The Division of Education at the University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu is one of 60 providers from 29 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to receive new accreditation for their educator preparation programs, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) recently announced. CAEP is the sole accrediting body for educator preparation nationally recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
The spring 2020 review by the CAEP Accreditation Council resulted in a total of 341 education preparation providers approved under the CAEP Teacher Preparation Standards—nationally recognized standards that were developed to ensure excellence in educator preparation programs.
“Basically, external reviewers agreed that the evidence and outcomes show that we meet rigorous standards,” Jeffrey A.S. Moniz, UH West Oʻahu vice chancellor for academic affairs, said. “This is a testament to the excellence of our faculty, students and school partners.”
Moniz added, “National accreditation presents this powerful assurance [that] UH West Oʻahu provides the high-quality education needed to prepare effective teachers for the learners in our communities.”
Mary F. Heller, UH West Oʻahu education division chair, said she is extremely appreciative to the division’s faculty for their commitment to preparing excellent teachers for Hawaiʻi’s K–12 students.
“We are grateful for our partnership with the Hawaiʻi Department of Education, as faculty work closely with mentor teachers and principals to provide field-based experiences that bring to life the real-world challenges and joys of teaching,” Heller said.
“The CAEP accreditation team found ‘no areas for improvement’ across all programs,” Heller added. “We nevertheless will stand by our Continuous Improvement Model, using qualitative and quantitative data to inform practice as we move forward together over the next seven year accreditation cycle.”
—By Zenaida Serrano Arvman
