OCTP Announces Continued Accreditation for Teacher Education

August 5, 2011

OBU's Division of Teacher Education recently received notification of continued accreditation from the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation. The announcement comes shortly after OBU's Division of Teacher Education achieved continued accreditation under the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the organization responsible for professional accreditation of teacher education.

The Oklahoma state accreditation team visited OBU simultaneously with the NCATE team, a common practice since Oklahoma has a partnership with NCATE.

Stephanie Baker (left) and Dr. Jeanne Akin (right), OBU professor of teacher education, help students from Grove School, Shawnee, study macroinvertebrates from a pond in OBU's outdoor classroom. Baker earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education from OBU in 2011.

"Continuing accreditation says we continue to meet state standards and have undergone a rigorous review by outside professionals," said Dr. John Farris, Harris Chair of the Division of Teacher Education. "The goal of all our teacher preparation programs is to prepare effective teachers to facilitate learning in all students. Accreditation documents our faculty are maintaining currency in their respective fields (such as elementary, music and science) for the dual purpose of imparting knowledge to our teacher candidates and providing structure for our candidates to problem solve and create as they participate in various field experiences, including student teaching."

OBU's Division of Teacher Education has been accredited since Jan. 1, 1968. It offers recognized programs in early childhood education; elementary education; secondary English education; secondary mathematics education; secondary science education; Spanish education; special education; and health, physical education and recreation education.

In May 1995, the Oklahoma government established the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation to develop and implement a new competency-based teacher preparation, candidate assessment and professional development system. OCTP worked alongside NCATE, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and representatives from teacher education programs to develop the system for the approval and accreditation of teacher education institutions and programs. The system emphasizes performance-based criteria and assessments, focusing on what candidates can do in the classroom.

Learn more about OBU's Division of Teacher Education.

For information about the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation, click here.