TEAC Membership Eligibility

TEAC requires that institutions that offer teacher education programs be committed to consistently improving the quality of the professional education programs they offer. TEAC requires evidence of commitment in the seven standards of capacity, each of which indicates a commitment to, and an investment in, program quality. The faculty is free to submit any credible evidence of this commitment, but it must address each of the seven dimensions listed below. The overall point is simply that the institution must be serious about its professional education program, and there must be evidence of its commitment to program quality.

As a preliminary sign of commitment, TEAC requires an attestation by letter from the program unit's administrator (chair, dean, director, vice-president etc.) to the following:

• The program's commitment and intent to comply with TEAC's standards and the reason it is seeking accreditation from TEAC.
• An understanding of, and agreement with, the fact that TEAC, at its discretion, may make known the nature of any action, positive or negative, regarding the program's status with TEAC.
• Its agreement to disclose to TEAC, at any time, all such information as TEAC may require to carry out its evaluating and accrediting functions.
  

TEAC requires that the program be offered by a college or university that is regionally accredited and that there be written mission and policies and procedures guiding the program's operations.

TEAC seeks to address the traditional accreditation question of the institution's capacity to offer its programs and accomplish its mission by assessing the institution's commitment to improve the quality of its professional education programs. The institution's commitment, in turn, is assessed through the institution's investment in the capacity needed for the program with regard to an adequate curriculum, a qualified faculty, the necessary facilities, appropriate fiscal and administrative support, student services, and respect for student views.

The details of the metrics associated with the seven standards of capacity TEAC has identified are left to the institution to craft with the provision that they be applied uniformly across all programs the institution offers. The standard for each dimension, as in the TEAC Quality Principles, is the point at which the evidence supporting the claims made about the dimension is convincing. In the case of its standards for institutional commitment, TEAC seeks to assure itself and others that the institution is serious about teacher education and is committed to the continual improvement of the quality of the programs it offers.


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