NCATE Program Review Panel

Deadline: June 30, 2008

The NCATE Program Review Panel is designed to review program reports from baccalaureate and graduate degree early childhood education programs seeking national recognition and accreditation under the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

NAEYC trains reviewers to review these programs in accordance with the five NAEYC professional preparation standards and make a judgment about the quality of each program.  We seek to expand our pool of reviewers and encourage eligible and interested faculty to apply!

The NAEYC Governing Board will review applications and make appointments in July 2008.

Benefits

There are many benefits to being on the Panel: the opportunity to learn about the report and review process on behalf of your own institution, to network and develop relationships with colleagues, to influence the course of higher education work in early childhood education, to gain service for promotion and tenure reasons, and to get ideas about improving the assessments, rubrics, and so forth for your own programs.

The Process

Once an institution submits its program report to NCATE, Panel members review the early childhood program within that institution and make a recommendation about its quality in relation to NAEYC’s professional preparation standards. (Panel members review baccalaureate and graduate degree programs only, not associate degree programs.)
Specifically, the Panel has two primary responsibilities:

1. Reviewing program reports submitted by early childhood programs in NCATE-affiliated institutions of higher education; and
2. Writing a recognition report for each program report.  This report provides feedback to the program and a recommendation to NAEYC about whether to approve (nationally recognize) the program.

Teams of two to three reviewers collaborate to review each program report. There are two review cycles per year; typically, program reviewers complete their review assignments during October through December in the fall, and March though May in the spring. Each program reviewer is likely to be assigned two to three reports in a semester.

Requirements

The term of service is 3 years and begins on September 1. There are six review cycles during this 3-year period. Members of the Panel are required to be available to review reports during four out of the six cycles. The work is conducted through electronic and telephone communications, so travel is not required.

Before reviewing, however, Panel members must participate in a reviewer training, which NAEYC provides at both the Annual Conference in the Fall and the National Institute in June. (NAEYC does not cover travel costs associated with reviewer training.)

Qualifications

Qualifications for reviewing include an advanced degree in early childhood education or a related field and experience in higher education as an instructor, faculty member, or administrator.  Some familiarity with NCATE is preferred.

Questions?
If you have any questions about this Panel, please contact Heather Biggar Tomlinson at htomlinson@naeyc.org or 202-350-8828.

To apply, click here.