TEAC, headed by Frank Murray, wins federal recognition

11:52 a.m., Jan. 26, 2004--U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige has designated the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) as a federally recognized accrediting agency and lauded its efforts to improve the quality of teacher education in the U.S. Frank B. Murray, H. Rodney Sharp Professor of Education at UD, is president of TEAC.

TEAC, which reviews and accredits undergraduate and graduate professional K-12 teacher education programs in public and private U.S. colleges and universities, underwent an extensive review of its own by the U.S. Department of Education.

Murray and TEAC began the process of federal approval in 1998. TEAC had to meet 10 federal standards. One of the 10 required the group to accredit three teacher education programs. The first program TEAC accredited was at the University of Virginia. During the accreditation process, a U.S. Department of Education analyst observed all aspects of TEAC’s work—from written materials to site visits.

The members of the National Advisory Committee on Institution Quality and Integrity examined TEAC’s qualifications and unanimously recommended that Paige approve the agency.

In 2001, TEAC was recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), the only nongovernmental entity that can formally recognize higher education accreditation agencies.

Sharing the news of Paige’s decision with TEAC members, Murray said, “We are pleased TEAC’s pioneering approach to accreditation is now endorsed by both CHEA and the U.S. Department of Education.”

The Department of Education lauded TEAC for requiring teacher education programs seeking accreditation to provide solid evidence that their graduates learn. Programs accredited by TEAC must show graduates have a firm grasp of subject matter, understand the learning process, can develop compelling lesson plans and have the ability to lead students to appropriate levels of achievement. The accredited program also must have a stated process for reviewing and improving itself.

The 100 institutions affiliated with TEAC include small, private colleges and large, public flagship universities, including the University of Delaware. All support the TEAC approach to accreditation.

Institutions that apply for accreditation from TEAC must be willing to submit to an educational audit proving the competence of the teachers they graduate. A team of specially trained auditors visits the campus to verify the data and information submitted by the program. The auditors follow a trail of evidence to check the colleges’ claims—often beginning with a single student or faculty member or tracking one piece of data.

“By [auditing] the heart of the matter—the adequacy of the evidence that a faculty can muster to back its claims for student achievement—TEAC has certainly marked a trail worth following,’’ Peter Ewell, a national expert on accreditation, said.

Less than half of the teacher education programs in the United States are currently accredited by any federally approved group, but five states now require that the teacher education programs in their public and private colleges and universities be accredited. With growing concern about the quality of the nation’s teachers, Murray said that is likely to increase.

Murray returned to teaching in 1995 after serving 16 years
as dean of the then College of Education. To recognize his contributions to the college, a graduate award and an alumni scholarship were established in his name.

For more information about TEAC, contact Sue Fuhrmann at 831-6072 or at [sue@teac.org] or go to [http://www.teac.org].

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