College Vision: The College of Education is committed to being a leader and innovator in research, application, and dissemination of effective strategies for teaching and learning through technology-enabled learning environments with the ultimate aim of preparing educators who foster high achievement for all students.

Submitted by

Kathryn M. Moore, Dean

Associate Deans

Samuel S. Snyder, Research and External Affairs

Jack H. Wheatley, Academic Affairs

Department Heads

Carol E. Kasworm Adult and Community College Education

Herbert A. Exum, Interim Educational Research and Leadership and Counselor Education

Ellen Vasu Curriculum and Instruction

John E. Penick Mathematics, Science and Technology Education

1. The demand for educators in both K-12 and higher education continues to rise. In addition to the need for approximately 80,000 teachers in this decade in North Carolina, retirements and turnover in administrative personnel in both K-12 and community colleges approach 40% at both levels. Pressure for our College to be more responsive will require more resources at the same time as the state faces demands to raise salaries to attract people to these vacancies. Sister universities in the system will likely be urged to begin their own graduate programs in response.
2. Distance and online education are growing exponentially. The College is pursuing several new courses and entire degree programs. We are working cooperatively with community colleges. We also expect to be one of the few programs in the state to conduct research and prepare advanced degree-holders for leadership in this burgeoning field.
3. Rising standards, high stakes testing, and growing regulation at both the state and increasingly at the federal level creates many new challenges for preparing licensed educators. Even as the federal government shifts its funding to LEAs (local education agencies), the state government and accrediting agencies continue to demand more and more regulatory compliance from IHE’s (institutions of higher education) such as our University and College. Costs for producing well-prepared educators are not matched by commensurate resources.
4. Innovations in the use of various digital technologies for teaching and learning are continuing. The College is pursuing strategic partnerships with technology and software companies actively. The proposed Friday Institute for Educational Innovation seeks to capitalize on these interests and become a focal point for research in the region.
5. State economic downturn will likely affect the speed if not the direction of College activities. The state’s severe budget crisis is likely to affect the velocity with which we can implement needed directions in faculty hiring and student recruitment. We will need to remain forward focused even in the face of these economic challenges.

Diversity: Initiatives and Progress. The College of Education diversity initiative, "The Teachers Our Children Deserve: Reconceptualizing Teacher Preparation for North Carolina’s Increasingly Diverse K-12 Schools" involves three components: 1) expanding learning experiences offered in the undergraduate course ECI 305 Principles of Teaching Diverse Populations, 2) increasing the diversity among the CED faculty by building a cadre of adjunct faculty of color, and 3) the Leadership Institute for Future Teachers (LIFT), a program designed to introduce students of color to the teaching profession. Seed money was awarded to the College via the provost’s initiative. We have reconceptualized requirements for the study of diversity in all teacher education curricula. The funding freeze halted further work on the diversity initiative. The NCATE visiting team indicated that the College warranted an "A+" on the Diversity Standard. Diversity data from UPA showing the proportion of underrepresented groups among students and faculty and in the College of Education--

The College of Education faculty and students are substantially more diverse than the University totals in regard to the representation of females and people of color.

A new M.Ed. concentration in community college teaching was approved and the M.Ed. in training and development (via distance education) was implemented in Adult and Community College Education. A new lateral entry teacher preparation program in social studies education was implemented in Curriculum and Instruction. In Educational Research and Leadership and Counselor Education a cohort-based master of school administration was implemented in cooperation with Wake County Schools and the counselor education program received full accreditation through 2004 from the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs. At the College level we hosted an NCATE/SDPI accreditation visit, March 2-6, 2002. The NCATE report was received April 10, 2002. It was found that the Teacher Preparation Unit met five of the six standards. Standard II, Assessment, was found to be unmet. We have since submitted a rejoinder to address this determination. Assessment is a major focus going forward in any case. The SDPI report was, overall, very supportive of the College programs but included several areas of concern. These have since been addressed in a rejoinder. We await final determinations from the agencies.

Research

In 2001-2002 College faculty members were involved in the production of 57 proposals requesting a total of $26.8 million; there have been $2.5 million in new awards to date. Research expenditures in the College exceeded $3 million. These are increasing trends in all cases. The table below summarizes some scholarly products related to the College research enterprise:

College faculty conducted more than 50 projects providing approximately $350,000 of in-kind professional services to schools in North Carolina. Faculty in ERLCE provided service to the North Carolina Center for School Violence, the Raleigh Vet Center, and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The College maintains 18 "Online Tools for Schools" including Science Junction, Literacy Junction, MidTech Magazine, and MEGA, Middle Educators Global Activities [http://cep.ncsu.edu/onlinetools/index.html]. Career Key, an on-line career information and advising system developed by Dr. Larry Jones of ERLCE, receives thousands of hits weekly from the US and abroad. The Center for Research in Mathematics and Science Education conducted several "Girls on Track" camps (a program to foster interest in science careers among middle school females) serving more than 40 teachers and nearly 200 young women. The Model Clinical Teaching Program provides consultation and training to a dozen colleges or universities and to school systems in 10 counties and publishes Connections, a newsletter distributed to more than 500 locations throughout the state.

Adult and Community College Education: Duane Akroyd received the 2001 Harold Silverman- Radiation Therapist Distinguished Author Award, Don Locke served as the President of the National Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, Carol Kasworm was a visiting scholar, Danish School of Education and was inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame.

Curriculum and Instruction: Candy Beal and Ruie Pritchard were inducted into the Academy of Outstanding Faculty Engaged in Extension, Alan Foley received the Rising Star Hall of Fame Award from Oklahoma State’s College of Education, and Ellen Vasu was elected president of HyperSIG, International Society for Technology in Education.

Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education: Lee Stiff served as retiring president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics; John Penick served as president of the Association for the Education of Teachers of Science and became president-elect of the National Science Teachers Association; Ted Branoff was elected Chair of the Engineering Graphics Division of the American Society for Engineering Education; Jack Wheatley served as retiring president and Karen Dawkins as president of the NC Science Leadership Association.

Educational Research and Leadership and Counselor education: Tracy Robinson was named a Scholar in Gender Research by the Beatrice Bains Research Group of UC-Berkeley, Anthony Rolle received the Jean Flanagan Dissertation Award from the American Educational Finance Association, and Herbert Exum was named a Diplomate of the American Psychotherapy Association.

Students

Students in the College of Education compare well with those across the University, with SAT scores and high school GPAs comparable to the University averages. Graduate students in ACCE conducted a statewide conference on diversity issues in May. A group of 27, first-year teaching fellows provided more than 6,000 hours of tutoring to local schools.

In FY01-02, $5,393,316 has been committed to the College, including $5,037,715 towards the $8 million budget for the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation and $355,601 in other restricted and unrestricted funds. Overall gifts totaling $5,738.717 has been committed to the Institute, which includes $725,000 in corporate commitments and $5,013,717 from individuals, including a $5 million gift to name the facility in honor of William and Ida Friday. The College's Leadership Advisory Board has been restructured as the College of Education Advancement Board with clearly defined goals and expectations for annual giving. Finally, the College continues to face stress in budgeting for development functions, travel, and fund-raising materials as it operates on only $12,500 in its annual development budget.

Changes: The College conducted national searches for 2 department heads. Dr. Ellen Vasu was appointed head for Curriculum and Instruction after serving a year as interim head. Regrettably, before a search could be concluded for the head of Educational Research and Leadership and Counselor Education, the budget of the state and therefore of the University worsened severely and it was decided to forego the search and to ask Dr. Carol Kasworm, department head of Adult and Community College Education to assume the leadership of ERLCE also. Determinations concerning the extent and nature of the merger will be developed in the ensuing months. Dr. Hiller Spires, (C&I) was appointed Interim Director of the proposed Friday Institute for Educational Innovation and has assumed responsibility for developing the planning proposal for the Institute. Dr. Andrew Overstreet was hired to serve as Project Manager for the Centennial campus building to house the Friday Institute and also to serve as school liaison for the effort. Dr. Lisa Grable was appointed Director of the Learning Technologies Resource Center and Andy Raynor was appointed Director of Computing and network Services (replacing Elizabeth Mebane). Jo-Ann Robinson was appointed Director of the Teaching Fellows Program (replacing Dr. Terry Wall).

Achievements:

1. A key achievement in 2001-02 was the receipt of the $5 million naming gift for the Centennial campus building and the naming designation by the donors for William and Ida Friday. This gift, the largest in the College history, and one of the largest for the University, has spurred significant new exciting plans for the Institute and for the kinds of partners we can attract to the Institute.
2. Our faculty continue to win prominent national leadership positions; for example, Dr. Lee Stiff is serving a one-year term as past president of the National Association of Teachers of Mathematics, Dr. John Penick will serve as president of the National Association of Science Teachers. We recently were host to the Adult Education Research Council national meeting in May.
3. We developed a customized Masters degree for Wake County Public Schools and Wake Education Partnership to be launched in the fall, finances permitting.

.Recommendations and concerns for the future:

The College of Education continues its efforts to become a research-intensive professional college with national reputation for excellence in teaching and learning in technology-enabled environments. The developing vision for the proposed Friday Institute for Educational Innovation is a centerpiece for the College vision and a means for North Carolina to realize a more promising educational future for her people. As fund-raising for the Centennial campus building moves into a public phases the College will gain greater visibility and interest. In line with this greater visibility and in light of the greater fiscal challenges, we make the following recommendations:

1. Honor to the extent possible the approved Compact Plan initiatives and other funding requests to strengthen and advance the work of the College. It will be a great tragedy for years to come if the College, which is poised to launch a new era of research productivity and leadership, is unable to begin these new initiatives.
2. Reward faculty research productivity. The College is launching a new era of faculty work. We have hired some fine new faculty and energized existing ones, but without concrete improvements in faculty support, these folks will find others’ job offers too enticing. And hard working research faculty will grow discouraged. We continue to be at risk particularly with regard to minority faculty.
3. Support the College in its efforts to build the Centennial campus building. The building is one of the first of its kind on the campus–an academic building being supported largely by private funds–The university should find helpful and supportive means to encourage such developments–because state funds cannot be expected to fund every capital need in the future. But if this project is not seen as one that is appreciated and supported, other donors may not find NC State a good place to invest their capital for educational purposes.

We share the University’s vision to become an exemplary land-grant university for the 21^st century, and we believe such a vision calls upon this college to fulfill its goal of being research-intensive professional school with national stature. The College is committed to doing its share to contribute to the central thrusts of the University through improved and invigorated teaching, research and outreach programs. Moreover, we are desirous of doing our part to address the rising teacher shortage in the state that is accompanied by shortages of administrators, counselors, and community college personnel. We seek to play a vital role in meeting these challenges, but we are unable to do so with resources for faculty and operating monies for programs that shrink rather than grow year after year. We share the University’s vision to become an exemplary land-grant university for the 21^st century, and we believe such a vision calls upon this college to fulfill its goal of being a research-intensive professional school with national stature.