COLLEGE MANDATE

Accreditation

The College’s Accreditation Committee meets to review all Ontario teacher education programs.

Responsibility and process

The accreditation process looks at programs offered in Ontario’s teacher education faculties to see that they are based on solid research and current best practices so that graduates will be prepared and qualified for their professional duties. Accreditation also confirms that the faculty members who deliver the pre-service teacher education programs are themselves properly trained and possess qualifications based on extensive research, contributions to the field and professional experience.

Shortly after the College was established in 1996, it entered into an agreement with the Ontario Association of Deans of Education and the province’s faculties of education to launch a three-year pilot project aimed at developing an accreditation process. Faculty members, deans, associate teachers, teacher candidates, members of the College and the College Council, representatives from accrediting bodies, the Ontario Teachers’ Federation and its affiliates, and members of the public all took part in the pilot project.

The provincial regulation authorizing the College to accredit education programs for its members and for novices in the profession came into effect on December 12, 2002.

Pre-service and AQs

The responsibility for accrediting Bachelor of Education programs and Additional Qualification courses rests with College Council’s Accreditation Committee, which must accredit new programs before they can begin accepting their first teacher candidates. The committee may grant, deny or approve accreditation, with or without conditions, for a time period ranging from six months to three years. Providers whose accreditation is denied must so inform all individuals who are enrolled in their programs and wait one year before reapplying.

The committee reviews existing programs every five years.

The Accreditation Committee also accredits some 250 Additional Qualification (AQ) courses and programs that are completed each year by thousands of Ontario teachers wishing to upgrade their skills. The committee assesses these courses and programs at least once every three years.

The list of AQ course providers continues to grow. More district school boards, principals’ associations and teachers’ federations have now joined faculties of education and other providers in offering AQs – including the Principal’s Qualification Program and Supervisory Officer’s Qualification Program.

All providers must satisfy the appropriate requirements, such as faculty qualifications, application of theory to practice and methods for assessing teacher candidate achievement.

The panels

Accreditation panels have a responsibility to assess the quality of teacher education programs as well as to ensure that the accreditation process is transparent and fair.

Each accreditation panel has a minimum of six members, including one person nominated by the applicant university, three from the College Council, one College member and one chosen from a roster of persons with experience in evaluating teacher education programs or who are current or former educators in a faculty or school of education. From time to time, the College may advertise for people who are willing to serve in this capacity. Respondents are added to the roster with notations concerning their area of expertise. Panel members are selected from this list and attend a training session before they begin evaluating proposed programs.

An accreditation panel will spend several weeks reviewing applications made by faculties that seek to offer teacher education programs in Ontario. The faculties provide information that includes course outlines and practicum requirements and how the program integrates theory and practice, as well as the learning materials, content and resources that will be made available to teacher candidates and faculty members. After examining all documents submitted by a faculty, panel members normally visit the campus prior to developing their report. The panel then forwards its recommendation to the College’s Accreditation Committee.

Standards and innovation

Although each teacher education program may have its own focus or areas of specialization, there are commonalities and basic requirements, and the accreditation process confirms that wherever programs are offered in the province, they will meet Ontario’s shared standards for teaching professionals.

Programs must be based on research as well as on the profession’s ethical standards and standards of practice. They must use real or situational models that are student centred and expose teacher candidates to multiple knowledge bases of teaching and learning.

The College’s Accreditation Committee is also responsive to identified areas of need. In recent years, it has accredited two Bachelor of Education programs intended to address a shortage of francophone teachers in Ontario. Part-time programs at the University of Ottawa and Laurentian University allow those who are teaching with Letters of Permission, and those wishing to shift their career paths towards the classroom, to pursue education qualifications while continuing in their current employment. This is good news for schools that often encounter difficulty finding qualified staff.

In addition, several universities – including Trent, York, Ottawa and Laurentian – are now offering part-time programs that enable teacher candidates to complete their Bachelor of Education degree over two or three years or in other non-traditional ways.

People who always wanted to teach, but couldn’t afford to stop earning, can now enter teaching from other professions, bringing with them experiences and perspectives that enrich the lives of their students and schools.

Appeals

The Accreditation Committee has the authority to reconsider or revoke the accreditation of a provider that substantially changes its program, loses its right to operate or ceases to offer a program.

Since the accreditation process may sometimes profoundly affect program providers, the College allows them to appeal a decision if accreditation of their educational programs is denied. The appeal process is also intended to protect teacher candidates. For example, in the case of a program nearing the end of its accreditation period or a program for which accreditation is denied or revoked, teacher candidates in the current academic year would be credited for their studies as if they had completed the program.

Accreditation Committee reports

Ontario Regulation 347/02, Accreditation of Teacher Education Programs