The teacher education unit is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). The unit consists of the College of Education and the TESOL/Bilingual Master’s Program, which is housed in the College of Liberal Arts. This accreditation covers both initial teacher licensure programs and advanced licensure programs. The last accreditation visit was in April 2005 and resulted in seven years of continuing accreditation with no conditions. A one-year extension was given as the Ohio Board of Regents was taking over the licensure process. The next NCATE visit is scheduled for November 10-12, 2013. The teacher education unit has been NCATE accredited since 1989. NCATE has six standards:
- Candidate Knowledge, Skills and Professional Dispositions
- Assessment System and Unit Evaluation
- Field Experiences and Clinical Practice
- Faculty Qualifications , Performance and Development
- Unit Governance and Resources
Individual programs are written to the standards of their specialized professional associations (SPAs). Programs are approved by either NCATE or the Ohio Board of Regents.
The University of Findlay is also accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
After the 2013 NCATE visit, the University will switch to the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). NCATE and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) consolidated to form CAEP. The mission of both NCATE and CAEP is accountability and improvement of educator preparation. The accreditation process ensures rigorous standards for educator preparation programs have been met and that the institution is accountable for providing continuous evidence of meeting these standards.