiveness
of
graduates
(5) Assessment
of
candidate
achievement
(7) Support
Services
(8)
Advertising |
(3) Standards
for
program
registration
(6)
Resources |
The appeal
response satisfactorily addresses 25 of the 27 areas for improvement identified
in the draft report, including most of Standards 3 and 6, which initially were
Not Met. Standards 3 and 6,
however, require additional documentation.
Upon consideration of Pratt’s appeal, the
Deputy Commissioner has concluded that Pratt has successfully addressed the most
critical areas of deficiency, and that its teacher education programs should be
conditionally accredited for a period of three years. I concur.
Recommendation: Consistent with the recommendation of
Deputy Commissioner Duncan-Poitier, I recommend that the Regents take the
following action:
VOTED, that the
Board of Regents accredit the teacher education programs offered by Pratt
Institute, Brooklyn and Manhattan, listed above, effective January 10, 2006, for
a period beginning immediately and ending on January 9, 2009, with the following
conditions: (1) that Pratt submit
annual progress reports to the State Education Department with respect to the 27
areas for improvement cited in the Compliance Review Report and summarized in
the Deputy Commissioner’s revised recommendation dated November 2, 2005; and (2)
that Pratt undergo a focused site visit to be conducted three years from this
action, and that such site visit shall indicate compliance with Regents’ Rules,
including specific confirmation that (a) the faculty collective bargaining
contract complies with Commissioner’s Regulations regarding faculty work load;
(b) three new full-time faculty members have been added to the Education
Department; and (c) all deficiencies cited in the Compliance Review Report have
been corrected, all as recommended in the Deputy Commissioner’s November 2,
2005, revised recommendation.
Accreditation beyond January 9, 2009, shall be contingent on a finding
that Pratt’s programs are in all respects in compliance with Regents’ Rules,
Subpart 4-2.
