UH Hilo teacher licensure program receives full accreditation
The accreditation acknowledges that a program prepares effective educators who continue to grow as professionals and has demonstrated the commitment and capacity to maintain quality.
The University of Hawai‘i at Hilo teacher licensure program has been awarded a full seven years of accreditation by the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP). The accreditation acknowledges that a program prepares effective educators who continue to grow as professionals and has demonstrated the commitment and capacity to maintain quality.
Students complete the licensure program during the first year of earning their Master of Arts in Teaching. Students who complete that first year are then able to apply for initial teacher licensure with the Hawaiʻi Teacher Standards Board.
“This accreditation process was beneficial as it helped in our role as reflective practitioners,” says Diane Barrett, professor and director at the UH Hilo School of Education. “The School of Education strives to be the heart of our learning community, and through this process, we listened to what our community had to say and used these data to improve our program. I am grateful to our faculty, current and emeritus, for all their hard work and dedication in [making] this a success.”
The decision is accompanied by a commendation, which reads: “The Accreditation Commission commends the program for its structure, clinical partnerships, and cohort model, which foster deep and ongoing collaboration for professional learning among the community of program completers in keeping with the program’s signature cultural ethos.”
“Congratulations to the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo and to all of the faculty, staff, and stakeholders who have achieved their goal of national accreditation by AAQEP,” says Mark LaCelle-Peterson, president of AAQEP. “The program succeeds admirably both in meeting national standards and in embodying Hawaiian cultural values and knowledge that inform and enrich the local educational community.”
National accreditation assures the quality of professional preparation programs through a nongovernmental, nonregulatory process of self-study and peer review. AAQEP promotes and recognizes quality educator preparation that strengthens the education profession’s ability to serve all students, schools, and communities, and to do so equitably. AAQEP is nationally recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
