Clemson College of Education recognized for excellence during recent accreditation process

The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) announced today that the Clemson University College of Education is one of 32 providers from 16 states, Puerto Rico and Jordan to receive recognition for their leadership and commitment to continuous improvement. The recipients of the 2022 Frank Murray Leadership Recognition for Continuous Improvement provided evidence and data trends to achieve accreditation with no stipulations or areas for improvement.

Clemson earned CAEP accreditation in 2021 and ultimately achieved the high standards set forth by the CAEP leadership recognition. Providers selected for recognition advance equity and excellence in educator preparation through purposeful use of self-study procedures and evidence-based reporting that assure quality and support continuous improvement to strengthen P-12 learning.

According to Michelle Cook, senior associate dean for undergraduate studies in the College of Education, Clemson used inquiry and assessments to establish quality assurance systems to drive improvement, but the benefits for the College didn’t end with accreditation.

“Earning CAEP accreditation was an intensive but extremely valuable process for our faculty and staff,” Cook said. “The work that we did not only verified the quality of instruction that we have delivered for years, it also helped us establish a clear roadmap in the improvements we want to make going forward.”

Cook said the self-study and evaluation process revealed that the College should continue to prioritize working with partner school districts to provide diverse field experiences for students while also prioritizing the recruitment and retention of diverse students in the College itself.

Cook said College faculty and staff will also partner with the state to improve data reporting systems that provide evidence about the impact of graduates working in the field on PK-12 student learning.

The Frank Murray Leadership Recognition for Continuous Improvement is named after the founding President of the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC). CAEP was created by the consolidation of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and TEAC. Murray was the founding President of TEAC, served as Chairman of the Board for TEAC and was also an initial member of the CAEP Board of Directors.

Murray was a key advocate for a single set of educator preparation standards to unify the profession and was instrumental in the merger that created CAEP. He also served as the Dean of the College of Education at the University of Delaware from 1979 to 1995.

“Frank Murray was passionate about education preparation, a prominent leader in our profession, and an advocate for evidence to improve education. The providers that CAEP is recognizing are committed to continuous improvement and preparing their students to succeed in a diverse range of classrooms after they graduate,” said Yuhang Rong, chair of the CAEP Board of Directors. “CAEP Accreditation is a sign of commitment to quality through purposeful use of evidence. The Murray Leadership Recognition recipients should be proud of their accomplishments.”

CAEP accreditation serves the dual purposes of accountability and continuous improvement. 471 educator preparation providers in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have been accredited under the CAEP Standards.

The CAEP accreditation process evaluates the performance of providers and focuses particularly on whether candidates will be prepared, by completion, for the challenging responsibilities that educators face in America’s classrooms. Approximately 600 educator preparation providers participate in the CAEP Accreditation system, including many previously accredited through former standards.