CBC Teacher Education Program Announces National Accreditation

Program Now 1 of 147 Providers in the U.S. Meeting New, Rigorous Standards to Better Prepare Tomorrow’s Teachers

The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) has announced that the Central Baptist College Teacher Education Program is one of 46 providers from 22 states and Puerto Rico to receive accreditation for their educator preparation programs. The spring 2018 review by the CAEP Accreditation Council increased to 147 the total number of providers approved under the CAEP teacher preparation standards—rigorous, nationally recognized standards that were developed to ensure excellence in educator preparation programs.

Central Baptist College officials hosted a celebration on Thursday, June 21, 2018 in the Story Library to announce the national accreditation.

CBC President Terry Kimbrow said, “CBC’s mission is the integration of Christian faith and academic excellence. The Teacher Education Program at CBC exemplifies this commitment by producing Christ-centered servant leaders. Our students and instructors should be very proud of the work they are doing. We’ve set a very high bar for our teacher prep program and CAEP Accreditation validates the hard work we are doing.”

“These institutions meet high standards so that their students receive an education that prepares them to succeed in a diverse range of classrooms after they graduate,” said CAEP President Dr. Christopher A. Koch. “Seeking CAEP Accreditation is a significant commitment on the part of an educator preparation provider.”

CAEP is the sole nationally recognized accrediting body for educator preparation. Accreditation is a nongovernmental activity based on peer review that serves the dual functions of assuring quality and promoting improvement. CAEP was created by the consolidation of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council. It is a unified accreditation system intent on raising the performance of all institutions focused on educator preparation. Currently, more than 800 educator preparation providers participate in the CAEP Accreditation system, including many previously accredited through former standards.

Educator preparation providers seeking accreditation must pass peer review on five standards, which are based on two principles:

Solid evidence that the provider’s graduates are competent and caring educators, and
Solid evidence that the provider’s educator staff have the capacity to create a culture of evidence and use it to maintain and enhance the quality of the professional programs they offer.

Work toward an accredited Teacher Education Program at CBC began in 2009, with the establishment of an Education Department. From 2012-2014, the program became a candidate for accreditation by CAEP’s predecessor, the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, and programs of study in five licensure areas were approved by the Arkansas Department of Education. In November 2017, the CBC Teacher Education Program hosted a team of peer reviewers for a 3-day site visit during which program data and outcomes were examined, which is the culminating accreditation activity. In April 2018, the CAEP Accreditation Council reviewed information collected by the site visit team and determined that the CBC Teacher Education Program had met all five CAEP standards.

“I’m very proud that we have achieved this significant milestone for our program and for CBC,” said Shanda New, Education Department Chair. “CAEP accreditation requires a huge investment, and yields both a validation for the hard work we’ve done over the last nine years, and direction for continuous improvement in the future. Our graduates prove the quality of our program in the excellent work they do in classrooms every day, and I’m thrilled that CBC can play a role in providing highly-qualified teachers for students in Arkansas and surrounding states.”