NCATE/BOT Institutional Report

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I. Overview of the Institution

The University system
The University of Minnesota was established in 1851, eight years before statehood. Key aspects of its history are the rapid rate of growth in enrollment and the continuing increase in the quality of its programs. The University of Minnesota is one of the most comprehensive public universities in the United States and ranks among the most prestigious. It is both the state land-grant university, with a strong tradition of education and public service, and the state's primary research university, with faculty of national and international reputation.

The University now has four campuses: the Duluth campus offers baccalaureate and master’s degrees in liberal arts and several professional fields. Morris is a four-year undergraduate campus that is consistently ranked at the top of national assessments. Crookston offers four-year degrees in practical fields. The Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses are considered as one: the Twin Cities campus. This campus, by far the largest and most diverse of the four campuses, has 20 colleges, offers 161 different bachelor’s degrees, 218 master’s degrees, 114 doctoral degrees, and five professional degrees. The University’s Twin Cities campus is located on the Mississippi River in the heart of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

The University of Minnesota receives 98.8 % of all sponsored research grants awarded to higher education institutions in Minnesota. In 2002, the University brought in a record $527 million in sponsored research awards. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, 39 jobs are created for every $1 million spent on university-based research.

Faculty members at the Twin Cities campus total 2,382. The strength of the faculty is one of the campus’ outstanding characteristics. The Academy of Distinguished Teaching recognizes strong faculty members. The Center for Teaching and Learning provides supports and faculty development activities for all faculty across the campus. College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) faculty members are closely involved with the center and conduct workshops for faculty across campus.

Enrollment and graduation at the Twin Cities campus comprises 78% of the total University enrollment. Fall 2004 enrollment was nearly 51,000, with over 10,000 completed degrees. The Twin Cities Campus consistently ranks among the top 25 research universities in the U.S. according to The Center at the University of Florida. Table 1 provides information for all University campuses. The Twin Cities campus is in the column labeled UMTC.

Table 1 University enrollment and degrees Fall 2004

The mission of the University of Minnesota guides the work of faculty and staff and directs educational programming for students. The mission is threefold:

1. Research and Discovery
2. Teaching and Learning
3. Outreach and Public Service

The complete mission statement can be found at University of Minnesota Mission. Learn more about the University.

The College of Education and Human Development (CEHD)
Founded in 1905 as the Department of Pedagogy, the college is now in its 100th year. The original ethnic heritage of Minnesota's 19th century settlers was predominantly German and Scandinavian, but the state has become increasingly multicultural, especially in the last half of the 20th century. The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul now are home to significant numbers of Hmong immigrants from several countries as well as individuals from Cambodia, Laos, Somalia, Tibet, Mexico, Russia, Bosnia, and others. More than 80 languages are spoken in the public schools of the Twin Cities, reflecting an international ambiance that can be found throughout the metropolitan area's educational, cultural, and economic communities.

The mission of the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) is to generate knowledge about teaching, learning, and human development and to apply that knowledge to improve education for all individuals. This mission aligns with that of the University and presumes the college’s role in carrying out its functions in the areas of research, teaching and service.

The conceptual framework for the college’s professional education programs is based on the mission of the University and the college. Its three central themes of inquiry, research, and reflection; diversity; and lifelong learning and professional development align closely with the mission of the University.

Honoring the diversity of our communities and learners is one of these central themes. Accordingly, diversity is addressed in program structure, coursework, and field experiences for all candidates in initial and advanced programs. The college syllabus template requires instructors to specify how each course addresses the elements of the conceptual framework and, in a separate section, how the course addresses the concept of diversity.

Enrollment is at 3,800 full-year-equivalent students, with a headcount of over 4,000. Information on student demographics provides a snapshot of the students served by the college. Table 2 summarizes student demographics in the college including programs that are not a part of the review.

The college has been able to hire 26 new faculty members in the past four years and is currently engaged in several new searches, with 14 hires completed for 2005-06. The vibrancy of the faculty members and their research provides a strong base for all academic programs. One hundred twenty-three (2004-05) tenured and tenure-track faculty members provide a strong community of scholars with high expectations for all of candidates. Of the 126 (anticipated for Fall 2005) tenured or tenure-track faculty members, 20 (15%) are faculty of color and an additional eight are non-U.S. citizens. This percent is up from 2000 when 9% of the faculty were persons of color. Each year since 2000 among the new faculty hires, 25% or more were persons of color.

Professional and Administrative (P & A) teaching staff are full participants in the college community. The P & A teaching staff are individuals who do not hold tenure or tenure-track positions, but who are qualified by both degree and expertise to teach in the professional programs. Many of these individuals hold doctoral degrees. Among them are 11% persons of color, including those who are non-U.S. citizens. All are identified as affiliated with the particular professional programs.

Table 2 CEHD enrollment by degree level:  Fall 2004

Individuals in the office of Student and Professional Services (SPS) who provide advising for initial and advanced teachers include 40% who are persons of color or non-U.S. citizens.

The college is committed to preparing a diverse group of educators as outlined in the strategic plan. Key initiatives include the Common Ground Consortium, a collaborative effort between the college and 10 historically black colleges and universities; the Multicultural Teacher Development Project, a program to recruit and prepare candidates of culturally diverse backgrounds for teacher development programs; and the Homegrown Teacher Partnership Project, a program to recruit and prepare candidates of culturally diverse backgrounds as teachers. New efforts to connect with middle and high school students are evidenced by a University grant, Project College Start, awarded to the Coordinator of Multicultural Programs and Outreach, and a project with St. Paul Public Schools and their Future Teacher Association. In addition, the college is beginning a collaboration with the Anishinabe Academy, a Minneapolis public school specifically serving American Indian students.

The college is globally diverse with almost 200 students from 60 different countries. As part of the University, the college offers its students and visiting international scholars all of the resources of a world-class research institution with ties to colleagues and sister institutions throughout the world.

The college grants degrees at all levels and also offers several options for certificates, additional teaching licenses, and other professional development opportunities. There were 1,061 degrees granted during academic year 2004-05 (355 B.S.; 484 M.Ed.; 222 master’s and advanced graduate degrees). Also, 833 students completed teacher licensure (427 initial licensure and 406 additional licensure).

As the fourth largest college at the University, the CEHD boasts a number of nationally ranked programs. U.S. News & World Report ranked the college 12th among all professional schools of education (April 2005), and fifth among all public professional schools. Nationally ranked programs include: vocational/technical education (#1), developmental psychology (#3) counseling and student personnel psychology (#4), special education (#4), educational psychology (#6), curriculum and instruction (#9), elementary education (#11), secondary education (#12), and administration/supervision (#12). The CEHD is one of the top-ranked professional schools of education as identified by U.S. News & World Report America’s Best Graduate Schools 2006.

The college has 12 endowed chairs and professorships, secured by investments totaling more than $5.5 million. The chair positions recognize excellence in contributions to leadership, reading, urban education, adult career development, teaching and learning, exercise science, assessment, child development, and women and sports studies.

Among the college’s 45,000 living alumni 68% live in Minnesota. Half of all school superintendents and principals in the Twin Cities metro area are CEHD alumni. And while the college prepares only 12% of new teachers in Minnesota each year, almost half of the Education Minnesota’s (state teacher organization) Teacher of the Year awardees (1964-2005) are graduates of CHED licensure and graduate programs.

Involvement in professional organizations
The college faculty and staff are actively engaged in several professional organizations that are directly related to P-12 education, teacher education and development, school administration, counseling and school psychology. Specific college-level membership is held in the following organizations:   American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), Council of Great City Schools, Council of Academic Deans from Research Education Institution (CADREI), American Association of Universities (AAU), and Minnesota Association of Colleges for Teacher Preparation (MACTE). Additional departmental memberships include: Higher Education Consortium in Special Education, BIG10/CIC Kinesiology Deans and Directors, and Council of Directors of School Psychology Programs (CDSPP) of the American Psychological Association (APA).

Organization and governance
The College of Education and Human Development consists of 12 budgeted areas, composed of six academic departments, four college-wide centers for research and development, and a number of administrative support and service units. (See Table 6.3.) The college’s chief administrator is the dean, who has authority over all administrative and academic matters. Three associate deans are included in the dean’s office, one for academic affairs and graduate programs, one for research, and one for undergraduate and professional programs who also directs student and professional services. Each of the departments has a chair or director who reports to the dean. Each of the department heads and various administrative staff serve on the Administrative Council, which regularly meets with the dean to discuss both academic and financial matters.

Under the college constitution adopted in 1998, faculty members and program staff play key roles as chairs and members of seven standing committees: academic affairs, research, civic engagement, technology, diversity, teacher education, and international education. Faculty and staff make up several smaller committees and sub-committees of the standing committees. Faculty also make up the Faculty/Senate Consultative Committee that is charged with consulting and advising the dean on planning, budgeting, space allocation, faculty personnel, appointment of college and department administrators, and liaison with state and national groups. It is also charged with setting the agenda for the College Senate and with reviewing the college's progress toward achieving its stated objectives.

The newly adopted college Strategic Plan and annual College Compact provide a guide for decisions about college goals, program development, and changes in the college. These documents are reviewed, revised, and agreed upon by the college Administrative Council – the administrative arm – and the College Senate – the faculty/staff arm. Decisions about the direction for the college are discussed in the standing committees, departmental meetings, and centers.

NOTE: The University of Minnesota is currently actively involved in the President’s Strategic Positioning Plan. This plan will expand the mission of the college to include departments from the College of Human Ecology (Family Social Science and the School of Social Work) and General College, the University’s access point for high-potential students who express a strong interest in pursuing their educational goals at the University but may not meet the competitive admission standards of the other freshman-admitting colleges. The timeline for the changes is July 1, 2006. At the time of this report the central administration task force groups who will guide the transition are being appointed. The impact of the college’s expanded mission on the professional development programs (initial and advanced) will be to strengthen it through a restructured college, where P-12 education remains central.

The unit
The college offers programs for P-12 educators at the initial and advanced levels. Most initial teacher licensure programs in the college are offered within a Master of Education (M.Ed.) program. The exceptions to this format are two programs offered both at the undergraduate and graduate level, agricultural education and technology education, and one program offered only at the undergraduate level, music education. The teacher preparation programs span all six departments in the college and one program external to the college (music education). The advanced programs are varied in scope, and are offered within the six departments in the college.

In addition to the P-12 educator programs, the college offers several other programs that prepare individuals for other professions, including the professoriate, research, and human development professions outside of the school setting. A list of programs not included for review can be found at programs excluded.

The initial programs that lead to licensure offered by the college are approved by the Minnesota Board of Teaching (BOT). This state licensing board, established in 1973, sets content and pedagogical standards for teachers and other educators. The BOT approves programs for educator preparation. Minnesota is a partnership state with NCATE. Approval of individual licensure programs is completed on a regular schedule. The BOT reviews and approves the unit using standards similar to the Board of Examiners from NCATE. The BOT also approves programs for school counseling and school psychology. The Minnesota Board of School Administrators oversees the approval of individuals and programs for administrative licensure.

Table 3 Programs included in NCATE/BOT unit review

The College of Education and Human Development structure

• The college offers programs and services through its six academic departments (listed below) and support service offices and college-wide centers. Preparing professional educators is an important part of each of the departments.
• Curriculum and Instruction: Departmental faculty are both content and pedagogy specialists. The department focuses on research in teaching and learning and its application to P-12 students.
• Educational Psychology: Educational psychology involves the study of cognitive, emotional, and social learning processes that underlie education and human development across the lifespan. Research in educational psychology advances scientific knowledge of those processes and their application in diverse educational and community settings.
• Educational Policy and Administration: The faculty in the department are committed to the study of educational policy and to the preparation of leaders who can act effectively and ethically within the structures, processes, and cultural contexts of organized education.
• School of Kinesiology: The school focuses on the biological, developmental, social, and behavioral bases of physical activity, recreation, sport, and human performance.
• Institute of Child Development:  The institute has long been a premier center of scholarship, teaching, and outreach devoted to the understanding and fostering of child development.
• Work, Community, and Family Education (Proposed name: Work and Human Resource Education):   The mission of the department is to improve theory and practice and prepare professionals concerned with education and training that enable youth and adults to carry out responsibilities of their vocations in the workplace and education settings.

Support units

• Student and Professional Services (SPS): SPS staff oversee the outreach for recruitment of students, information regarding program admission and requirements, advising, degree clearance, recommendation for teacher licensure, and student data for professional programs. The staff works closely with faculty in making decisions regarding admission to all undergraduate, initial teacher licensure, and M.Ed. programs. The Graduate School is the administrative home for M.A., Ed.S., Ph.D. and Ed.D. programs; however, the CEHD faculty make all of the admission decisions for these programs. Coordinators for clinical experiences, multicultural programs, and program review are part of the SPS staff. These linkages provide integrated support for students, faculty, college, and University staff as well as for those external constituents (e.g., cooperating teachers, the Board of Teaching, Minnesota Department of Education Educator Licensing and Teacher Quality, and others).
• Continuing Professional Studies (CPS): CPS provides college-wide leadership for the development and delivery of credit and non-credit continuing professional studies programs within dynamic learning environments. CPS is committed to furthering leading-edge educational reform, and to providing practicing educators with knowledge and information relevant to practice.

Other support systems
The college has other college-wide support offices that provide key services for departments, faculty and staff. Among these offices are:

• Communications: The staff prepares print and Web documents that inform the college and external communities about the college programs, research, and outreach activities. They work closely with other offices and departments to maximize the impact of the college’s work.
• College Information and Technology Services (CITS): CITS works closely with departments to provide technical assistance and maintains servers and other infrastructure for the work of the faculty and staff. In addition, the group provides information related to data for departmental planning.
• Research Development: Support is provided to faculty and staff in the development and management of grants and contracts and other research opportunities. The associate dean for research oversees staff that assist in finding funding, developing databases, and provides support in the online application and management system Electronic Grants Management System (EGMS). The research group also produces, in conjunction with the Communications Office, ResearchWorks, a publication linking theory and practice.
• CEHD Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL): TEL refers to the broad range of experiences and environments in which technology is used to enhance instruction and learning. This initiative assists faculty and staff in their roles as instructors teaching in a traditional classroom, at a distance, or online.
• Alumni Relations: This office provides support for the Alumni Society of the college and continues to link graduates to the college and University. The society collaborates with SPS to provide supports for students related to career development, resume writing, and mentoring activities.
• Development Office: This office raises private support for the college from individuals, foundations, and corporations. During Campaign Minnesota, 1996-2003, almost $21 million was raised from these sources to support endowed scholarships, faculty professorships and chairs, research, and outreach. Office staff raise about $1.5-$2 million annually. Currently endowed and other funds held for the college by the University of Minnesota Foundation and the University Asset Management Office total in excess of $25,000,000.

College centers
The college has more than 20 centers and labs that contribute to the overall research and knowledge generation of the faculty and students. Working closely with the community, these centers make major contributions to understanding the fields of education and human development. Four of these centers are considered college-wide: Institute on Community Integration, Center for Early Education and Development, Center on Applied Research and Educational Improvement, and Minnesota Center for Reading Research.

Distance education
The college offers off-campus workshops and courses for continuing professional development. Occasionally courses required by individual program areas are offered in off-campus settings. In these instances, only the location changes, not the quality of instruction or the course content.

The unit has begun offering two of the required foundations courses for the initial licensure program online. EDHD 5003 Developmental and Individual Differences in Educational Contexts is offered to a small group of individuals who are unable to come to campus. EDHD 5001 Learning Cognition and Assessment is also offered online. In addition, PUBH 6001 (Formerly PUBH 5003) Fundamentals of Alcohol and Drug Abuse is offered online.

The college offers one initial program in an off-campus format. The agricultural education undergraduate program is offered at the University’s Crookston campus. One agricultural education faculty member is located on-site. Other faculty members travel to Crookston to deliver the program. The foundations coursework is delivered in multiple formats, via ITV, on-site (with faculty traveling to Crookston), and online. The coursework covers the same content and meets the same standards.

Changes and new initiatives since the 2000 NCATE/BOT review
The professional programs in the college have initiated several actions since the last NCATE Board of Examiners and Board of Teaching review. Elaboration of these actions will be made in the standards sections, but a few salient ones are highlighted here.

Conceptual framework
The conceptual framework was evaluated and re-conceptualized. Following the last NCATE/BOT review the faculty and staff involved with the P-12 professional programs reviewed the conceptual framework and determined that it no longer aligned closely with the practice and vision held for the college’s various programs and for the collective work of the professional programs. The Council on Teacher Education (CTE) conceptual framework sub-committee was established with the goal of assessing where the programs were at the time, determining what the college community believed about the programs, and looking to the future to articulate the vision for the programs.

The new conceptual framework incorporates three central themes:

• promoting inquiry, research, and reflection;
• honoring the diversity of our communities and learners; and
• fostering a commitment to lifelong professional development.

(See II. Conceptual Framework.)

These themes were brought to both the CTE and the advanced programs representative committee for review and approval before they were finalized. Both committees approved the themes, and drafting of the conceptual framework document continued.

Assessment
The Teacher Education Data System (TEDS) for the initial programs was put into place to provide feedback to the individual program areas as well as to link the various types of data available for the programs across all the initial areas. The data system includes survey data, admission data, candidate performance assessments, and test scores for Minnesota licensure. Each of these elements is described in more detail in Standard 2.

The assessment and review of performance of candidates in advanced programs is completed by individual program areas. These assessment systems focus on the particular requirements of the advanced programs and their various professional organizations (e.g., NASP, school counseling, adaptive physical education) and the faculty in each area have initiated methods of ensuring candidate success. The Advanced Programs Representative Committee has brought consistency across programs through discussion of program similarities and differences, development of a graduate survey (administered to completers of all advanced programs), discussion of common themes, decisions regarding the conceptual framework, and support for program improvement.

The eFolio Minnesota tool has been implemented in the initial licensure programs and in the administrative licensure programs for principals, superintendents, and directors of special education. eFolio Minnesota provides a way for teachers and administrators to document the meeting of the state licensure standards and also provides a way for individuals to begin their professional development plans, required by many school districts in Minnesota.

Clinical experiences
The Web site for cooperating teachers serves as an important communications link and contains orientation modules on procedures and processes surrounding student teaching. Listservs also have been developed to promote effective communication with student teaching supervisors and cooperating teachers. New assessment tools have been employed as well. Cooperating teachers were surveyed to gather more information about their experience and background. In addition, the unit instituted new evaluations of student teaching supervisors. These evaluations will be completed by both student teachers and cooperating teachers.

Diversity
The college efforts to promote a diverse student population and multicultural environment (articulated in Standard 4 for educator candidates) have expanded to include new initiatives with middle and high schools and community organizations. The college has increased scholarship support (including a $15,000 scholarship for urban education) and support to programs that recruit and retain students of color. In addition to the major scholarship, the college supports several programs and provides named donor scholarships that directly impact students of color.

The college’s commitment to diversity is manifested in the college Committee on Diversity which has included among its recent initiatives an emphasis on promoting the hiring of a diverse faculty pool and strengthening the diversity of the student population. The work of this committee is supported by diversity committees in departments and centers throughout the college. The number of students of color and international students together has increased from 9.6% in Fall 2000 to 16.8% in Fall 2004.

The college has completed several new faculty hires including faculty of color. (See Standards 4 and 5.) A team of six faculty and administrators attended a University-sponsored symposium in Fall 2001 on recruiting and retaining faculty of color: Keeping our Faculties of Color. In addition, many college staff have been involved in workshops addressing the unique needs of immigrant populations in Minnesota.

Involvement in professional organizations
The college faculty and staff serve in leadership roles in many of the professional organizations at the state and national level. As an active part of the Minnesota Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (MACTE), faculty and staff have been involved with state-level planning with the Board of Teaching, the Minnesota Department of Education, and other state agencies to assist with and lead developments in the Minnesota education systems. The P-16 Partnership, made up of higher education system heads (University of Minnesota, the state university system and the private college system) along with the leaders of the educational organization that represent teachers, superintendents, principals, teacher educators, and others meet to set direction for education in the state of Minnesota. The Standards and Rules Committee of the Board of Teaching, made up of representatives of the various education groups, works on issues that directly relate to teacher licensing.

Future directions
The college strategic plan outlines several priorities agreed upon by the Administrative Council and the College Senate representing the faculty and staff:

These priorities will be addressed through actions taken by the college committees, departments, and administrative units, based on the CEHD constitution and bylaws.

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