Meeting of the Board of Regents | June 2008

SUMMARY

Issue for Decision

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

Reason(s) for Consideration

              Required by State regulation.

Proposed Handling

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

Procedural History

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

Background Information

Cazenovia College applied for Regents Accreditation of Teacher Education (RATE) accreditation of its programs leading to teacher certification. At its meeting on May 18, 2004, the Board of Regents voted to grant accreditation of Cazenovia College’s teacher education programs, for seven yearswith the condition that a focused site visit be conducted before May 1, 2007 to evaluate the growth of the programs and the College’s ability to meet increasing resource needs. The focused site visit took place on March 6-7, 2007.

Standards board’s review: Following a review and discussion of the focused site visit review report on the teacher education programs offered by Cazenovia College, at its June 7, 2007 meeting, the Higher Education Subcommittee of the New York State Professional Standards and Practices Board for Teaching (PSPB) voted to table its recommendation until December 2007. The main reason to table the recommendation was to allow the College time to comply with regulations requiring qualified faculty member(s) with appropriate credentials to offer courses, supervise student teachers, and discharge other assigned academic responsibilities.    

On December 6, 2007, the PSPB Subcommittee met to continue the review of the College’s application. The Subcommittee’s recommendation was to discontinue accreditation of the teacher education programs offered at the College. The Subcommittee acknowledged the hiring efforts made by the College; however, the programs were found to be out of compliance with the regulatory requirements on faculty credentials, faculty workload, and sufficiency of faculty.   

Senior Deputy Commissioner’s review: Regents Rules allow the College to submit additional information before the Senior Deputy Commissioner makes a recommendation to the Commissioner. In the College’s April 11, 2008 response to the Department’s request for information, the President verified that the College has hired two new faculty members to meet the regulatory requirements. Upon review of the curriculum vitas of the newly hired faculty members, staff concluded that both of them hold appropriate credentials aligned with program needs. The addition of the new faculty ensures that the programs meet the regulatory requirements on faculty. Therefore, the Senior Deputy Commissioner recommended continuation of accreditation for Cazenovia College until May 17, 2011, per the Regents action of May 18, 2004.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Board of Regents continue accreditation of the teacher education programs (Early Childhood Teacher Education leading to Early Childhood B-2 certification and Inclusive Elementary Education leading to Childhood Education 1-6 and Special Education 1-6 dual certification) offered by Cazenovia College for a period beginning immediately and ending on May 17, 2011.