The department of education of Mount Union College achieved accreditation in November of 2005 under the performance-oriented standards of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the organization responsible for professional accreditation of teacher education.
As a result, Mount Union is the only private college in Stark County with NCATE accreditation and is one of 23 NCATE accredited institutions in Ohio, where there are a total of 83 colleges and universities.
NCATE currently accredits 614 institutions nationally which produce two-thirds of the nation’s new teacher graduates each year. NCATE-accredited schools must meet rigorous standards set by the profession and members of the public.
According to NCATE officials, studies show that teacher quality is the most important factor in P-12 student achievement and professional accreditation is one way to ensure the public that schools of education are graduating well-qualified teachers ready for today’s classrooms.
According to Dr. Linda Burkey, chair of Mount Union’s department of education, the process for NCATE accreditation has been challenging and rewarding. “A lot of work has gone into the preparation for this accreditation,” Burkey said. “Throughout the process the entire campus community has been involved. Getting the accreditation is an endorsement of what we at Mount Union College already know – that our graduates are well prepared for the challenges of the classroom and beyond in passing on appropriate knowledge and modeling behavior to their students.”