THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE

FACULTY SENATE

Senate Document Number 3711S

Date of Senate Approval 04/07/11

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Statement of Faculty Senate Action:

APC Document 24: Editorial Changes to K-6 Licensure Program

Effective Date: Fall 2011

1.  Delete: On page 122, under Elementary School Licensure (K-6):

I. Required courses in Education—41 hours, including: EDUC 210, 211, 315, 317, 319, 322, 325, 340, 344, 388, 455, 456

II. Required courses outside Education—6 hours, including: MATH 211, 215.

III. Other departmental requirements as outlined above for all licensure students.

Add: On page 122, in place of deleted entry:

I. Required courses in Education—43 hours, including: EDUC 210, 211, 215, 219, 220, 317, 322, 325, 326, 340, 344, 388, 455, 456.

II. Required courses outside Education—6 hours, including: MATH 211, 215.

III. Other departmental requirements as outlined above for all licensure candidates.

Impact:

Candidates

Although on paper these changes appear to increase the hours for students completing K-6 licensure, they actually represent the final set of a series of changes made over the last two years, all designed to reduce the number of hours in the licensure program and to increase the student teaching semester to a full-time load. These changes, combined with those of previous years (eliminating 12 hours of History requirements and 7 hours of Psychology requirements) reduces the number of hours in the program and benefits candidates by allowing them to finish their degree and the licensure program in less time. In the revised program, licensure requirements will be reduced from 21 courses (totaling 63 hours) to 16 courses (totaling 49 hours). Additionally, because of changes made last year across the entire education department, students’ last semester will be 12 hours instead of 8 hours, facilitating both financial aid and insurance availability.

There will be no significant impact on faculty load in the department of Education as a result of these changes. Though an individual faculty member’s load may “look” very different than in years past (different courses, different configurations), the fact that these changes do not increase hours for candidates means that the department is well-equipped to offer the courses.

Rationale:

These extensive modifications reflect departmental response to state mandates. In 2008, the State Board of Education set forth the requirement that all licensure programs in the state be “re-envisioned” to reflect the state’s newly adopted “21^st Century Standards.” The NC Professional Teaching Standards Commission developed what they term “A New Vision of Teaching.” The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) has mandated that programs be streamlined and updated to allow us to produce more teachers faster, while still ensuring that our candidates meet the new standards. NCDPI has directed us to eliminate redundancy among courses and emphasize core content, learning and thinking skills, information and communications technology, life skills, and 21^st Century Assessments. All licensure programs at UNCA were revised in keeping with this mandate.

These changes represent the efforts of a collaboration of Education Department faculty, public school personnel, current candidates, and program alumni. We have met multiple times over the last two years to develop the proposed program. Our intention is to carefully evaluate the new program for two to three years to determine their effectiveness. (Our programs are evaluated every year by surveying alumni and their employers along with student teachers.) Further, NCDPI will review our programs beginning in 2012 and we have an NCATE accreditation visit scheduled for Fall 2013. These forthcoming visits will ensure that we monitor candidates’ progress and seek candidate input regularly. We will assess the impact of these changes and revise the programs, if necessary, based on the data.