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Pitt State is one of 34 higher education institutions from 15 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico to earn accreditation from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation.
The accreditation process uses rigorous, nationally recognized standards developed to ensure excellence.
“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 Council President Christopher Koch.
To earn accreditation, the university must provide evidence that Pitt State meets standards that show graduates are prepared for teaching.
Teacher preparation occurs in three colleges at Pitt State: The College of Education, the Crossland College of Technology, and the College of Arts and Sciences. It is coordinated by the Office of Teacher Education in the College of Education and directed by Jean Dockers.
Educator accreditation is a seal of approval that assures quality in educator preparation, Dockers said. It ensures that programs prepare new teachers to know their subjects, their students, and have the clinical training that allows them to enter classrooms ready to teach effectively.
Pitt State students score well on their licensing exams, with a 98 percent pass rate.
“That tells us we’re doing our job to prepare them with a solid foundation,” Dockers said.
Kansas requires teacher preparation programs to maintain a Praxis exam pass rate of 80 percent or better. Pitt State’s three-year average from 2020 to 2023 was 93.5 percent for initial programs and 92 percent for advanced programs. The state average was 87 percent.
Associate Dean Jason Clemensen said the accreditation ensures students at Pitt State are “prepared on Day One when they enter their own classrooms.”
"Being accredited through CAEP ensures that we meet the highest standards in our educator preparation programs,” Clemensen said. “It’s a continual cycle that ensures we are providing high-quality instruction, engaging stakeholders, and continually working towards program improvements to provide our students with the best possible experience.”
The accreditation is a seven-year process; during the most recent cycle, 2,664 Pitt State students completed the teacher preparation program.
Of those, 1,363 were candidates seeking their first teaching license, and 1,301 were candidates who already hold a teaching license and were taking it to the next level.
