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OVERVIEW

A.     Institution

What is the institution's historical context? 

Tennessee State University (TSU), a coeducational land-grant institution, was initially chartered by a 1909 Act of the General Assembly as a normal school for Negroes. In 1912, the University, then known as the Agricultural and Industrial State Normal School , opened its doors to 247 students, as well as faculty and staff. The school grew in students and programs, and in 1922 was elevated to the status of a four-year teacher’s college, authorized to confer the bachelor’s degree. The institution was granted university status by the State Board of Education in 1951, and in 1958 acquired full-fledged land-grant university status. In 1968, the state legislature formally approved the name, Tennessee State University. Changes and expansion continued over the years, culminating in the 1979 incorporation of the nearby former University of Tennessee at Nashville, as the result of a court decree (1968 Geier v. Tennessee). The merger united two land grant institutions, highly compatible in their missions to serve Nashville and Middle Tennessee. Although the heritage of Tennessee State University is rooted in a proud tradition of providing educational opportunity to African Americans when other doors were closed, that spirit of openness and accessibility has always extended to others.

What is the institution's mission? 

Tennessee State University, a Historically Black College/University (HBCU), fosters scholarly inquiry and research, life-long learning, and a commitment to service.

What are the institution's characteristics? 

Accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Tennessee State University, a land grant institution, is part of the Tennessee Board of Regents System. Located in Nashville which is the state capital and second largest city in Tennessee, the University is situated in a residential area on a 500-acre main campus with more than 65 buildings; the Avon Williams Campus (formerly the site of the University of Tennessee at Nashville) is located downtown, near the center of the Nashville business and government district. Tennessee State University offers 45 Bachelor’s, 24 Master’s and 7 doctoral degrees. With an enrollment of approximately 8,300 students, the University awards over 1,600 degrees annually.

 The University promotes positive and life-long learning, scholarly inquiry, and a commitment to the service of people. It serves a diverse population of students: all races, traditional, non-traditional ages; commuter, residential; undergraduate, graduate; full-time, part-time; and non-degree. Today, Tennessee State University is regarded as one of the most diverse institutions of higher learning in the state.

 The University draws many of its students from the Nashville area.  With a population of more than 600,000, the capital city of Nashville is comprised of approximately 66% White, 27% African American, 5% Hispanic/Latino, .3% American Indian, and 5% other. A thriving center of government, business, industry, and education, Nashville is noted for its music industry.

 B.   The unit

What is the professional education unit at your institution and what is its relationship to other units at the institution that are involved in the preparation of professional educators?

The unit includes programs in the College of Education, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Health Sciences, the School of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences. The Professional Education Council (PEC), administered by the dean of the college of education, who is the unit head, oversees the operation of the unit. With input from the unit colleges and school along with community and school district personnel, the PEC sets policies and procedures for effective operation of the unit.

 The professional education unit within the College of Education is responsible for the preparation of competent, caring teachers, counselors, psychologists, administrators and other professionals, to maximize learning and to work effectively with diverse schools and communities.  Consisting of 27 approved programs (see NCATE Tables 2 and 3 below), the unit is designed to develop competencies in seven key performance areas: Plan, Maximize Learning, Evaluate, Manage, Model Professionalism, Communicate, and Use Specialized Content.

 How many professional education faculty members support the professional education unit? 

NCATE Table 1

Professional Education Faculty

What programs are offered at your institution to prepare candidates for their first license to teach?

NCATE Table 2  

Initial Teacher Preparation Programs and Their Review Status

Initial Licensure Programs

Notes: 1. Post-baccalaureate = licensure only.

2. All of the initial programs listed above may also be taken as add-on endorsements.

3. M.Ed. (Curriculum and Instruction) = degree and licensure

What programs are offered at your institution to prepare advanced teacher candidates and other school professionals?

NCATE Table 3

Advanced Preparation Programs and Their Review Status

Tennessee State University offers a K-6 elementary licensure program at Volunteer State Community College, developed through close collaboration with school leaders.  The Volunteer State program is a 2+2 cohort-based program.  Candidates at Volunteer State complete their first two years of coursework through the community college and are admitted to the TSU program as juniors. Only one distance learning program is offered by the professional education unit at Tennessee State University; a state-funded distance-learning option is available for licensure in Speech Language Pathology. While masters-level Education Administration cohorts are offered periodically in counties beyond our immediate service area, these off-campus programs also require a ten-week summer residency on the main TSU campus. Standard 3 provides a full description of all these programs.

 What substantive changes have taken place in the unit since the last visit?

Since the last visit, the conceptual framework was revised to ensure alignment with current professional, state, and institutional standards. Additionally, new vision and mission statements were developed for the unit. Further strengthening the conceptual framework, the committee modified the philosophy, purpose, and goals to reflect a shared vision and to improve coherence. With regard to communication, a list serve was created to allow the more efficient sharing of information within the unit.

 An assessment system was developed and implemented to monitor and inform the assessment of candidates, faculty, program effectiveness, and unit operations. This renewed emphasis on data driven decision-making prompted the faculty in the professional education programs to identify and collect evidence of candidate performance on core assignments in each course. A new Disposition Behavior Assessment for candidates was also implemented. Further, the unit developed and implemented a system whereby department’s utilized data collected from exit interviews to effect program improvements. Data were disseminated from exit surveys to programs in the unit for review and action.  To assist in the management and analysis of data, the TK20 system was adopted for use by faculty and students. This system facilitated the tracking of students through the program, including monitoring diversity of placements.   To ensure program and course consistency, a common template was created to guide course syllabus development. Courses with multiple sections use a common syllabus including a shared rubric to assess core assignments. The relationship between faculty performance and tenure and promotion was made more explicit in a revised Tenure and Promotion Policy. 

 To address recommendations from the 2001 NCATE visit, systemic changes in field placement were implemented. Decisions about the specific placement of candidates in field experiences and clinical practices were made consistently across all programs and partner school settings according to a formalized structure implemented within the unit. Under the direction of the Assistant Dean for Teacher Education, efforts of a full time placement coordinator were instrumental in bringing more order to the placement process for candidates enrolled on the TSU main campus.

 Another significant accomplishment was the requirement that field experiences include at least two of the following settings: urban, suburban, or rural. The placement coordinator also ensured that candidates in K– 6 programs received both elementary and middle school placements, and 7- 12 candidates obtained both middle and high school placements. The majority of placements were made with school partners in Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. Additionally, a faculty member was granted release time to coordinate field and clinical placements (primarily in Sumner County) for candidates enrolled at the Volunteer State Community College site. Her efforts were also monitored by the Assistant Dean for Teacher Education.

 All Tennessee schools now require criminal background investigations prior to field placements. Management of the placement process was adjusted to accommodate this state requirement. In response to licensure revisions by the state of Tennessee, several programs (i.e., K – 6, Special Education, Early Childhood Education, and Middle Grades) were developed and submitted for state review.

 Since the last NCATE visit, significant personnel changes have occurred within the unit as well as at the University level. In 2006, Dr. Melvin Johnson was appointed president of the University, replacing President James Hefner who had held the position since 1991. Under Dr. Johnson’s tenure, the position of provost / vice president for academic affairs was instituted, and Dr. Robert Hampton was named to the position after a nationwide search. In the fall of 2008, Provost Hampton resigned and returned to the classroom. Subsequently, Dr. Kathleen McEnerney was named interim vice president for academic affairs. In the College of Education, key changes in personnel have also occurred. In 2003, Dean Franklin Jones died unexpectedly, and was replaced by an interim dean, Dr. Leslie Drummond, who retired after serving one year. In September 2004, Dr. Peter Millet, former chair of the Department of Psychology, became Dean of the College. More recently, in January 2008 the Assistant Dean for Teacher Education and Student Services resigned because of illness; Dr. Phil Roberson was hired to serve as interim. A new position, Assistant Dean for Accreditation, was also created, and filled by Dr. Heraldo Richards. The College of Education housed in the Clay Building underwent improvements to its facilities as well. Individual offices were constructed which provided faculty with sufficient space and privacy to ensure confidentiality in working with candidates.

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