Tabor College seeks fourth specialty accreditation
Staff writer
Tabor College currently has three accredited specialty programs, and is in the process of being evaluated for a fourth.
Tabor College's education department was visited this week by the state and the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) accreditation team.
According to Dr. Bruce Anthony, education professor at Tabor College, the accreditation team was here to re-accredit the college's education department for the state, and also to access Tabor for accreditation through NCATE.
The U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation recognize NCATE as a professional accrediting body for teacher preparation. NCATE was established in 1954, and currently accredits 588 colleges of education.
"In the field of teachers education, it's really the standard," said Dr. Donna Bagley.
According to Bagley, as part of their re-design of licensing, the state of Kansas adopted the same set of standards used by NCATE for accreditation. In order to retain accreditation through the state, Tabor would have to meet the NCATE standards.
The standards set by NCATE for accreditation are: candidate knowledge, skills, and dispositions; assessment system and unit evaluation; field experiences and clinical practice; diversity; faculty qualifications, performance, and development; and unit governance and resources.
According to Bagley, Tabor College Education Department Chair, since the standards are the same, the college might as well work toward accreditation from both the national and state organizations.
According to Bagley, the college has been working on the upcoming accreditation team visit for almost four years.
"This is a very big deal," said Bagley. "Because if we are successful, it will say we have a nationally ranked teachers education program."
Bagley says that Tabor will be meeting the same set of standards held by Kansas State University, the University of Kansas, and any other NCATE accredited univeristy.
"To have their accreditation is a real sign of a quality program," she said. "To me it speaks volumes that a school as small as we are can meet national standards, and meeting those standards I think will help our graduates become employed."
If Tabor receives NCATE accreditation, transcripts for students who graduate from Tabor's school of education will reflect the accreditation.
Tabor's music department was recently re-accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) Commission of Accreditation.
NASM was founded in 1924, and is an organization of schools, conservatories, colleges, and universities. It has approximately 610 accredited institutional members, and it establishes national standards for undergraduate and graduate degrees and other credentials.
According to NASM Tabor College has met the principal concerns of educational quality and institutional probity.
"It is certainly satisfying when an accrediting organization like NASM evaluates and confirms our program," said Dr. Richard Cantwell, Tabor College Music Department Chair.
Only two of the six ACCK schools have received accreditation from NASM.
The athletic training program received accreditation in December through the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.
The program is one of only nine athletic training programs in the state that is accredited according to Tabor College President, Larry Nikkel.
Tabor Wichita's nursing program has accreditation through the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Eduction (CCNE).
In higher education, accreditation is the way in which institutions make sure the highest quality is maintained. Accreditation recognizes institutions as upholding a certain standard of quality in all areas of their work: academic programs, faculty, student services, library facilities, etc.
The process is detailed and rigorous, and is conducted by a team of teachers and administrators from other institutions. They assess all programs and services at the college.
Before the accreditation team begins its visit, a college reviews all aspects of its existence. This is true at Tabor College as well as at any other institution.
Nikkel said that these four accreditations are voluntary, and Tabor could operate without them. The college itself is accredited through the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
The accreditations are an external validation, according to Nikkel.
"Our commitment to excellence calls us to being as good as we can in all our programs," said Nikkel. "One way to document or validate that is by submitting ourselves to these specialty accrediations."
Nikkel says Tabor's specialty accreditation in teacher's education, music, athletic training, and nursing helps position the school as an institution of excellence.
"It's clearly an asset in terms of our graduates getting employment," said Nikkel.
