Home » Union College’s education program granted national accreditation

Union College’s education program granted national accreditation

Grads will be able to become certified to teach anywhere in U.S.

BARBOURVILLE, Ky. (Nov. 6, 2015) — Union College received notification this week that its education program has been granted national accreditation from the Council of Accreditation of Educator Preparation, a major step in advancing education throughout its service area. The national standard is something that only half of the post-secondary institutions in the state have achieved.

“The approval of the national Council of Accreditation of Educator Preparation is the latest of several testaments to the incredible efforts of Union College faculty, staff, students and its P-12 partners across the state to prepare highly qualified and sought after teacher leaders in the education field,” said Jason Reeves, Dean of the Union College Educational Studies Unit.

Union’s education program underwent a review process early this spring setting the stage for national accreditation. With this new accreditation, education graduates from Union will be able to seek certification to teach anywhere in the nation. Reeves said that standard is a great recruitment tool for Union, offers great potential for Union graduates entering the job market and displays the level of excellence at which Union prepares teachers.

“Knowing that our model for educator preparation has reached a stage of national acceptance fuels the fire we have to move beyond just sustainability and steadiness,” Reeves added. “We want to forge new trails in education using machines of imagination, collaboration and cooperation.”

This is the first time Union College has sought national accreditation for its program. Reeves said the move is not a requirement, but something Union sought to do in order to develop a higher overall standard for the program.

“We elected to hold ourselves to these national standards and are fortunate to have the policy and processes in place to meet those standards,” Reeves said.

Union’s Educational Studies Unit is accredited at the state level through the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board. Further, the Kentucky Center for Education has recognized Union’s educational program as being the fourth top-ranked program in the state for preparing its teachers for the workforce. Retention of those Union educated teachers among Kentucky schools was also among the highest of the 28 post-secondary institutions in the state. Reeves said all of the accolades combine to define Union’s ability in educating and preparing teachers like no other.

The Council of Accreditation of Educator Preparation will work with Reeves and his staff over the next few weeks to issue and implement an action report, according to the national standards. Reeves says national accreditation of the program will have an immediate effect on Union students pursuing a degree in education.

The Educational Studies Unit at Union offers initial teaching licensure programs in the concentrations of elementary, middle, secondary education, health and physical education. The program also offers advanced graduate programs, including online components, in several program emphasis areas for its Teacher Leader Master’s Degree and Rank I program.