FHU Educator Prep Program granted continuing CAEP accreditation, approval from Tenn Dept. of Education

Freed-Hardeman University’s Educator Preparation Program has recently received continuing accreditation from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) as well as continuing approval of all licensure programs by the Tennessee Department of Education.
CAEP has granted full accreditation at the initial licensure level and at the advanced level effective Spring 2020-Spring 2027. The program successfully met all five of the organization’s standards: Content and Pedagogical Knowledge; Clinical Partnership and Practice; Candidate Quality, Recruitment and Selectivity; Program Impact; and Provider Quality Assurance and Continuous Improvement.
In addition, the Tennessee State Department of Education has continued full approval to licensure in the following undergraduate and graduate programs: Early Childhood Education pre-K-3, Elementary Education, English 6-12, Mathematics 6-12, Biology 6-12, Chemistry 6-12, (UG and MAT); History 6-12 (UG and MAT); Government 6-12 (UG and MAT); Speech Communications Spanish pre-K-12, Physical Education K-12, Visual Arts K-12, Theater K-12, Music – Vocal/General K-12, Special Education Comprehensive K-12, Special Education Interventionist K-8, Special Education Interventionist 6-12, Business Education 6-12, School Counselor preK-12, and Instructional Leadership Licensure K-12.
“Freed-Hardeman has prepared excellent teachers for decades. We are grateful CAEP has continued our accreditation and that the Tennessee Department of Education continues its approval of all of our programs,” FHU President David R. Shannon said. “The FHU faculty worked diligently to prepare for these reviews, and so I also congratulate them on these successful site visits.”
Dean of the College of Education Sharen Cypress added her thanks. “The commitment of our educator preparation programs is to provide quality, innovative preparation for educators within the state of Tennessee and beyond, especially during these unprecedented times of COVID-19,” she said. “We offer heartfelt thanks to our primary partner, the Chester County Schools District, and all of our valued school partners, FHU’s students and graduates, the FHU administration, the College of Arts and Sciences, and all divisions within the university for their continuous engagement in our shared business of preparing educators for P-12 teaching and learning!”
Freed-Hardeman’s history in teacher preparation dates to 1870. In 1908 when A.G. Freed and N.B. Hardeman joined forces to start a school, they called it National Teachers Normal and Business College. In 1955, Tennessee’s State Board of Education approved Freed-Hardeman’s teacher education program. This accreditation by the State Department of Education continues that accreditation. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), now known as CAEP, first accredited the program on the national level in 1981.