Education holds national stamp of approval

Mississippi State's teacher education programs again hold a national stamp of approval.

Following a recent review, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education has notified the College of Education that its basic- and advanced-level professional programs remain in compliance with established standards. The process began with a college self-study and concluded with a site visit by a team of council examiners.

Enrolling more than 2,300 students during the 1996-97 school year, education is the second largest academic unit.

"In addition to gaining reaccreditation, we take pride in the fact that our elementary education and counselor education programs enroll the largest number of Mississippi State majors at the bachelor's- and graduate-degree (master's and doctoral) levels, respectively," said Dean William H. Graves. (Undergraduate elementary education enrollment was nearly 600; counselor education at the master's and doctoral levels, a total of more than 200.)

The reaccreditation is valid for five years, the maximum period possible. The college, which first gained accreditation in the 1950s, received its previous extension in 1992.

"The essential function of accreditation is to provide professional judgment of the quality of the education unit and to encourage its continuous improvement," Graves said. "Through this ongoing process, NCATE provides assurances to the public that a college's education program is meeting national professional standards."

He praised associate dean Gloria C. Correro and the more than 90 faculty members in the six departments "for overseeing and directing these accreditation achievements." He noted that the college also holds separate accreditations from nearly a dozen other agencies.

Graves said the college recently began placing a stronger emphasis on partnerships with the state's public schools and teachers. As examples, he cited the new Center for Educational Partnerships, the Mississippi World Class Teacher Project and the college's association with the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History Natural Partners Program.

First organized in 1909, the School of Industrial Pedagogy became the School of Education in 1935 and a college in 1963. In 1972, the Meridian Campus was added.