MANHATTAN COLLEGE’S SCHOOL OF EDUCATION TEACHER PROGRAM GAINS PRESTIGIOUS ACCREDITATION

RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Manhattan College’s School of Education has been awarded accreditation for its teacher preparation program by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC). With this recognition, all three of the College’s professional schools – business, education and engineering – are nationally accredited. TEAC accreditation further validates the quality of Manhattan’s teacher education program, its comprehensive curriculum and the committed faculty. The national nonprofit accrediting agency notified Manhattan of its initial approval in early October.

“The accreditation notification was the culmination of much hard work, and enabled the College to meet a New York State Education Department regulation that teacher education programs be accredited,” says Dr. William Merriman, dean of the school of education. “This also assures the public that the College prepares competent, caring and qualified professional educators.”

To achieve accreditation, faculty members from the school of education spent the last three years working on student assessment, data collection and interpretation, and the writing of a self-study. TEAC’s academic audit verifies the accuracy of the evidence that student learning meets high expectations and that the program is following processes that produce quality. The quality of the evidence and the quality of the system that produced it are key factors in achieving TEAC’s approval. Throughout all stages of the accreditation process, TEAC and education faculty at the College maintained constant communication.

The teacher preparation program at the College provides undergraduate and graduate levels and teacher certification in one of six areas: childhood education, dual childhood/special education, adolescent education, physical education, five-year childhood/special education and graduate special education. Manhattan’s school of education is consists of 18 full-time faculty members and currently enrolls 531 students.

Recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and by the U.S. Department of Education, the TEAC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving academic degree programs for professional educators – those who will teach and lead in schools, pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Its primary work is accrediting undergraduate and graduate professional education programs in order to assure the public about the quality of college and university programs.

About Manhattan College

Manhattan College, founded in 1853, is an independent, Catholic, coeducational institution of higher learning offering more than 40 major programs of study in the areas of arts, business, education, engineering and science, along with graduate programs in education and engineering.