OBU Faculty Trained to be State Education Program Reviewers

Dr. Deborah Blue, dean of the college of arts and sciences at Oklahoma Baptist University, and Dr. Pamela Robinson, director of teacher education, were trained as National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education program reviewers by the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation.

The training makes them eligible to serve on accreditation teams for other institutions in the state. Blue is trained to review mathematics programs and Robinson is trained to review special education programs.

Blue also serves as a member of the OCTP for the state board of education.

The NCATE training was administered during a two-day seminar in Oklahoma City. The purpose of the training was to prepare faculty to serve on site visits to other Oklahoma institutions with teacher education programs to determine whether or not they meet the standards for accreditation.

"The four-and-a-half day site visit is a very intense process," Robinson said. "We look for financial support of the teacher education program, diversity issues among faculty and students, criteria for admitting candidates to the teacher education program and student teaching and faculty qualifications."

Both Blue and Robinson now serve as trainers for the OCTP program review. Since her training, Blue has served twice as trainer and reviewed a program in secondary mathematics education at a university in Oklahoma.