EIU Media Relations

EIU’s College of Education receives CAEP reaccreditation; University’s Feb. 20 event will link regional school districts with future teachers

[Kaitlyn Will contributed to this article]

(Charleston, IL) – Eastern Illinois University’s College of Education has received accreditation from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation.

CAEP is a professional accrediting agency tasked with assuring the quality of departments, schools, and colleges by sufficiently and satisfactorily preparing the nation’s future educators. By earning the CAEP reaccreditation, EIU has met and surpassed CAEP’s five accreditation standards, including Content and Pedagogical Knowledge; Clinical Partnerships and Practice; Candidate Quality, Recruitment, and Selectivity; Program Impact; and Provider Quality, Continuous Enhancement, and Capacity.

“This is a fantastic accomplishment for the university and for the College of Education,” said Dr. Jay Gatrell, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs. “As a regional university, EIU plays a critical role in supplying communities here and across east central Illinois with qualified, engaged teachers, and our graduates are continually being recruited by school districts across the nation.”

According to the CAEP website, the organization stands on a strong foundation and rich history of accreditation in teacher and educator preparation. CAEP seeks to increase the value of accreditation and to increase participation, building on the decades of institutional knowledge of education’s previous accreditors.

Educator accreditation is a seal of approval that assures quality in educator preparation by certifying that students and graduates satisfactorily know their subjects, their students, and have the hands-on clinical training that allows them to enter the classroom ready to teach and interact effectively. In addition, accreditation provides a program framework that cultivates continuous enhancement through cyclical patterns of self-assessment and efficacy outcomes.

Small and Rural Schools Networking Night February 20

EIU’s College of Education also has invited all its current teacher education majors to a “Small and Rural Schools Networking Night,” from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, February 20 in Buzzard Hall 1501 and the Buzzard Atriums.

The networking night will feature a short presentation by a panel of teachers who will share their stories and answer questions about teaching in rural schools. Afterward, there will be an opportunity to meet and network with principals and superintendents from small and rural schools across the region. Approximately 20 regional school districts will be present for this event. A full listing is available at https://www.eiu.edu/rsi/.

According to Doug Bower, interim dean of EIU’s College of Education, regional school district representatives are always excited about the opportunity to meet and develop relationships with students from EIU. By doing so, current students can connect with volunteer, practica, student teaching, and employment opportunities. The university also hosts a broader annual recruitment event for EIU’s much-sought-after teacher education majors, drawing representatives from school districts across the entire nation.

For more information about the CAEP, visit http://caepnet.org/. For more information about the EIU College of Education, visit https://www.eiu.edu/coe/. For more information about EIU, or to learn more about its growing assortment of programs and services, visit the university’s website at www.eiu.edu, or call EIU’s public information office at (217) 581-7400.