Accreditation
The University of West Florida School of Education continues to be recognized as a highly effective educator preparation unit producing caring, competent, and qualified educators.
Through the School of Education programs, candidates acquire KNOWLEDGE in their coursework, refine pedagogical techniques through ACTION, and demonstrate LEADERSHIP skills in their educational environment. School of Education graduates make a difference!
The School of Education is a member of the UWF Professional Education Unit. The Unit includes educator preparation programs from these departments and colleges:
Professional Education Unit Accreditation
The Professional Education Unit at the University of West Florida is accredited based on the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) through Spring 2025. CAEP is the only CHEA recognized national accreditor for educator preparation.
This accreditation covers initial teacher certification preparation programs (traditional and alternative) and advanced educator certification preparation programs at the Pensacola and online campuses. However, the accreditation does not include individual education courses that the institution offers to P-12 educators for professional development, relicensure, or other purposes.
The Professional Education Unit includes the following programs:
- Elementary Education, B.A.
- Exceptional Student/Elementary Education, B.A.
- Educational Leadership, M.Ed.
- Physical Education Teacher Education, B.S.
- Reading Education, M.Ed.
- TeacherReady
- UWF-Teach
UWF Educator Preparation Programs Approved by the Florida DOE
Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation
CAEP is the only national accreditor for educator preparation recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
Vision
Excellence in educator preparation accreditation.
Mission
CAEP advances equity and excellence in educator preparation through evidence-based accreditation that assures quality and supports continuous improvement to strengthen P-12 student learning.
Accreditation is a nongovernmental activity based on peer review that serves the dual functions of assuring quality and promoting improvement.
Contact CAEP
1140 19th St NW, Suite 400 Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 223-0077
CAEP Accountability Measures
UWF teacher education programs understand the importance of regularly monitoring and analyzing data trends for the accountability measures and to share these measures with not only our stakeholders, but also the public.
Each menu option below contains documents in support of the listed measure.
The Education Preparation Program and Education Preparation Institute utilize the Florida Department of Education Teacher Evaluation data provided in the annual final employment files. The most recent Teacher Evaluation data is provided in the document below.
The Education Preparation Program and Education Preparation Institute utilize the Florida Department of Education Value Added Measures data to show impact on P-12 students. The following report provides the most recent VAM data available. New data will be published in Summer 2024, at which time the measures will be updated.
Data for the Satisfaction of Employers is currently being reviewed and reworked for clarification, as noted in the Formative Feedback received to the Self-Study. It is anticipated the data for the measure to be available to the public by June 2024.
The University of West Florida has three primary external stakeholder groups to provide input and guidance on the programs.
- Professional Education Council > University Standing Committee. The Professional Education Council Charter sets forth the purpose, mission statement, responsibilities and membership.
- School of Education Advisory Council > This group focuses on Initial programs and the Reading M.Ed. program. Membership includes district principals, teachers, directors, and specialists.
- Educational Leadership Advisory Council > This group focuses on the specific nature of Educational Leadership programs and needs. It includes stakeholders in leadership positions from local districts.
Additional information on the School of Education Advisory Council and the Educational Leadership Advisory Council is further outlined in the document > Professional Education Advisory Councils.
All candidates are required to pass all Florida Department of Education (FDOE) tests prior to education, showing their competency at program completion. Assessment Pass Rate as reported by the FDOE for the Title II Higher Education Act is provided in the following documents:
- Traditional Programs AY 2022-23 (NOTE: Excludes Educational Leadership scores)
- Alternative, IHE-based AY 2022-23
Data for the Ability of completers to be hired in an education position is waiting for the release of the new Florida Department of Education Annual Program Performance Reports, which reflects a new metric, Workforce Contribution. It is anticipated the data for the measure to be available to the public by August 2024.
Supporting Documentation
The Professional Education Unit (the Unit) monitors candidate performance throughout a student’s program and following program completion. Assessing candidate performance enables the Unit to identify practices we are doing well and areas that can be improved upon.
A continuous improvement model guides the Unit’s review, assessment, and accreditation processes. Examples of candidate performance data include student Florida Teacher Certification Examinations scores, candidate Grade Point Averages, candidate and completer impact in P-12 settings, performance on the Uniform Core Curricula, and employer surveys.
Select each program category below for examples of Unit candidate performance data analyses and reports.
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