SECTION 712:10-5-3. Specific State Standards For Program Accreditation

(a)   The following standards apply to both undergraduate and graduate programs. The governance and administration of the total teacher education program standard is based on the premise that there must be a recognizable and functioning governance entity within the institution's administrative structure which has responsibility for designing, approving and continuously evaluating and developing teacher education programs. This governing unit may be a council, committee, department, school, college, or any other recognizable entity, which includes the administration of teacher education as one of its functions.

(1)   The governing unit membership and responsibilities include the following:

(A)   Membership on the teacher education governing unit shall be defined by written policy to include:

(i)   A majority of the members who have a minimum of three years teaching experience in public schools;

(ii)   A majority of the members in the governance unit who are currently teacher education faculty members;

(iii)   Some faculty members who shall represent the arts and sciences;

(iv)   A designated director of teacher education defined as the institution's official representative for teacher education. The authority and responsibilities of this individual shall be clearly defined in written policies; and

(v)   A clearly defined process whereby faculty members and administrators become members and the terms of office.

(B)   The responsibilities of the teacher education governing unit shall be defined by written policy to include:

(i)   Responsibilities of the officers of the unit;

(ii)   Responsibilities of the unit's standing committees; and

(iii)   Responsibilities in the following areas as they are related to teacher education:

(I)   Admission/retention in teacher education;

(II)   Field experience and student teaching (admission and placement);

(III)   Development of courses and program curricula; and program review, evaluation and planning.

(C)   Program review, evaluation and revision responsibilities include:

(i)   The governance unit shall conduct at least one systematic review, evaluation, and when appropriate, revision of all teacher education programs within each accreditation period;

(ii)   Periodic program reviews and revisions shall be based on, but not limited to, stated goals and objectives; and

(iii)   The process for conducting program review, evaluation, and revision shall include, but not be limited to, participation by the following:

(I)   Teacher education faculty and arts and science faculty;

(II)   Graduates of the programs;

(III)   Students currently in the program;

(IV)   Teachers and administrators from the public schools;

(V)   Parents of PK-12 students and business and community leaders who are actively involved in assisting PK-12 schools.

(D)   Documentation related to the budget-making process and level of financial support shall include the following:

(i)   A clearly defined budget-making process for all teacher education programs; and

(ii)   An analysis showing that the institution's financial support for programs in teacher education are maintained at a level appropriate for a professional preparation program.

(b)   Teacher education faculty standards are to be consistent with accreditation standards.

(c)   Candidate-related standards are to be consistent with accreditation standards.

(d)   Program decisions of the professional education unit are to be guided by a conceptual framework, which establishes the shared vision for the preparation of teacher candidates.

(1)   The conceptual framework must include the following structural elements: The mission of the institution and the teacher preparation program;

(A)   The program's philosophy, purposes, professional commitments and dispositions;

(B)   A knowledge base that provides the foundation for the framework;

(C)   Performance expectations for candidates that align with professional, state and institutional standards; and

(D)   A system by which candidate performance is regularly assessed.

(2)   A description of the conceptual framework shall be submitted along with the institution's preconditions report by any institution seeking first accreditation.

(3)   A description of the conceptual framework shall be included in all institutional reports submitted prior to first and continuing accreditation visits.

(e)   The following guidelines are to be used to collect and maintain data on each institution's teacher preparation program:

(1)   The institution shall establish a process which seeks information and program input from teacher preparation faculty; faculty from arts and sciences and other programs and disciplines which are appropriate; candidates within the teacher education program; teachers, administrators, parents, guardians or custodians of students; and business and community leaders.

(2)   The institution shall establish procedures to inform the public regarding the teacher education program and to solicit and receive public input.

(3)   The institutional plan shall be accessible to any interested party under the Oklahoma Open Records Act.

(4)   The submitted institutional plan must be approved by the institution's governing board.

(5)   Annual reviews and reports indicating program changes.

(f)   The following policies, procedures and guidelines are used to direct the content and candidates' experiences of each institution's teacher preparation program.

(1)   Programs require teacher candidates to have speaking and listening skills at a novice high level in a language other than English.

(2)   General studies requirements for candidates include the arts, communication, history, literature, mathematics, philosophy, sciences, English, government, and the social sciences.

(3)   Programs establish cohort or colleague groups within the institution to assist teacher candidates in achieving competencies, better adapting to the school environment and furthering professional growth.

(4)   Candidates complete a well-planned sequence of courses and/or experiences in pedagogical studies that ensures student competency in the Oklahoma State Department of Education Full Subject Matter Competencies for Teacher Licensure and Certification.

(5)   The guidelines and standards for program reviews representing specialty organizations and national learned society standards are used in developing programs in each content area.

(6)   Secondary and elementary/secondary teacher candidates have undergraduate majors or their equivalents, in a subject area.

(7)   Teacher candidates in early childhood, elementary, and special education have subject area concentrations, which allow qualification as a generalist. To qualify as a generalist, candidates must document competency in mathematics, science, language arts, and social studies as identified in the NCATE professional learned societies' standards and State Department of Education Full Subject Matter Competencies for early childhood, elementary and special education.

(8)   Teacher candidate coursework includes the study of substance abuse symptoms identification and prevention; mental illness symptoms identification and mental health issues; classroom management skills; and classroom safety and discipline issues.

(9)   Effective September 1, 2015 Teacher candidates must have a minimum of 60 hours of diverse field experiences prior to their student teaching experience.

(10)   Teacher candidates are provided with advisement services to assist them in taking course work designed to maximize their opportunities for certification and employment. At a minimum, teacher candidates are provided information on the latest supply and demand information concerning teacher employment, state salary structure, and teaching shortage areas.

(11)   Substantive collaboration and classroom interaction with students accompanies theoretical curriculum, thus allowing teacher candidates the opportunity to apply theory to actual classroom situations.

(12)   Instruction integrates pedagogical competencies or skills with experiences in the school setting.

(13)   Teacher candidates are provided with opportunities to have parental, family and community involvement within their pre-service programs.

(14)   The unit establishes and publishes a set of criteria/competencies for exit from each professional education program. These criteria/competencies reflect the Oklahoma Department of Education General Teacher Competencies and/or subject matter competencies outlined in the NCATE national (professional) learned societies' standards.

(15)   The unit establishes and publishes the criteria/competencies for exit and satisfactory completion of the residency program adhering to all rules and regulations established by the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

(16)   A candidate's mastery of a program's stated exit criteria or competencies is assessed through the use of multiple sources of data such as culminating experience, portfolios, interviews, videotaped and observed performance in schools, standardized tests and course grades.

(17)   Effective September 1, 2015 mentor teachers are required to have minimum of three years of teaching experience in the area in which they are certified.

(g)   The following guidelines are to be used to facilitate the professional development of faculty:

(1)   Teacher education faculty continue their professional development during their tenure at an institution of higher education to ensure that the future teachers of Oklahoma are taught by professional educators fully trained in their areas of expertise. Professional development for teacher educators and arts and sciences faculty should be focused on the faculty members' ability to model such effective teaching strategies as inquiry, group discussions and collaborative learning.

(h)   The following policies are to be used to evaluate individual program areas at each institution:

(1)   The institution shall submit program reviews for each required program area based upon the guidelines and accreditation schedule of the Commission.

(2)   Following the completion of each program evaluation, the institution will receive written notification of each program's status. Recognition decisions will include the following categories: recognized, recognized with conditions, recognized with probation, further development required, and not recognized.

(3)   If the program is recognized, it will retain its status through the semester and year of the institution's next accreditation visit. To retain recognition, another program report must be submitted before that review.

(4)   If the program is recognized with conditions, a report addressing the conditions to recognition must be submitted within 18 months of the date of the status report. The report must address the conditions specified by the reviewers. Once acceptable data has been submitted, the condition(s) will be removed. If the program does not submit acceptable information within the designated timeframe, the decision reverts to "not recognized."

(5)   If the program decision is recognized with probation or further development required, a revised report addressing the issues identified by the reviewers must be submitted within 12 months, or the unit may submit a new program report for recognition within 12 months. If the revised report adequately addresses the concerns cited by reviewers, the program decision will be changed to "recognized" or "recognized with conditions." If the program is unsuccessful after two attempts, the program status will be changed to "not recognized."

(6)   A program can receive a decision of "not recognized" only after two submissions are unsuccessful in reaching either "recognized" or "recognized with conditions." If the program is not recognized, a revised report addressing unmet standards may be submitted within 12 months of the date of the recognition report. [This report will be sent to the original team if possible.] If the program does not receive a recognized decision within 12 months, admission of new candidates will not be allowed. The unit may elect to submit a new program report for recognition within 12 months. [This report will be sent to a new team of reviewers].

(7)   Programs which are required to submit through NCATE and receive an initial decision of "recognized with probation" or "further development required" may apply to OCTP for state recognition and thus recommend teacher candidates for certification under the following conditions:

(A)   The program must have an aggregated pass rate of all candidates on the Oklahoma Subject Area Test (OSAT) of 80% or more over a three-year period. An application for program recognition must be submitted to OCTP containing basic program information as well as current recognition status and future submission deadlines; however an additional review will not be required.

(B)   Institutions must submit a revised program report according to applicable NCATE/SPA or OCTP guidelines as appropriate addressing concerns cited in the review. If the revised report is not recognized, the unit must submit additional revised reports according to guidelines. The unit must exhaust all available NCATE options for revision.

(C)   Programs which do not meet the required 80% pass rate on the OSAT may apply to OCTP for state recognition only after the unit has exhausted all available NCATE options for revision. The application for state recognition must address concerns cited by reviewers in the final report.

(D)   Programs receiving state recognition under these conditions will maintain recognition until the submission period prior to the unit's next scheduled accreditation visit, at which time the unit will be expected to submit a program review to NCATE or OCTP, as appropriate.

(8)   Units may receive conditional approval for new programs. These programs must undergo reviews as outlined in the New Certification Program Procedures for Established Units guidelines before receiving full recognition. Recognition will be retained through the semester and year of the unit's next accreditation visit.

(9)   Programs that do not comply with the procedures detailed in items (h)3-7 will no longer be eligible to recommend candidates for licensure and certification.

(10)   An institution with a non-compliant program may apply to the PAC for a waiver if there is evidence that the non-compliant status of a program is due to transitioning national standards.

[Source: Added at 14 Ok Reg 3198, eff 7-25-97; Amended at 18 Ok Reg 416, eff 11-21-00 (emergency); Amended at 18 Ok Reg 3131, eff 7-12-01; Amended at 19 Ok Reg 2449, eff 6-27-02; Amended at 20 Ok Reg 2186, eff 6-26-03; Amended at 22 Ok Reg 2633, eff 7-11-05; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 1334, eff 11-1-09; Amended at 27 Ok Reg 1613, eff 7-1-10; Amended at 28 Ok Reg 1851, eff 7-1-11; Amended at 29 Ok Reg 840, eff 7-1-12; Amended at 30 Ok Reg 874, eff 7-1-13]