The Graduate Education Division received confirmation that the Inquiry Brief Commission for the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) concluded at its meeting on October 22, 2013 that the evidence presented in the Inquiry Brief for Caldwell University, as verified and evaluated by the Initial Review Panel, merits TEAC Accreditation status for seven years. There are two areas for improvement and no stipulations to the program.

Please follow the link to the approval noted by the panel on October 22, – 23, 2013.

http://www.teac.org

The areas of improvement stated were 1. Establish reliability and validity for all measures and 2 explicitly align the goals and program claims about the cross-cutting themes.

The panel cited justification for the full seven (7) years since Caldwell University identifies a number of appropriate clams and multiple sources of evidence to support the claims.

The summary of the case may be read at:

http://www.teac.org/wp-content/uploads/CaseSummaries/Caldwell_College_Educational_Admin_Supervision_Case_Summary.pdf

Program Claims

The Educational Administration faculty claim that they prepare school leaders who will:

1. demonstrate their understanding of theories and strategic decision-making for educational administration and supervision to meet the learning needs of all students.
2. act in an ethical, fair, and trustworthy manner in their interactions with all members of the school community.
3. meet the requirements for certification and become employed as a principal, supervisor or school administrator in the State of New Jersey.

A.     School Leaders Licensure Exam ( Claim 1, Claim 3)

Correlation of GPA and Praxis Scores

We requested that Susan Hayes, Director of Assessment, calculate correlations between our completer’s Grade Point Averages (GPAs) and their scores on the School Leadership Licensing (SLLA) exams. The Pearson Product Moment correlation was used for this purpose. Correlations were computed separately for the candidates who completed the MA in Educational Administration, and those who completed the requirements for the post-Masters principal certification. Both groups are required to take the SLLA for certification as a principal in New Jersey.

There were 16 MA in Educational Administration completers for whom a significant relationship (r=+.679, p<.05) was found. This represents a positive and rather strong relationship between the variables. It would indicate that increase in GPA relates to increase in the SLLA score.

In the case of the 22 principal certification completers, a weak (-.109) correlation coefficient was discovered. However, this correlation was not statistically significant. Therefore, we cannot rule out the possibility that this result was due to chance.

Table A: MA in Educational Administration

Table B: Post MA Principals’ Certification

C. Scatterplot for MA in Ed. Admin

D. Scatterplot for Principals’ Certification

Annual Student Evaluation of Program

Table E

Mean Ratings by Category: Annual Student Program Evaluation Survey 2012-13

In the Table above we provide the results of our end-of-program Annual Student Evaluation survey. The survey used a 5-1 Likert scale where 5 is high (Very well) and 1 is low (poorly). These data as compared with the previous four academic years’ summary indicate an improved level of satisfaction in all aspects of survey results. However, in the interest of transparency and because we realize that Mean scores can mask individual score disparity, we have summarized candidates’ comments below.

Academic Preparation:

There was a mixed level of comfort with hybrid or online courses. Other students expressed the desire for an additional, earlier experience with the problem-based research format.

Program Operation:

Students indicated they emerged from the program with a feeling of preparedness for administrative employment.  Some dissatisfaction was expressed about HVAC in one satellite facility which was resolved by a change in location. Some students also referred to an early internet problem localized to the same satellite facility. The internet issues required cooperation with the local district to allow outside access to their firewall. That was accomplished through the local district’s technology coordinator.

Personal Benefits:

Students expressed gratitude for scheduling accommodations and personal considerations by the faculty. Others felt the hiatus in the fast track program should be re-evaluated for its effect on continuity of instruction. One student commented, “I learned so much from the program, I’m considering becoming an administrator.”

Quality of Instruction:

One student indicated, “the professors were the best part of this experience”. Another said, “I learned a lot about education and became a better writer and leader.” Students would also like all professors to treat assignments in a common manner.

General Comments:

Students would like to have opportunities for more on-line courses.

They would also like to experience the format of a problem-based writing experience earlier in the program to prepare them for the final project.

Retention in Program

Caldwell University has a 99% retention rate for the Academic year 2012 – 2013 for the Educational administration program and 98& pass rate on the School Leader Praxis. See Praxis and GPA above.