California State University, Fullerton's School of Education has received maximum state and national reaccreditation of its teacher education programs.

The university received five-year reaccreditation from both the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

"Let me take this opportunity to congratulate you and your professional education unit for displaying the high quality necessary to be granted national accreditation and to express appreciation for the cooperation received from the faculty, staff and administration of your institution," stated Arthur E. Wise, president of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.

"Cal State Fullerton's California Commission on Teacher Credentialing as well as the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education reaccreditation visit was important to us because it provided evidence that we have quality education programs," said Dr. Judith V. Ramirez, acting dean, College of Human Development and Community Service.

"This is consistent with the university's mission and our public's expectations that we produce teachers and other school specialists that meet rigorous performance standards," she added.
Preparation for the teams' visit provided an opportunity for the School of Education to study and evaluate its programs and ensure they are meeting the standards of excellence.
"The process was rewarding and the results were reassuring," Ramirez said. "Our students, faculty, staff, administration and school partners have every right to be proud of our accomplishments," she added.

"Cal State Fullerton's education programs' evaluations by the CCTC and NCATE accreditation teams were about as good as they can get," said Dr. Mickey Hollis, acting associate dean of the College of Human Development and Community Service and director of the School of Education. "All the programs were reaccredited without any stipulations from the CCTC." According to Hollis, one commission member noted, "that almost never happens."

"The results were as close to perfect as you can get in the accreditation processes," Hollis added. "This remarkable outcome was the consequence of five factors: excellent programs, outstanding faculty and staff, good students, supportive administration and effective K-12 school partnerships."

The accreditation team from Cal State Fullerton's education unit will be recognized during a special reception at 6:30 tonight in the Titan Student Union's Portola Pavilion. In addition, Dr. Linda C. Orozco, associate professor of educational leadership, and Dr. Alfredo Y. Ramirez, assistant professor of secondary education, will receive the Jewel Plummer Cobb Diversity in Education Award. The following student teacher education awards also will be presented: California Retired Teachers Association Scholarship, Governor's Teaching Fellowship and Edwin R. Carr Fellowship.