UH West O'ahu Education Division earns national accreditation

University of Hawaiʻi-West Oʻahu
Contact:
Julie Funasaki Yuen, (808) 689-2604
Public Info Officer, Communications Department
Posted: Apr 30, 2013

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) Unit Accreditation Board recently granted accreditation to the Education Division of the University of Hawai‘i – West O‘ahu. NCATE is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that helps establish high quality teacher preparation. The NCATE accreditation process establishes rigorous standards for teacher education programs, ensures that schools demonstrate the quality of their programs, and holds institutions accountable for meeting these standards in order to receive professional accreditation.

“We are very excited about the good news from NCATE,” said Dr. Mary F. Heller, professor and chair of the Education Division at UH West O‘ahu. “We have emerged ever confident in our ability to prepare highly qualified teachers to serve Hawai‘i’s elementary school students.”

“UH West O‘ahu is committed to offering a quality educational experience for Hawai‘i’s future teachers,” said UH West O‘ahu Chancellor Gene I. Awakuni. “NCATE’s recognition of our Education division is due to Dr. Mary Heller and her team’s efforts to provide teacher education at the university that achieves the highest standards.”

UH West O‘ahu offers a Bachelor of Education degree with a concentration in elementary education, and prepares knowledgeable, skillful, responsive educators for a global society. Studies encompass an innovative, field-based teacher preparation program, as well as public service activities that support West O‘ahu communities. Students participate in more than 200 hours of field-based coursework with the program culminating in a 15-week, full-time professional student teaching semester.

For more information about NCATE and UH West O‘ahu’s Education program, visit http://westoahu.hawaii.edu/ncate and http://www.uhwo.hawaii.edu/elementary_ed

About NCATE

NCATE is the teaching profession’s mechanism to help to establish high quality teacher, specialist, and administrator preparation. Through the process of professional accreditation of schools, colleges and departments of education, NCATE works to insure the quality of teaching and teacher preparation today, tomorrow, and for the next century. For more information, visit ncate.org/

About UH West O‘ahu

UH West O‘ahu became a four-year, regional comprehensive university when it served its first class of freshmen in fall 2007. The University offers quality education, small classes and personalized attention at convenient locations. UH West O‘ahu serves approximately 2,000 students at its brand new, state-of-the-art campus that opened in the City of Kapolei in 2012. For more information, visit uhwo.hawaii.edu, twitter.com/uhwestoahu, facebook.com/uhwestoahu or call 689-2800 or toll-free (866) 299-8656.