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University of Wyoming

Celebrating 50 Years of Continuous Accreditation

   When the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) opened its doors on July 1, 1954, the University of Wyoming College of Education was among the organization’s 283 original accredited institutions.

Fifty years later, UW’s program is among 575 accredited by the premier accrediting agency for education professionals in the United States. “We are proud of our long history of NCATE accreditation,” College of Education Dean Pat McClurg says. “NCATE's rigorous review process provides an objective outside assessment that validates the high quality of our degree programs, strengthens the reputation of our college and increases the marketability of our graduates.” 

NCATE-accredited colleges of education produce more than two-thirds of the nation’s new teachers every year. Thirty-nine states have adopted or adapted NCATE standards for their own state accreditation systems. The Wyoming Professional Teaching Standards Board has a state partnership agreement with NCATE that supports collaborative national and state accreditation efforts for all UW programs that prepare teachers and other school personnel.

NCATE is dedicated to improving P-12 student learning by improving the quality of educator preparation. Accredited programs, like the Wyoming Teacher Education Program at UW, must provide evidence that teacher candidates know the subject matter they plan to teach and how to teach effectively so that all students learn. “We have a critical responsibility to prepare teachers who know their subject area(s) and who are skilled in effective instructional strategies,” according to Kay Persichitte, Director of Teacher Education. “This is reflected in our theme: Preparing Competent and Democratic Professionals.”

The NCATE accreditation system is based upon periodic external review visits to examine the quality of the education programs and graduates. The last NCATE accreditation visit to UW was in 2000. Full accreditation was granted and preparations are underway for the next visit in 2007.