DEADLINE June 17th to apply for a scholarship to attend the Higher Education Accreditation Workshop at the NAAEE conference in Lexington, KY (October 16th): https://naaee.org/conference/scholarships
Higher Education Accreditation Scholarship Opportunity
Thanks for posting this, Bora!
I'm looking forward to co-leading this workshop. In past workshops, participants seem to really appreciate focused time to think about their own practice and the opportunity to ask questions and learn from others. I know that the process of becoming accredited can take some time, but there are a number of benefits to both external and internal stakeholders.
If you have any questions about accreditation or this workshop, you are welcome to post here or email me at bfranzen@uwsp.edu
Take care,
Becca
I'm certainly curious to hear from others. I'm juggling an established environmental education masters that needed some updating, a new certificate based on core masters courses, and an even newer honors in the major undergrad program for preservice teachers. On that last note, how to consider a minimum amount for NAAEE accreditation, in terms of credits or hours or whatever, is important, as the degree is already overstuffed (including reading endorsement, TESOL...) Cheers, Bryan
Great to hear from you, Bryan. I can certainly understand an already full curriculum and considering how to best incorporate EE... Attending this workshop will really help you understand what's expected, as the presenters have submitted their own materials and also serve as reviewers. Additionally, I encourage you to take a look at the rubrics that start on page 18 of this manual: https://cdn.naaee.org/sites/default/files/eepro/resource/files/1_accredi... You'll want to show how your program meets each theme at the acceptable level or above.
Does that help?
Take care,
Becca
Hi Becca - oh I'm up to my eyeballs in fan favorite Table 4 right now :) as I tweak the Masters but those courses were designed with the NAAEE guidelines in mind. The new honors has to use existing courses and honors compacts, so it's harder to visualize if it might be "enough" or not. That's why chatting with people doing different things will help!
HI Bryan - Congratulations on your work with the Masters program (degree and certificate) as well as working to create a focus within your honors program - all good, but hard work. As Becky mentioned, looking at the rubrics and Table 4 should give you some insight. The big thing to remember about the NAAEE Accreditation program is that it is based on alignment to the Professional Development Guidelines and on demonstrated student competencies. Those can both be embedded in other courses and experiences within the program. In fact, we're very careful to say that the program can demonstrate that alignment and those competencies using experiences as well as through regular coursework. We're trying our best to recognize that one size does not fit all when it comes to preparing environmental educators.
All of that said - the Accreditation workshop at the NAAEE conference should really help folks think seriously about their programs, how they currently address the Professional Development Guidelines, what Accreditation means to them and their universities, and how to go about the Accreditation process. I highly recommend it even if you are still at the design phase. We're offering some limited scholarships to attend - the deadline for the scholarship applications is June 17th.
And, although there is a formal application and review process (of course), I'm more than willing to walk you through a courtesy review of your materials. That way, you might get a jump start on your application process.
