The University of Alaska Anchorage College of Education’s commitment to excellence in producing quality teachers for our nation’s children was recognized in November 2005 when it received full national accreditation under the performance-oriented standards of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Read the Institutional Report.

Accreditation of Teacher Preparation Programs

Until 2000, the State of Alaska approved all teacher education programs. The State of Alaska formed a partnership with the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) which is binding until 2010. As a result of the partnership, all teacher education programs in Alaska must be NCATE-accredited by January, 2006.

NCATE

NCATE is the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. Accreditation is a voluntary peer review process. Member schools, colleges, and departments of education are held to rigorous professional standards. NCATE is affiliated with 33 national professional associations. It includes partnerships with each of the 50 states with 575 NCATE-accredited colleges and universities. These colleges and universities account for two thirds of the nation's new teacher education graduates.

Graduates of NCATE member universities perform better on license and certification exams.

National Recognition

The NCATE Board of Examiners visited the University during the week of March 12, 2005. As a result of that visit, our teacher preparation programs were recommended for national accreditation. Final approval was given in November 2005.

UAA's College of Education has achieved national recognition for its programs in the areas of Educational Leadership, Educational Technology, Special Education, and Secondary Teacher Education in English, Math, and Social Studies.

Program reviews are under development to achieve national recognition in other areas: Elementary Education; Special Education/Elementary Education; and Secondary Teacher Education Programs in General Science, English as a Second Language, and World Languages.

The remainder of our programs are still nationally recognized by the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC).