NCATE/DOE/BOR  Visitation

TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM REVIEW
FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY

June 2000
BOR 00-1

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State University System of Florida

Teacher Education
Program Review

Florida Atlantic University
April 1-5, 2000

Report and Recommendations
by
Carl A. Backman, Ph.D.
Special Assistant to the Vice Chancellor
for Academic and Student Affairs

Authorized and Coordinated
by
The Board of Regents
Office of Academic and Student Affairs
State University System of Florida
Tallahassee, Florida

June 2000

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Table of Contents

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Teacher Education Program Review at Florida Atlantic University 

Introduction 

On April I - 5, 2000, Florida Atlantic University (FAU) was visited by a team of reviewers representing the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the Florida Department of Education (DOE), and the Florida Board of Regents (BOR). The team reviewed the status of FAU's Professional Education Unit with respect to the NCATE standards and individual teacher education and other education personnel preparation programs with respect to State program approval standards and criteria. Additionally, the team assessed the Unit's performance with respect to State University System (SUS) issues, including access to programs, degree productivity, activities of eminent scholars, and education-related institutes and centers. Also reviewed was the Unit's progress in meeting objectives outlined in the 1998-2003 State University System Strategic Plan regarding the goal to enhance public education in Florida. 

Because this visit was a "continuing accreditation visit," the NCATE Board of Examiners team members compiled a report focusing on whether the Unit and its initial and advanced programs were "current and dynamic" and whether they were "maintaining a level of quality worthy of professional accreditation." The Unit was expected to comply with NCATE standards, engage in continuous self-evaluation and improvement, and address any weaknesses cited as a result of the previous NCATE review.' The DOE members of the team compiled a report for the Florida Program Approval Board focusing on "continued program approval" for the Unit's 31 specific initial educator preparation programs, including endorsement programs. 

This report is intended to complement and supplement these other two documents by focusing on issues more specific to institutions in the State University System (SUS) of National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. 1996. Handbook for Continuing,4ccreditation Visits. Washington, DC. 

Florida. Both the NCATE and the DOE processes have a more structured evaluation system than the BOR process. In the DOE continued approval process, team members must indicate whether they believe individual standards have been "met," "met with weaknesses," or "not met." In the continuing accreditation review, NCATE team members must identify potential weaknesses within categories of standards. In making recommendations to be included in the report for the BOR, team members have more degrees of freedom with respect to the nature of the observations reported. 

For instance, a review team might decide that an institution is making sufficient progress for the weakness associated with an accreditation standard to be removed. However, the reality of the situation might be that, while progress is being made, there is considerable work yet to be done. The BOR report can provide more commentary on the situation than might be found in the accreditation report. With regard to standards deemed to be met, the team might wish to express that the standard is met with strength, an option not available in the continuing approval process. Again, the BOR report can provide additional commentary noting the strengths. Additionally, there might be some component of the Unit's activities not addressed in either the NCATE or DOE standards deserving of special attention. The BOR report provides a venue for the joint team to share these observations. In the spirit of encouraging continuous improvement in educator preparation programs in the SUS and in recognition of the truly commendable activities at FAU, while at the same time supporting the findings of the NCATE and State team reports, the additional observations noted below have been included in this report for the Board of Regents. 

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Overview of the Unit and Its Programs

The Professional Education Unit at Florida Atlantic University encompasses programs offered through the College of Education and in conjunction with the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. Education- related programs are offered principally at four of the University's campuses: the Boca Raton campus (main campus) in Palm Beach County; the Davie Campus, located 30 miles south of the Boca Raton campus in Broward County; the MacArthur Cam us, located about 40 miles north of Boca Raton in Jupiter in Palm Beach County; and the Treasure Coast campus located about 90 miles north in St. Lucie County. All of these campuses are located in rapidly growing urban areas. Broward County is the sixth largest school district in the United States; Palm Beach County is the fourteenth largest. The College describes its mission as "preparing professionals who will assume significant roles in their respective fields. College of Education programs are designed to reflect current and innovative research based ideas, methodologies and technologically enhanced delivery systems in collaboration with local, state, national and international agencies and organizations." 

The College of Education includes the Departments of Counselor Education, Educational Leadership, Exceptional Student Education, Health Sciences, Educational Technology and Research, and Teacher Education. Affiliated units include the A. D. Henderson University School (K-8), one of Florida's four developmental research schools; the Karen Slattery Educational Research Center for CUd Development; the Region V Area Center for Educational Enhancement; the South Florida Center for Educational Leaders; the Ernest 0. Melby Center for Community Education; the Adult and Community Education Network Clearinghouse (ACENET); the Institute for the Development and Enhancement of Adult Learning (IDEAL); and the Holocaust Outreach Center, a joint effort of the College and the Raddock Eminent Scholar Chair of Holocaust Studies. 

Education Personnel Preparation Program

Undergraduate degree programs are offered in exceptional student education (K- 1 2), varying exceptionalities (K-12), and elementary education (1-6) with ESOL endorsement. In conjunction with the Colleges of Arts & Letters and Science, secondary school teacher certification programs are offered in art (K- 1 2), biology (6-12), chemistry (6-12), English (6-12), French (K- 1 2), German (K- 1 2), mathematics (6-12), music (K- 1 2), physics (6-12), social science (6-12), and Spanish (K-12). In the case of the secondary school teacher preparation programs, students complete a content degree in the College of Arts & Letters or the College of Science and complete a series of professional education and methods-oriented a- courses through the College of Education.

Graduate degree programs include the Master of Education (M. Ed.), the Education Specialist (Ed. S.), and the Doctor of Education (Ed. D.). Certification-related M. Ed. programs are available leading to the master's degree in elementary education; the master's degree plus certification in elementary education (I -6); the master's degree in curriculum and instruction; the master's degree in curriculum and instruction, plus certification in pre- kindergarten/primary education; the master's degree in curriculum and instruction, plus certification in secondary education fields; the master's degree in reading; the master's degree in educational leadership (adult education and K-12 school management); the master's degree in exceptional student education (leaning disabilities, mentally handicapped, emotionally disturbed, and varying exceptionalities); and the master's degree in school counseling. A pre-kindergarten handicapped endorsement is also offered at the graduate level. 

Education specialist programs are offered in curriculum and instruction and in educational leadership. Doctoral programs include curriculum and instruction, educational leadership, and exceptional student education. Non-certification related programs offered through the College include the M. Ed. in Social Foundations (reinstated Fall, 1996) with the following areas of concentration: instructional technology, educational research, multicultural education, and educational psychology. Offered through the Department of Health Sciences are the bachelor's degree in exercise science and wellness, the bachelor's degree in medical technology, and a master's (M.S.) degree in exercise science and wellness education. Offered at the graduate level are the master's (M.S.) degrees in communications disorders and in speech pathology and audiology (approved in January, 1999).

New degree programs being contemplated include a bachelor's degree in pre- kindergarten/primary education (age 3-grade 3), a master's degree in learning and educational technology, a master's degree in research/statistics/measurement, and a doctoral degree in counselor education. 

Professional programs offered through the College are undergirded by a conceptual framework, the principal theme of which is "professional preparation for a diverse society."

Diversity is described in terms of linguistic, cultural, learning, and behavioral factors. The principal elements of the academic preparation programs leading to professional practices include foundational requirements (basic tenets and principles on which a field of study is based); professional knowledge (the technical knowledge, specialized skills, and ethical - standards used to function in the professional workplace); and experiential learning (practical experience in a real-world setting). Academic preparation is guided by national- and State- level factors including national reports, effective schools research, effective instruction research, guidelines of professional organizations and societies, State program approval and certification requirements, and teacher performance evaluation standards and criteria. 

Eminent Scholar Activities 

The Eminent Scholar in Community Education is the nation's first endowed Chair in Community Education. Dr. Larry Decker, the current holder of the Chair, is involved in numerous service activities at the international, national, state, and local levels including the Imitational Community Education Association and the National Community Education Association. Dr. Decker is the managing editor of the National Community Education Publication Series and is the author of numerous articles. 

Involvement with Public Schools 

Education-related faculty and students are intimately involved with the public schools of the southeast Florida region. School district personnel are included on the College's external Advisory Council. The University, College, and the local school districts work collaboratively on a number of other councils and committees (e.g., the Palm Beach County- based Genesis Tri-institutional Coordinating Council, the Broward County-based Teacher Education Alliance Council, the Broward Education Consortium). Collaborative activities include projects designed to foster school reform efforts (e.g., Consortium of Schools Network); to increase student achievement (e.g., Action Research Network, Opportunity Alliance partnerships); to provide professional development for teachers (e.g., Genesis Academy of Teaching Excellence - GATE); to develop educational leaders (e.g., South Florida Center for Educational Leaders); and to involve parents more Uly in the education of their children (e.g., Primary Level Seamless Emergent Technology Project). 

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The Professional Education Unit's Progress Since the Previous Review 

The review team noted several areas in which significant changes had occurred in or have affected the Professional Education Unit. Several of these changes are more fully addressed in the NCATE and DOE reports. 

• Significant increases in overall enrollment. 

• Increased diversity of student body. 

• Increased number of faculty. 

• Increased diversity among faculty. 

• Increased number of campus sites at which programs are offered.

• Expanded number of professional development schools.

• Revised graduate programs in Educational Leadership and Counselor Education. 

• Revised undergraduate programs to include components on teaching students with limited English proficiency. 

• Established Secondary Teacher Education Coordinating Committee to foster better communication with faculty in other colleges. 

• Reorganized University and College administration. 

• Revised conceptual framework for educator preparation programs. 

Recommendations and Concerns from the 1995 Program Review 

Five principal recommendations were identified in the 1995 BOR Program Review. The current status with respect to these recommendations is noted below: 1. Reduce the number of part-time faculty and reduce class sizes. Little progress has been made in reducing the overall number of adjuncts being used. With the continuing pressures of increased enrollment and staffing multiple campus sites, reported adjunct utilization has actually increased from 42% in 1994-95 to 44% in 1998-99. The Department most heavily impacted is Teacher Education.

2. a Expand the unit's governing body to include representatives from all FAU program and subject matter areas preparing or contributing significantly to the preparation of teachers and other school professionals. The College has a Faculty Assembly that includes representation only from units within the College of Education itself. Subsequent to the 1995 Program Review, the College created the Secondary Teacher Education Coordinating Committee (STECC), a vehicle for communication with representatives from the Colleges of Arts & Letters and Science associated with secondary school teacher preparation. This latter group appears to have minimal involvement with actual governance. The underlying concern remains that the educator preparation unit is not perceived as including representatives from all FAU programs and subject matter areas contributing to the preparation of education professionals, and, thus, there is no single governance body that is broadly inclusive. 

2. b. The College should consider appropriate means by which it can regain more direct responsibility for and control of secondary education. To a certain extent, the College has asserted more influence with the secondary school teacher preparation programs with the formation of STECC and the very capable staffing of the Office of Secondary Education, by providing both formal and informal contact for students and faculty between and among the Colleges of Education, Arts & Letters, and Science. Opportunities for more direct involvement of the College of Education in graduate programs leading to certification have also resulted from the development of secondary school certification options in the master's program in curriculum and instruction. However, the bachelor's degree programs in secondary school areas with education-related CIP codes are essentially non-functional. The College, in its BOR Addendum Report, specifically states that "[t]he College of Education has not offered undergraduate degree majors in secondary content areas since the mid to late 1980s." Students enrolled in and completing these programs are earning degrees in the Colleges of Arts & Letters and Science. Perhaps the issues of responsibility and control could be more fruitfully addressed if the notion of unit and unit governance were more broadly conceived. 

3. Focused quality-driven and thoughfully responsible planning should reflect local, regional, and State needs. The College's annual reports and the BOR Addendum Report reflect the planning that has taken place over the past several years in response to standards of accountability (e.g., NCATE accreditation), and local, regional, and State needs. With the rapid expansion of FAU as a multi-campus institution, with the increasing need for additional, well-qualified teachers in the region, and with limitations on financial resources, the University and the College must prioritize the developmental aspirations of the College, particularly with respect to undergraduate education. Given the very high percentage of instructional personnel who are adjuncts in undergraduate programs and the very low percentage in graduate programs, one could easily make the argument that the quantity, if not also the quality, of faculty resources for undergraduate teacher preparation is diminished in favor of graduate education. Planning for new graduate programs must also involve provision for enhancing faculty resources for undergraduate teacher preparation programs. 

4. Establish the internal equivalent of the external Advisory Council whose responsibilities include providing input into budgetary and program planning deliberations. The principal vehicle for involving College faculty in the governance of the College is the Faculty Assembly. The Assembly was established to promote communication among administrators and faculty and to be a forum for faculty to express concerns and make recommendations to the Dean. The Assembly meets twice each semester, at which time the Dean provides a report to the faculty on "items of interest" including legislative initiatives, budgetary issues, curricular concerns, and so on. 

Other concerns noted in the 1995 Program Review included: 

1. Credit-to-degree requirements in excess of 120 semester hours for secondary school teacher preparation programs. Several of the bachelor's degree programs designed to prepare secondary school teachers require in excess of 120 semester hours credit in order to complete the DOE State-approved program: English education (128), French education (I 34), German education (I 34), Spanish education (I 34), social science education (I 28), biology education (143), chemistry education (123), and mathematics education (130). Students completing these programs earn a degree in the subject field, having satisfied all requirements for the content area major, and complete a series of professional education requirements. No records were found indicating that BOR approval had been sought for these extended programs. 

Although art education programs in the SUS have been approved for 126 semester hours by the BOR, the FAU program in art education takes 135 hours. Additionally, music education has been approved for 134 hours by the BOR, but FAU offers a program requiring 136 hours. The FAU elementary education with ESOL (123 semester hours) has received BOR approval. 

2. Passing rates on subject area component of the Florida Teacher Certification Examination in selected disciplines. With the exception of candidates for State-approved programs in exceptional student education, students are now required to document successful completion of the Florida Teacher Certification Examination before they complete their programs. 

3. Minority representation. The College has increased both the number and percentage of minority students and minority faculty. Minority representation among students enrolled in the College of Education increased from 16% in 1995 to 22% in 1998. Minority representation among the faculty in 1999 is approximately 18%.

males in teacher education ("Recruiting for Gender Equity and Diversity in Teacher Education"). At the graduate level, programs have recruited underrepresented students more actively through the use of the SUS provision for admitting up to IO% of applicants who do not meet minimum admission requirements but for whom other documentation exists for likelihood of success. Departments have actively recruited minority faculty to assist in better meeting program needs. During the past 5 years, 13 minority faculty have been hired. Two of the six department chairs in the College of Education are from underrepresented groups. 

4. Low productivity in critical teaching shortage areas. Among the programs offered by FAU, Florida's critical teacher shortage areas include mathematics, physical sciences, and exceptional student education. The relatively low number of completers of State-approved bachelor's degree programs in mathematics and the physical sciences continues to be a concern. Program administrators report that, once students have completed their content majors and have taken some of the professional education series of courses, it is very difficult to keep the students until they complete all of the approved program. Either they are enticed by the larger salaries offered through business and industry or they are hired with temporary teaching certificates by school districts.

The Department of Teacher Education offers programs leading to certification in secondary subject areas through the master's degree in curriculum and instruction plus certification to better accommodate mid-career entrants into the teaching profession. The Director of Secondary Education holds orientation seminars on a regular basis to interest and familiarize students with the undergraduate certification program in secondary content fields and the master's degree in curriculum and instruction plus certification. 

With respect to special education, the Department of Exceptional Student Education has been engaged in several initiatives. The US DOE grant-funded project, "Personnel Training Partnership for Teachers of Students with Disabilities," targeted at FAU's northern service area, produced 67 students eligible for certification and led to the hiring of three full-time faculty in exceptional student education for the University's northern campuses. Additionally, the College facilitates the Southeastern Regional Council for a Comprehensive System of Personnel Development. Through a grant provide by the Florida DOE, tuition support is provided to students who take courses leading to certification in special education. The Department is also involved in a collaborative project involving all special education departments in the SUS that is intending to create a virtual varying exceptionalities master's degree program.. 

5. Little College of Education involvement in MAT and MAS programs offered outside the College. According to FAU's 1999-2001 Graduate Catalog, the University offers the Master of Arts in Teaching and the Master of Science in Teaching in the following disciplines: anthropology, art, biological sciences, chemistry, economics, English, French, German, linguistics, mathematics, physics, political science, sociology, and Spanish. These degrees are offered to produce subject field teachers at the secondary school and community college levels. None of these programs have State program approval. For those planning to teach in Florida secondary schools, the admission requirements include holding a regular Florida teaching certificate. Degree requirements include 36 semester hours, comprising at least 18 semester hours in the major subject, a minimum of 6 semester hours in education, a minimum of 6 semester hours involving the study and report of a significant educational problem in the major discipline, and 6 semester hours of internship. The internship, which may be waived under certain conditions, is assigned by the major department but coordinated through the College of Education. 

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Commendations 

The review tearn noted the following strengths in the Professional Education Unit, as well as in the institution as a whole: 

1. Relationships of the College of Education with the public schools and community: 

• College Advisory Council members are fully engaged.

• There are numerous instances of both short- and long-term interaction with the public schools with significant evidence of joint planning, implementation, and evaluation of such activities. 

2. Relationship of the University with the public schools extends beyond the College: 

• Genesis Tri-Institutional Coordinating Council (Palm Beach County). 

• University Liaison with the Broward County Public School District. 

• Broward Education Consortium. 

3. Involvement in regional in-service activities. 

4. Willingness to experiment with alternative approaches to educator preparation: 

• Professional Development Schools/G.A.T.E. Project. 

• Genesis Project (Palm Beach County). 

• Teacher Education Alliance (Broward County). 

5. Consistency of program curriculum across the campuses (Boca, Northern, Davie). 

6. Presence of the Dean of the College on each of the campuses on a regular basis. 

7. Rotation of faculty meetings among the three principal locations for education programs. 

8. Inclusion in educator preparation programs of significant component on approaches to working with limited English proficient students.

9. Inclusion in educator preparation programs of significant, identifiable educational technology component, and actual use of technology by faculty and by students. 

10.  Inclusion of internship component in both basic and advanced programs reflecting experiential dimension of the College's conceptual framework.

11.Significant curricular revisions in graduate programs: 

• Progression of knowledge and skill acquisition in master's, specialist, and doctoral programs in curriculum & instruction

• Revamping counseling master's to prepare for CACREP accreditation. 

12.  Increased diversification of student body and faculty composition

• Minority recruitment plan. 

• Grow your own (faculty) program. 

13. Activities of institutes/centers

• Ernest 0. Melby Center for Community Education.

• Institute for Development and Enhancement of Adult Leaming (IDEAL). 

• Adult and Community Education Network Clearinghouse (ACENET)

• South Florida Center for Educational Leaders. 

• Region V Area Center for Educational Excellence

• Karen Slattery Educational Research Center for Child Development. 

14. Cooperation/collaboration with A. D. Henderson University School faculty and staff.

15. Development activities, including funding of three endowed chairs: 

• Charles Stewart Mott Professorship - Eminent Scholar in Community Education. 

• Lucy Henderson Edmonson Endowed Professorship - University School. 

• Nona and Peter Gordon Endowed Professorship - Early Childhood Education.

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Areas Warranting Further Attention

Areas in which the review team encourages further attention include:

1. Determination of the status of the State-approved secondary education programs with respect to the statutory limit of 120 semester hour credits to degree. If these programs are considered self-contained bachelor's degree programs, then all but one of the programs exceeds the 120 semester hour limit. Associated with this question is a second question as to how the University's foreign language graduation requirement relates to the counting of credits toward the degree. The programs in question include English education, French education, German education, Spanish education, social science education, biology education, chemistry education, mathematics education, and physics education. 

2. If, as the College implies in the BOR Addendum Report, secondary school teacher education programs are not offered under the respective CIP Code 13, the University should request termination of these programs.

3. Program completion rates in the subject major plus certification secondary education programs seem to be very uneven. The current job market situation for teachers makes immediate employment more attractive in the eyes of many students than completing the full set of requirements for State-approved programs. Collaborative efforts among the Colleges of Education, Arts & Letters, and Science should be developed to find ways to ensure that more students wish to be fully qualified before leaving the University's secondary teacher education programs. 

 4. There is need for further development of the dialogue between the faculties in the College of Education and the Colleges of Arts & Letters and Science. Much has been done since the last review: establishing the position of Director of Secondary Education, activating the Secondary Teacher Education Coordinating Committee, forming discipline-based subgroups associated with STECC, and using dual advisors for secondary education students. However, STECC itself appears to be more of an information-sharing forum than a venue for shared decision making. It would appear that there could be useful conversations between and among the faculties about the articulation of content and pedagogy, not only in the preparation of secondary school teachers, but also in the preparation of elementary school and exceptional student education teachers. 

5. In a similar vein, fostering greater communication with community college colleagues with respect to the content, foundational, professional, and experiential components of the programs would be useful. For example, since much of the content preparation of elementary school teachers takes place in the community colleges, there would appear to be opportunity for useful dialogue between and among university and community college content and education faculty. Additionally, since there are foundational, multicultural and technology components in both the lower- and upper-division components of the programs, articulation between the two levels with respect to the content of these courses might be useful. 

6. Consideration should be given to opening up more avenues for student involvement in the governance of the College. Each program appears to have student advisory committees and there is a College Student Advisory Council; however, there appears to be minimal involvement in the governance structure where decisions are actually made. 

7. The growth of the programs in terms of numbers of locations and students to be served is outstripping available resources. While recognizing that there has been a significant number of faculty added over the past five years and recognizing the very extensive talent pool residing in the immediate area, there is still a very high reliance on the use of adjuncts, especially in programs offered through the Department of Teacher Education. Aspirations for offering new programs both at the master's and doctoral level need to be reconciled with the need to support the basic faculty needs of the undergraduate programs at the core of the teacher preparation program. 

8. As experimental programs run their course, the best practices in these programs need to be incorporated into the basic programs. The longitudinal study of the Teacher Education Alliance program should be completed. Consideration needs to be given to finding ways to incorporate the many strengths of that program into the on-going program (early extended field experiences, integration of content and methods, year- long field placements, authentic performance-based assessment, etc.). 

9. Care should be taken to ensure that the departmental, College, and University faculty reward systems (including tenure, promotion, and salary increases) make appropriate recognition of increased expectations of faculty with respect to the amount of time they spend in direct service to schools.

10.  Every effort should be made to maintain and extend the information base assembled for the 2000 program reviews as represented in the documents room for this visit.

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Appendix A 

FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY 

Teacher Education Program Review Personnel 

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Appendix B 

Academic Degree Programs Inventory 
Education Degree Programs Approved by the Board of Regents as of April 2000 

LEGEND AND NOTES 

B = Bachelor's Degree 
M = Master's Degree
S = Specialist's Degree 
D = Doctoral Degree 

* = Affiliated degree program
** = Program based on content area degree rather than education degree.