National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education s3

Visit Template for a Focused Visit National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education May 2008

During the previsit, the NCATE team chair should review this template with the institutional representatives, state team chair/co-chair, and state consultant. Adjustments to the schedule will be required if individuals are not available at the recommended time.

Saturday

Afternoon1 Team Members Arrive

Sunday

Morning/ Afternoon Team Meeting. BOE team chair provides an orientation for team members that includes 1 1. reviewing the purpose of the focused visit. 2. reviewing issues and recommendations from the most recent “BOE Update” and other correspondence received from NCATE. 3. becoming familiar with any state requirements related to the standard being reviewed as indicated in the NCATE/state protocol and/or by the state consultant. 4. discussing the format, content, and writing style of the BOE report. 5. reminding team members and state representatives about the confidentiality of their work.

Institutional Orientation to Exhibit Room/Website

Review of Evidence in the Exhibit Room

Team Meeting. BOE team chair leads the team through a preliminary review of data and makes plans for the conduct of the visit to campus on Monday, including

1. reviewing writing assignments and determining interview assignments. 2. recording each member’s ratings on the “Pre-Planning Instrument” for the standard(s) being reviewed. 3. identifying areas of concern related to the previously unmet standard that needs to be validated or investigated on Monday. 4. finalizing activities scheduled for Monday. 1 The team chair will inform team members when they should arrive. Depending on the location of the institution and where team members live, some team members may be able to travel on Sunday morning.

1 Evening Team Meeting (if needed). Team members The team: 1. review plans for carrying out assignments on Monday. 2. identify evidence not yet located that should be requested from the unit head or coordinator.

Monday

Morning Team Chair Meets with the Head of the Professional Education Unit (This meeting may also include the unit’s NCATE coordinator and state consultant when appropriate.)

(If Standard 3 is being reviewed) Site Visits to and Interviews at P-12 School Partners and Professional Development Schools

Interviews on Campus and at Off-campus Programs (Some team members may visit off-campus sites if the programs are comprehensive and large at those sites. In many cases, team members do not visit the site, but conduct interviews via technology.) Scheduled interviews should include

 head of the professional education unit  NCATE coordinator

Interviews should be conducted with the following individuals and groups that are appropriate to the standard(s) being reviewed:  heads of departments whose faculty teach the content fields (e.g., English, biology)  department chairs or heads of program areas in education (e.g., elementary education, curriculum and instruction, special education)  person(s) responsible for assessment activities  assessment committee members  curriculum committee members  graduate studies committee members  faculty council or teacher education committee members  members of committees that have worked on aspects of curriculum development  the chief executive officer (i.e., president or chancellor)  the chief academic officer at the institution  the person in charge of admission to the unit  leaders of student organizations in education  academic administrators such as the provost/vice president for academic affairs, deans of academic support areas (e.g., arts and sciences), and graduate dean

2  affirmative action office

Break Lunch and Optional Team Meeting

Afternoon (If Standard 3 is being reviewed) Site Visits to and Interviews at P-12 School Partners and Professional Development Schools (if not already conducted)

Interviews on Campus and at Off-campus Programs (Some team members may visit off-campus sites if the programs are comprehensive and large at those sites. In many cases, team members do not visit the site, but conduct interviews via technology.) Interviews should be conducted with the following individuals and groups that are appropriate to the standard(s) being reviewed:

 representatives of the major university policy committee (e.g., academic council or academic senate)  recent graduates who work in the geographic area  undergraduates candidates in professional education  graduate candidates in professional education, including those who are enrolled in evening courses  cooperating teachers and administrators  student teachers and other interns in the school sites visited  the director of clinical/laboratory experiences  selected faculty and administrators  others identified by the team.

(If appropriate for the standard being reviewed) Open Meetings with (1) Faculty and (2) Candidates. The faculty meeting should not include administrators. The meeting for candidates should not include faculty or administrators. The time, place and purpose of both meetings should be posted and disseminated by the unit before and during the visit.

The team chair(s) checks with team members periodically about the status of their data collection activities to determine what information cannot be found. The chair asks the institution’s NCATE coordinator and/or unit head for documentation that cannot be located by the team.

Evening Dinner

Team Work Session. Team members

1. determine characteristics, including strengths and areas of concern, that should be described in the narrative of the report. 2. identify areas for improvement, if any, to be cited. 3. determine by consensus, if possible, the BOE team’s recommendation on whether each standard is met or not met. (If consensus cannot be reached,

3 the team should vote, with the majority prevailing.) Team members take notes during the team’s discussions for inclusion in the BOE report.

Writing First Draft of the BOE Report. Individual members complete their assigned section(s) of the BOE report for presentation to the team on Tuesday morning.

Tuesday

Morning (If needed) Follow-up Interviews on Campus. Interviews will be scheduled if additional information or further clarification is needed by the team.

Team Meeting. Team members

1. present the written portion of his/her assignment to the full team for approval. (Teams members must have these written responses copied for all team members to review by this work session.) 2. revise their section of the report to reflect the comments of the team and submit it to the chair before departing for home.

The chair reminds team members that their work must remain confidential.

Afternoon Exit Report. The BOE team chair and state consultant meet with the unit head and NCATE coordinator to present a summary of the team’s findings and describe the next steps in the accreditation process, including the unit head’s review of the draft report for factual errors and submission of the rejoinder. The team chair also reminds institutional representatives that the team is making recommendations to the Unit Accreditation Board (UAB), but the UAB makes the final decision about whether standards are met and the areas for improvement (AFIs) to cite. (The president and chief academic officer are welcome to attend. Other members of the team may attend, especially if they are interested in chairing teams in the future.)

Departure of Team Members

After the BOE Visit

After the visit is completed, the BOE team chair edits the BOE report and sends copies of the draft to each team member, including state team members and the state consultant, and the NCATE office for further editing. Recommendations from team members and NCATE staff are incorporated into the final draft report as appropriate.

4 After the draft report is finalized, the chair sends one copy of the final draft to the unit head, who should review it for factual errors only and communicate any recommended changes to the BOE chair within five days of receipt of the report. At the chair's discretion, corrections are incorporated into the final BOE report.

One copy of the final report is submitted to NCATE by the BOE team chair. NCATE duplicates the report according to a standard format and sends two copies to the unit head and a copy to the state agency in partner states.

After Institution Receives BOE Report

30 days The unit head must acknowledge receipt of the report and has the opportunity to rejoin it. The rejoinder must be received by NCATE 30 days after the receipt of the BOE report.

April/October The UAB determines the accreditation status of the unit based on information in the BOE report, institutional rejoinder, team chair’s response to the rejoinder, and the institutional report..

1-3 weeks after UAB meeting NCATE sends a letter detailing the UAB’s accreditation action to the president/chancellor, unit head, and state consultant in partner states.