The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo School of Education has been awarded its full seven years of accreditation by the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation.
The Master of Arts in Teaching, Year 1 (Licensure Year), has been awarded full accreditation through June 30, 2028. Full accreditation acknowledges that a program prepares effective educators who continue to grow as professionals and has demonstrated the commitment and capacity to maintain quality.
The decision is accompanied by a commendation, which reads: “The Accreditation Commission commends the program for its structure, clinical partnerships, and cohort model, which foster deep and ongoing collaboration for professional learning among the community of program completers in keeping with the program’s signature cultural ethos. This commendation pertains to AAQEP Standard 3, program capacity to ensure completer professional competence, as shown particularly in the evidence for Aspect 2f, which addresses program completers’ ability to collaborate with colleagues to support professional learning.”
“Congratulations to the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and to all of the faculty, staff, and stakeholders who have achieved their goal of national accreditation by AAQEP,” said AAQEP President and CEO Mark LaCelle-Peterson. “The program succeeds admirably both in meeting national standards and in embodying Hawaiian cultural values and knowledge that inform and enrich the local educational community.”
“This accreditation process was beneficial as it helped in our role as reflective practitioners,” said Dr. Diane Barrett, professor and director, School of Education. “The School of Education strives to be the HEART of our learning community, and through this process, we listened to what our community had to say and used these data to improve our program. I am grateful to our faculty (current and emeritus) for all their hard work and dedication in make this a success!”
National accreditation assures the quality of professional preparation programs through a nongovernmental, nonregulatory process of self-study and peer review. AAQEP promotes and recognizes quality educator preparation that strengthens the education profession’s ability to serve all students, schools, and communities, and to do so equitably. AAQEP is nationally recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.