"I don�t ask perfection from my
faculty,� Tom Rosebrough, dean of the School of
Education and Human Studies, said. �but I do ask for
excellence.� With an undergraduate program that
boasts a 100 percent placement rate and a growing
graduate program, Rosebrough gets excellence from the
faculty�and the students, too. �Every teacher who
graduates from Union who wants a job has a job,�
Rosebrough explained. �That�s because our graduates are
in demand, and Union has a quality reputation.�
Union�s student pass rate on the PRAXIS exam�83%� is 12
percentage points higher than the state rate. Both
undergraduate and graduate students must pass the test
before they can student teach. Another mark of
quality in the program is its accreditation by the
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
(NCATE), considered the premiere accrediting association
for teacher education. �The NCATE accreditation means
we meet national standards,� Rosebrough explained. �In
most cases, teachers who graduate from Union can be
hired immediately in any state in the United States
without question. It is a national stamp of approval.�
One exception is Texas, where teachers would be required
to take a course in Texas history within one year.
�NCATE now requires a performance-based assessment,�
Rosebrough said. �That is based on the performance of
our graduates.� Four years ago, Union faculty began
integrating concepts and strategies to maximize learning
effectiveness in the classroom. Techniques focus on how
children learn best. �Instead of offering only
content-based instructional design classes, we designed
a sequence of courses that integrate instructional
design with classroom management, multi intelligences
and brain compatible learning,� Rosebrough said. �It�s
an innovative way to approach the preparation of
teachers.� As an institution listed in The
Templeton Foundation Guide for Colleges That Encourage
Character Development, Union�s education program
goal is to transfer biblical values into the social
values of the school. �We think it fits very well in
the Character Counts program,� Rosebrough said. �The six
character values in that program transfer well into the
eight character values listed in Galatians 5. NCATE
accepted that concept because it defined our identity as
an institution.� In addition to the undergraduate
program, Union offers two master�s programs, a doctoral
program and an education specialist program. �The
master of education program is designed for licensed
teachers, as is the education specialist program,�
Rosebrough said. �The master of arts in education is
geared toward professionals who want a career change
into education. The program delivers courses in a
quality way so that these students can qualify for
teacher licensure.� The doctor of education degree
program, begun a year ago, focuses on the area of
educational leadership with a concentration in preschool
through grade 12. Another program in higher education
leadership administration will begin in the summer of
2005. �The new program will be national in scope,
because it will be designed so that people can come from
all over the country to take classes,� Rosebrough said.
�It will feature intensive scheduling times in the
summer and in January for four straight years. In
between, students will go online.� Overall,
Rosebrough wants education graduates to be well grounded
so they will offer their best to America�s children.
�We want them to be holistic in the way they view
teaching,� he said. �It�s the reason behind the whole
curriculum overlay we are putting into practice right
now.� |
