It’s been four years since the Ohio University Patton College of Education and Human Services went on probation for failing to meet an accreditation standard; and two since the college was taken off of probation for successfully meeting all six accreditation standards.
Despite the fix, a recent study gave the college its lowest rating of “poor” for its student-teacher program.
The National Council of Teacher Quality, based in Washington, D.C., evaluated 134 institutions in a study released last week. Schools were placed into one of four categories, with poor being the lowest category.
Included in the 75 percent of schools placed in the bottom two categories were Youngstown State University and OU, the only Ohio schools included in the study.
While the Patton College did go on probation in 2007 for meeting only five of the six possible National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education standards, Becky Watts, chief of staff to OU President Roderick McDavis, said to be wary of the study’s “narrow scope.”
“The study is limited to student-teacher programs, not the entire college, which has many, many programs that are not included in this study whatsoever,” Watts said.
In 2009, the NCATE conducted a five-day review of the college, assessing that it met all six accreditation standards, according to a previous Post article.
“It’s very frustrating to do great on an accreditation visit and still have the negative pall of inaccurate information floating out there,” Watts said. “It’s demoralizing to the students, faculty and staff and potentially damaging to future employment opportunities for graduates.”
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