Education
Accreditation
The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) first approved Union's Professional Education Unit at both the initial and advanced levels in 2000. This national accreditation supported the unit's state approval that had stood since the mid-1950's. The Educator Preparation Program remained accredited by NCATE through October 2020, when it achieved reaccreditation at the initial and advanced levels through the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). This accrediting body was created via the merger of NCATE and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) in 2013. Union University's CAEP accreditation term runs from October 2020 through 2027.
Full CAEP Accreditation Statement
Initial Licensure
To be licensed to teach in the State of Tennessee, prospective teachers must earn a bachelor's degree from a regionally-accredited college or university, meet all professional assessment requirements as specified by the State Board of Education, complete an approved educator preparation program, and be recommended for licensure by the program provider.
Areas of Initial Licensure in the EPP at Union University
Teaching in Other States
The NASDTEC Interstate Agreement facilitates the mobility of educators among the states and other jurisdictions that are members of NASDTEC and have signed the Agreement. Although there may be conditions applicable to individual jurisdictions, the Agreement makes it possible for an educator who completed an approved program and/or who holds a certificate or license in one jurisdiction to earn a certificate or license in another state or jurisdiction. Specifically, the agreement outlines which particular types of educator certificates (teachers, administrators, service personnel, or career/technical), and which particular styles of certifications (titles, fields, etc.) will be accepted. Receiving states may impose certain special requirements which must be met in a reasonable period of time, such as coursework, assessments, or classroom experience, before receiving a full professional certificate in the new state. The Teacher Certification Reciprocity Guide and the Education Commission of the States are useful websites that outline which qualifications/requirements each state will or will not accept from another state.
Important note to prospective teacher candidates: Each state is responsible for its own certification/licensure requirements, which may change without notice to NASDTEC or your university's certification officers or your state's office of certification. You must contact the office of certification in any state to which you may be relocating, or check with the EPP director, to get the most accurate information on certification requirements. This map link will help you locate the main web page for the entity in each state that is responsible for educator certification. One important guideline is that reciprocity is always easier if you completed the certification requirements and obtained your teaching credential in the state where you completed your program requirements.