Belhaven University’s School of Education has earned accreditation from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, raising the program’s esteem to prospective teachers. The CAEP Board of Directors approved the recognition at their semi-annual meeting in October. This marks the first time the university’s School of Education has earned national recognition from a specialized accreditation association.
“Being recognized by CAEP has been a big achievement for us,” School of Education Dean David Hand told the Mississippi Free Press on Nov. 29. “As many years as we’ve been in this state, we needed to have national accreditation.”
CAEP was fully implemented in 2016 replacing the previous teacher-education preparation program accreditation standards. It is a nonprofit and nongovernmental professional accreditor that reviews departments, schools and colleges that prepare educators. CAEP accreditation means that a program “has demonstrated that it meets standards set by organizations representing the academic community, professionals, and other stakeholders.”
Teacher candidates like 2021 graduate Amy Wyatt, shown here, receive instruction and training based on CAEP’s seven key standards including content and pedagogical knowledge, clinical partnerships, candidate recruitment, program impact and quality assurance. The program also places a strong emphasis on equity and diversity. Photo by David Sprayberry
“They’re very rigorous standards,” Hand said. “There are seven standards, five of which are the key standards that we are involved with in our program.”
In 2020, the Mississippi Department of Education partnered with CAEP to evaluate and approve the state’s educator-preparation programs. Programs must meet seven standards for accreditation including content and pedagogical knowledge, clinical partnerships, candidate recruitment, program impact and quality assurance. The program also places a strong emphasis on equity and diversity.
“The state Department of Education required all the teacher-preparation programs from all the universities here in this state to go to CAEP accreditation beginning probably five or six years ago,” Hand said. “So we all had to come on board and now are moving towards accreditation.”
The Belhaven School of Education offers a bachelor’s degree in teacher education, a Master of Arts in teaching, a master’s degree in education, an education specialist degree, and a Doctor