Message from the Dean

Good News: Accreditation Efforts Result in a Successful Outcome

Message from Dean James Meza, Jr.

To all candidates, students, faculty, staff, graduates, and friends of the College of Education and Human Development:

It is with great pleasure that I announce that the recommendation of the NCATE Accreditation team states that the College of Education and Human Development has met all six of the NCATE standards* as well as the state standards. Only one area (Unit Assessment) was mentioned as needing some improvement.

The team was extraordinarily complimentary of our faculty, students, and programs. In numerous instances, the examiners commented upon the high quality of all of the college's stakeholders. They were very impressed with the candidates they met during the visit, especially those who did such a fine job during the Sunday evening gala.

This is certainly a time for celebration! This review called for vision, planning, and tireless work for so many of our faculty and staff. I want to express my deepest appreciation to Associate Dean Bill Sharpton, whose leadership and commitment to this process brought all of us success. Assisting Bill in his effort was the dedication and high quality work of Kyle Scafide, Mary Cronin, Kate Reynolds, Jan Janz, and Martha Blanchard. I also would like to thank the faculty, as all faculty members participated on a standard team. Finally, I appreciate the excellent work of all our staff, especially Donna Welch and Joycelyn Hyman, who provided day-to-day support to the visiting team and to the Sunday Night Gala. As always, we are grateful for the continued support of Chancellor Ryan in this challenging post-Katrina era.

Some of you may be wondering, “What does this mean?” The recent visit results in a “recommendation” that the college unit be acknowledged as having met the accrediting organization's requirements. The next step in the process is for this report to be presented to the NCATE Unit Accreditation Board (UAB) in March, at which time the report is deliberated. Upon the confirmation of the UAB, the next step is for the State NCATE Board and, ultimately, BESE to make an official decision in the summer of 2008. We are confident that, at that time, we will be acknowledged as having successfully fulfilled our accreditation requirements.

We are also grateful for the suggestions of the visiting team. According to the recommendation, there is one area in need of improvement: Unit Assessment (Standard 2). The report indicates a need to improve our procedures for data collection and analysis, especially as the new graduate programs are implemented. Faculty and staff will begin addressing this challenge in the coming weeks.

Once again, I would like to thank the many people who have been so helpful during the past year. It was the united effort of so many people that helped ensure our success.

Sincerely,

James Meza, Jr.
Dean

*Six NCATE Standards: 1) Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions; 2) Unit Assessment; 3) Field Experiences; 4) Diversity; 5) Faculty, and; 6) Governance and Resources.

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