Teacher Education Report Card
Submitted April 5, 2002
SECTION I. Pass Rates
Nebraska does not have an exit test required for licensure. The PPST (PRAXIS I) is used as an admission requirement to Nebraska teacher education programs. Therefore, the completer rate is 100% since a student cannot complete a program without successful passage of the PPST.
SECTION II. Program Information
A. Number of students in the regular teacher preparation program at your institution:
Please specify the number of students in your teacher preparation program during academic year 2000-2001, including all areas of specialization.
1. Total number of students enrolled during 2000-2001: 1014
B. Information about supervised student teaching:
2. How many students (in the regular program and any alternative route programs) were in programs of supervised student teaching during academic year 2000-2001? 228
3. Please provide the numbers of supervising faculty who were:
Appointed full-time faculty in professional education: an individual who works full time in a school, college, or department of education, and spends at least part of the time in supervision of teacher preparation students. 10
Appointed part-time faculty in professional education and full-time in the institution: any full time faculty member in the institution who also may be supervising or teaching in the teacher preparation program. 7
Appointed part-time faculty in professional education, not otherwise employed by the institution: may be part time university faculty or pre-K-12 teachers who supervise prospective teachers. The numbers do not include K-12 teachers who simply receive a stipend for supervising student teachers. Rather this third category is intended to reflect the growing trend among institutions of higher education to appoint K-12 teachers as clinical faculty, with the rights and responsibilities of the institution's regular faculty. 9
Supervising faculty for purposes of this data collection includes all persons who the institution regards as having faculty status and who were assigned by the teacher preparation program to provide supervision and evaluation of student teaching, with an administrative link or relationship to the teacher preparation program.
Total number of supervising faculty for the teacher preparation program during 2000-2001: 26
4. The student/faculty ratio was (divide the total given in B2 by the number given in B3): 1/9
5. The average number of hours per week required of student participation in supervised student teaching in these programs was: 40 hours. The total number of weeks of supervised student teaching required is 15. The total number of hours required is 600.
C. Information about state approval or accreditation of teacher preparation programs: attached
6. Is your teacher preparation program currently approved or accredited by the state? Yes
7. Is your teacher preparation program currently under a designation as “low-performing” by the state (as per section 208 (a) of the HEA of 1998)? No
SECTION III. Contextual Information
Description of UNK, mission and enrollment
As part of the University of Nebraska, the University of Nebraska at Kearney is charged to provide comprehensive educational programs for the people of the State; to seek, discover, interpret and communicate knowledge; and to put knowledge to work through public service programs. Its distinctive contribution within that framework lies in its primary emphasis on scholarly teaching. The University of Nebraska at Kearney is further committed to serving the State and to close cooperation with other campuses of the University of Nebraska and other post-secondary institutions. The enrollment for academic year 2001-2002 is 6426 undergraduate and graduate students.
Description of Teacher Education Program, mission and enrollment
Professional education programs at the University of Nebraska Kearney are based upon an enduring commitment to quality public education. This commitment recognizes the role of public education in the American democratic experience. Central to the instructional program is the belief that all students can be successful learners. Graduates understand the disciplines they teach; create learning experiences and make subject matter meaningful; use their knowledge to work effectively with all students; use assessment strategies to continually improve learning and teaching; deal proactively with issues of diversity; and work effectively with parents and other educators to enhance students' achievement.
The Teacher Education Program at UNK has three components: 1) General Studies courses from the disciplines of English, humanities, math, natural sciences, social and behavioral sciences, and personal development; 2) Professional Sequence classes for all teacher education students; and 3) Field and Subject Endorsement programs. All students complete a minimum of 100 hours of pre-student teaching field experience. Student teachers spend an entire semester in a school system under the supervision of a cooperating teacher and a UNK supervisor.
Specific requirement “gateways” in teacher education:
There are three gateways in the UNK teacher education program: admission to the program, admission to student teach, and successful completion of student teaching.
1. To be admitted into teacher education, students must have:
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An overall minimum GPA of 2.5.
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Completed PTE 200 Developmental Behavior and the accompanying PTE 290 Field Experience with a grade of “C” or better.
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Passed the Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) or the Content Mastery Exam (CMEE) as prescribed by the Nebraska Department of Education.
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Completed English 101 Expository Writing I, English 102 Expository Writing II and Speech 100 Fundamentals of Speech Communication with a grade of “C” or better.
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Reported any criminal (both felony and misdemeanor) convictions and provided evidence of emotional and mental capacity on the Teacher Education Application.
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Selected one field endorsement or two subject endorsements.
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The advisor’s signature of approval on the Teacher Education Application.
2. To be admitted to student teach, the teacher education student must have:
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An overall minimum GPA of 2.5.
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Completed PTE 300 Learning and Evaluation and the accompanying PTE 390 Field Experience with a grade of “C” or better.
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Completed or be registered for PTE 464 Issues in Education
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Completed the methods courses specific to each endorsement.
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Presented a completed application by February 1 preceding the academic year the student teaching will occur.
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Completed or be registered for a minimum of 24 hours in subject endorsements or 80% of the requirements of field endorsement.
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Been approved by the department(s) that offer(s) the endorsement(s).
3. To successfully complete student teaching, the teacher education student must have:
Programs offered by the unit and the number of 2000-2001 completers: 34 Undergraduate Teaching endorsement programs, 213 students completed 295 programs.
Elementary Education - 95
Early Childhood Education - 29
Middle School Education - 14
Special Education - 33
Secondary Education programs - 90
Basic Business - 3
Business - 3
Biology - 2
Chemistry - 0
Economics - 1
Ed Media - 0
ELL - 7
English - 11
Family and Consumer Science - 6
French - 0
Geography - 0
German - 0
Health - 3
History - 4
Journalism - 2
Marketing - 1
Math - 10
Physical Education - 9
Psychology - 0
Physical Science - 3
Physics - 1
Political Science - 1
Social Science - 13
Sociology - 1
Spanish - 5
Speech - 3
Speech/Theatre - 1
Theatre - 0
K-12 Education Programs - 34
Health & PE - 20
Art - 5
Music - 9
11. Graduate Degrees Leading to Additional Endorsements - total 100 students:
Elementary Reading - 7
Special Education - 8 (separated by program)
- Behavioral Disordered - 1
- Gifted - 2
- Learning Disabilities - 3
- Mild and Moderate - 2
Administrator - 56 (broken down as follows)
- Principal K-6 - 17
- Principal 7-12 - 31
- Superintendent - 7
- Supervisor - 1
School Counselors - 9
School Psychologist - 7
Speech Pathologist - 13
Graduates in Graduate Programs not leading to additional endorsements:
Curriculum and Instruction - 36
Early Childhood - 1
Middle School - 1
Physical Education - 4
Adapted Physical Education - 2
Collaborative Efforts through NACTE, NCTE, and NeNER.
The College of Education is an active member of the Nebraska Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (NACTE). This organization, which includes representatives from each of the 17 teacher education programs in Nebraska, considers educational issues and provides programs and resources to meet common needs. UNK also has a voting delegate on the Nebraska Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), an educational advisory group to the State Board of Education about certification and endorsement requirements.
UNK is a member of the Nebraska Network for Educational Renewal (NeNER), a consortium of nine Nebraska institutions of higher education and their partner schools as well as the Nebraska Department of Education. UNK is one of 42 institutions of higher education that have been accepted in the National Network for Educational Renewal NNER), which was founded by Dr. John Goodlad to promote simultaneous renewal of schools and the education of educators. UNK has received $9,000 from the NNER to promote diversity efforts, and has sent 25 faculty members to NeNER and NNER Leadership Institutes.
Partnerships with K-12 schools
UNK has a formal partnership relationship with Kearney Public Schools, which involves K-12 educators and administrators in the preparation of future teachers through guided practice in extensive field experiences. The goals of this partnership are to: strengthen K-12 student academic achievement; strengthen preparation of future teachers; provide professional development for K-16 educators; and, study the effectiveness of partnership efforts. UNK developed a network of 34 partner schools from 15 school districts that became formalized Fall 2001.
Accreditation
UNK teacher and professional education programs are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), and National Association of Schools of Music (NASM). The North Central Association accredits the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
Unique information about the UNK teacher education program:
The University of Nebraska at Kearney has a 96-year tradition of preparing teachers, school counselors, school psychologists, speech pathologists and administrators. Teacher preparation has been a primary mission of UNK since inception and the institution continues to graduate more education professionals than any other major. With a focus on scholarly teaching, faculty value teacher/student relationships and continually assess and evaluate teaching/learning practices. A renewed model of undergraduate teacher education began Fall 2001.
Unique characteristics of the renewed Teacher Education Program include: a cohort format that encourages collaboration and support between students as well as students and faculty; a freshman education course; interdisciplinary classes that block English and political science classes with education classes; field-based experiences in schools and/or community agencies that are connected to all professional sequence courses; utilization of partner schools with diverse characteristics; and focused learning experiences concerning literacy, diversity, assessment and technology. The renewed program was created to meet the College of Education's mission in the areas of diversity, technology and preparing students to live in a democratic society.
With the completion of the new College of Education building in Spring 2002, teacher education faculty are located in the same building which increases collaboration, facilitate interdisciplinary research efforts and provide state-of-the-art technology to enhance teaching and learning. The new facility will help UNK continue to be on the cutting edge of educational issues and reforms and provide the highest quality of education.