CSUMB receives national accreditation for school of education

California State University, Monterey Bay's School of Education has earned national accreditation.

The university played host to a team of evaluators from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) in December 2008. The evaluators spent three days on campus, reviewing the Multiple Subject, Single Subject, Special Education, and Master's of Arts in Education programs, and meeting with students, faculty members, administrators and local school administrators who work as partners with CSU Monterey Bay in preparing future teachers.

The visit was the culmination of two years of preparatory work by CSU Monterey Bay faculty and staff who prepare future teachers for the classroom. Evaluators awarded national accreditation effective immediately.

"NCATE accreditation recognizes the professionalism, competence and quality work put forth by our faculty and staff, as well as the quality of our student candidates' experiences in the field with our partner schools and teachers," said Brian Simmons, dean of the College of Professional Studies.

"It shows that our faculty are well-qualified and experienced in their fields, that our educational partners provide outstanding support for our student candidates, and that our teacher preparation programs are doing a great job preparing future teachers based upon national and state standards."

To meet NCATE standards, universities must offer intellectually rigorous standards-based programs relevant to the needs of today's classrooms. To the public, accreditation means that the school underwent rigorous external review by an external group of professionals, meeting the national and state standards set by the teaching field at large, including classroom teachers.

"National accreditation causes one to continually assess one's programs and constantly seek improvement," Dr. Simmons said of the process. The university will continue to submit annual reports to NCATE and will go through the formal visitation process again when the accreditation expires. For information on the California State University Monterey Bay School of Education, please see https://csumb.edu/teach/.