Accreditation
Our Accreditors
At St. Cloud State, we’re devoted to providing you with the highest quality programs and coursework, all designed to usher you with confidence into your clinical experiences, licensure exams, and future teaching positions. Our commitment to you is supported by accreditation and comprehensive review processes from several associations that share our common goals.
National Accreditation
The College of Education and Learning Design is a member in good standing of the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP). In line with the College of Education and Learning Design's values, the AAQEP strives for excellent and efficient teacher preparation that equips educators to serve students equitably. They provide resources and support for the educators of future teachers and assess member institutions for quality and continuous innovation.
The College of Education and Learning Design at St. Cloud State has been awarded full accreditation under the AAQEP standards through June 30, 2030. With accreditation, St. Cloud State will partner with AAQEP to:
- Continuously assess our programs through professional review
- Improve program effectiveness through accreditation feedback
- Further develop a network of support to help students grow professionally
- Exchange effective teaching methods with other AAQEP partners and likeminded educators
Programs that are accredited by AAQEP post their annual reports on their websites. Once ready, our annual report will be provided here.
Minnesota Approval and Review Process
The St. Cloud State Teacher Education Unit and our educator preparation programs are regularly reviewed and approved by the Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB). Approved teacher preparation programs must demonstrate their course offerings meet the rigorous content knowledge standards and pedagogical best practices required by the state.
We undergo extensive program reviews in order to demonstrate that we are providing current and relevant coursework, and we are continuously striving to improve education in Minnesota. The St. Cloud State Teacher Education Unit has been granted continuing approval with focus areas until Spring 2028. Our educator preparation programs have similarly been reviewed and approved through June 2024.
As part of our continuing approval process, PELSB reviews our graduates’ performance on a variety of key assessments, including professional dispositions, student teaching evaluations, and teacher licensure exams. In addition, the Education Unit meets the state requirements for faculty qualifications, unit policies and procedures, and partnerships for field and student teaching experiences.
Board of School Administrators
The Minnesota Board of School Administrators (BOSA) oversees and ensures the quality of school administrator preparation in the state of Minnesota. The College of Education and Learning Design has four educational administration programs approved by BOSA:
- Principal K-12
- Superintendent
- Director of Special Education
- Director of Community Education
of program completers are satisfied or very satisfied with their student teaching placement
of program completers after their first year of teaching agree that the rewards of teaching are worth the efforts required by their preparation program