DBU College of Education Achieves CAEP National Accreditation for Educator Preparation Program

A teacher and her young student

DALLAS, TX – The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) announced today that Dallas Baptist University’s College of Education is one of 43 providers from 22 states and the District of Columbia to receive accreditation for their educator preparation programs. At this time, DBU is one of only four universities in the State of Texas with this distinction.

The fall 2017 review by the CAEP Accreditation Council increased to 101 the total number of providers approved under the CAEP teacher preparation standards—rigorous, nationally recognized standards that were developed to ensure excellence in educator preparation programs.

This achievement marks the end of a seven-year process began by the College of Education, which involved extensive research and documentation, demonstrating DBU’s commitment to excellent teacher preparation.

“For the past several years, our team has been working to gain this recognition, which not only demonstrates the level of excellence of the program, but also allows for our students to more easily gain certification in other states around the country,” explained Dr. Neil Dugger, Dean of the College of Education.

CAEP is the sole nationally recognized accrediting body for educator preparation. Accreditation is a nongovernmental activity based on peer review that serves the dual functions of assuring quality and promoting improvement. CAEP was created by the consolidation of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council. It is a unified accreditation system intent on raising the performance of all institutions focused on educator preparation. Currently, more than 800 educator preparation providers participate in the CAEP Accreditation system, including many previously accredited through former standards.

DBU’s College of Education has gained national attention the past several years, as it has been recognized as being in the top 1% of elementary teacher preparation programs in the nation by the National Council on Teacher Quality.

“DBU seeks to produce Christ-centered servant leaders,” stated DBU President Dr. Adam C. Wright. “At the heart of this mission is a desire to uphold the highest level of academic excellence as well as a desire to serve wherever the Lord may lead. Our College of Education exemplifies this commitment, and we could not be more proud of the work of our College of Education faculty and staff and even more our graduates who are serving in classrooms around the world.”

Written by Dr. Blake Killingsworth

Dr. Blake Killingsworth is the Vice President for Communications at Dallas Baptist University.