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College of Education

The Torchbearer, a bronze statue of a mounted man bearing a torch

Assessment and Accreditation

The Office of Assessment and Accreditation maintains national accreditation for all programs within the College of Education. The Office also makes sure that the College meets Federal and State reporting requirements, oversees the Professional Education Unit's assessment system, and conducts candidate, graduate, and employer satisfaction surveys. Simply put, our job is to ensure you will receive an education that is held to the highest standards in the nation.

Current Accreditation

The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) was created by the consolidation of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) and is currently the sole nationally recognized accrediting body for educator preparation. In April 2018, the College of Education was recognized for national excellence in educator preparation by meeting new, rigorous CAEP national accreditation standards.

National accreditation ensures that your studies in the College of Education are of the highest standard, backed by expert faculty, and built on in-depth clinical experiences. The University of South Carolina was the first university in South Carolina to seek accreditation from NCATE and has maintained this national standard since 1969.

The College of Education, as a unit, consists of all teacher education programs in the College of Education, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Music. 

For the 2016-17 academic year the College of Education had:

  • 85% Praxis Exam Summary Pass Rate for 2016-17 graduates    
  • 97% of 2016-17 graduates are “well prepared” in overall job preparation             
  • 87% of 2016-17 graduates were recommended for licensure
  • 2016-17 graduates have a mean GPA of 3.76    
  • 781 graduates in 2016-17:
    • 279 bachelor’s
    • 394 master’s
    • 79 doctorates
    • 28 specialists
    • 1 certificate    
  • 97% of 2016-17 initial education licensure graduates agree that their program prepared them for their role as a teacher
  • 87% of initial education licensure graduates maintain careers in education 5 years post-graduation
  • 96% of 2016-17 initial education licensure graduates say our courses and instructors were most helpful in preparing them to enter the field of teaching
  • 92% of advanced program graduates agree that their program provided them with in-depth knowledge of their specialty area(s)
  • 100% of our programs are recognized/recognized with condition by the following professional associations: