Franklin College students will once again be able to pursue teaching licenses through their studies at the school.
The Indiana State Board of Education this week ruled the college will get state accreditation for its elementary education program, more than eight months after the college was stripped of its national accreditation. The board also approved accreditation for a new Secondary Education Transition to Teaching program, according to a Franklin College news release.
Through the secondary education program, students will now be able to get licensed to teach middle and high school without attending another institution after Franklin College, said Kerry Prather, the college’s president.
In August, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, a national vendor of the Indiana State Board of Education, eliminated accreditation for underclassmen who were not yet in the college’s elementary education program.
The decision came after a former accreditation coordinator and college administrators didn’t follow the vendor’s reporting process for accreditation in 2019. The college fought the decision, Prather said at the time.
“The ruling was not based on the quality of Franklin College’s program, but solely on the failure to comply with the reporting process,” Prather said.
The state board of education’s ruling gives the college three years to prepare to go through the national accreditation process again. In the meantime, students will be able to pursue their teaching licenses once again.
The Franklin College education program is among the college’s most popular. Almost 5% of Franklin students major in education, and about 1,000 alumni are teachers or administrators in pre-K through 12th grade, according to the college.
Prather is confident national accreditation will follow suit, he said.
“The fact that the state approved all our proposals — which are largely evaluated by CAEP standards — is evidence we will proceed through the CAEP process with the capable professionals who will guide us to a successful outcome,” Prather said.
