NCATE and the Accreditation Process

The unit has the leadership, authority, budget, personnel, facilities, and resources, including information technology resources, for the preparation of candidates to meet professional, state, and institutional standards.

Element 6A: Unit Leadership and Authority
The University, governed by a Board of Trustees under a charter granted by the State of New York, has the formal authority and responsibility to oversee financial and managerial operations, subject to state and federal laws.  In accordance with the University's Articles of Governance and Provisions for Peer Review (offered as Exhibits S6-1 and S6-2), the faculty has the primary responsibility for the curriculum, methods of instruction, research, faculty status and those aspects of student life which relate to academic programs.  The unit's faculty meets at monthly to review and deliberate on these areas.  Copies of the faculty meeting minutes are provided as Exhibit S6-3.

Administratively, the Ruth S. Ammon School of Education includes five departments (three of which were created by faculty vote in Spring 2006 which, at this writing, must be approved by the University President and the Board of Trustees): the Department of Health Studies, Physical Education and Human Performance Science; the Department of Communication Science and Disorders; the Department of Adolescence and Cultural Studies; the Department of Childhood and Leadership Studies; and the Department of Literacy and Special Education.  The Dean, Dr. Ronald Feingold, is the head of the unit and represents the unit in all administrative and financial matters.  The Dean also has responsibility for all programs leading to teacher and professional education preparation and/or licensure.  A full administrative and programmatic organizational chart illustrates the various departments, administrative and faculty structure of the unit (offered as Exhibit S6-4).

Within the department structure, each individual program is headed by a director who is a faculty member in the program's home department.  These directors work with their faculty on admissions decisions, lead the process of curriculum development, and oversee advisement for candidates in their programs.  The directors report to their department chairs and coordinate activities with other directors within one's department.  Many directors also serve on the School of Education Leadership Team (SOELT), the steering committee for the unit. This committee is chaired by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and provides important on-going communication among the faculty and administrative staff within the unit.  The membership and minutes of the SOELT are provided as Exhibit S6-5.

The School of Education Advisory Council (SOEAC) is a group focused on the education of teacher candidates.  Those serving on this council include department chairs, program directors, representatives from partner school districts, school administrators, candidates, and representatives from the dean's office acting as ex-officio members.  Representatives of the school psychology program, housed in IAPS, and the undergraduate STEP, jointly administered with the College of Arts and Sciences, are members of both SOELT and SOEAC.  The SOEAC bylaws, identifying the composition of the council and its functions, can be seen as Exhibit S6-6; the minutes of the SOEAC as Exhibit S6-7.

The STEP has separate advisory and oversight committees; both report to the Dean of Education.  Representatives from both the IAPS and the College of Arts and Sciences attend monthly meetings of the educational personnel preparation unit, the policy-making and curriculum approval body for teacher candidates at Adelphi University.  Another oversight committee ensures communication and attends to the needs of the Manhattan Center.  Serving as Chair of the Manhattan Campus, the Associate Dean also acts as a liaison with the main campus and chairs a monthly panel of appropriate stakeholders.  Minutes of these meetings are available as Exhibit S6-8.

Full-time faculty members within the unit serve on the University Faculty Senate as at-large elected representatives and as unit faculty representatives.  The faculty members from the unit departments also serve on seven standing committees.  Members of the administrative staff and adjunct faculty may serve as ex officio members of each faculty standing committee.  The chairs of each committee are elected by the committee members.  The standing committees and their respective responsibilities are outlined below (the 2005-06 membership and meetings are offered as Exhibits S6-9):

The Academic Affairs Committee has primary responsibility for review of curricula within the unit, including review and approval of all programs, courses, and other curricular adaptations, modifications, and changes proposed by departments within the unit.  Any proposal brought before this committee must have approval of the relevant department or program(s) before it goes before the University Senate Academic Affairs Committee.  A representative from this committee serves on the University Senate Academic Affairs Committee.

The Assessment, Standards, and Policies Committee has primary responsibility for establishing school-wide policies and practices, including assessment, admission, retention and dismissal standards and to periodically review their appropriateness.

The Fieldwork and Educational Preparation Committee acts as a forum for issues and concerns associated with the preparation of  teacher candidates and sets consistent policies regarding their work in the field.  The Director of the Office of School and Community Partnerships serves as an ex-officio member of the committee. 

The Governance and Elections Committee has the responsibility of overseeing governance and the agreed-upon bylaws of the unit, applying eligibility standards for candidates for committee membership within the School, preparing, where appropriate, a slate of full-time faculty candidates for other committees in the unit and university, preparing a slate of candidates for part-time faculty representation, and maintaining periodic review of the bylaws so that they are timely, are in accordance with University bylaws and governance, and address faculty concerns.  This committee supervises faculty elections and holds other school-wide elections as deemed necessary. 

The Peer Review Committee operates in accordance with the University's Collective Bargaining Agreement and policies and procedures promulgated by the University's Faculty Committee on Retention, Tenure and Promotion.  The Peer Review Committee establishes the standards and policies for peer review within the unit.  These policies relate to annual reviews, reviews for reappointments, tenure, promotion, sabbatical leaves, research release time and whatever other responsibilities related to peer review are delegated to it by the faculty.  The committee distributes its operating procedures to the full faculty.  The committee meets in closed session except when dealing with matters of general faculty concern or when it invites faculty to meet with committee members.

The Technology Committee has the primary responsibility for monitoring the development and implementation of technological infrastructure within the unit.  The functions of the committee include training, software implementation, and the technological infusion of faculty and candidates in regard to academic services.  The development and oversight of electronic portfolios for candidates with Livetext is a primary task of this committee.

The Review Boardreviews candidate grievances arising in an academic context that could not be resolved at the programmatic or departmental levels.  The Review Board is composed of elected members of the faculty, including one member from each department and two candidate members recommended by department chairs.

When necessary, there have been additional ad hoc committees established by the dean, the standing committees, or faculty that inform the agenda and operations of the unit.

An essential role is played by the Office of School and Community Partnerships, which places all teacher candidates.  Over the past two years, there has been a significant increase in resources and improvement in communication and quality control.  The SOELT membership decided that all placements would be made through this office, including placements for methods courses, internships, and student teaching.  In the past, the office was primarily used only in the placement of student teaching.  Another significant change was made in quality control.  All sites are now reviewed, and only listed when the faculty determines the existence of a quality program and supervision.  In addition, the placement system is now computerized, fostering candidates' exposure to a variety of diverse settings, whether through the methods, internship, and/or student teaching placements. 

The unit's recruitment and admission policies are well-communicated in catalogs, admission applications, websites, candidate handbooks and articulation agreements with community colleges. Current and comprehensive information for the admission of initial candidates is also found on the unit's bulletin boards, in main offices and university buildings, open house events, off-site centers, and in mailings sent to school districts and schools.  Institutional advertising appears in newspapers, billboards, radio and television.  Full-time specialist advisors assist candidates with each department's admission process.  The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs handles candidates' problems and concerns; documentation of problems and their resolution are kept on file in the dean's office.