A note from Mark LaCelle-Peterson, President and CEO
Guess whose birthday is here! AAQEP was founded on this day 4 years ago, and we are glad to be celebrating the occasion with you. What a fruitful start this organization has had, now nearly 160 members strong and nationally recognized!
As we pass the yearly milestones each summer and have an opportunity to catch our breath between semesters, we also take time for reflection and planning. Your responses to the annual member engagement survey inform this work, helping staff revitalize events and resources and make other improvements for the coming year. Weigh in here if you have not yet done so, and look for a note later this summer about what we’ve learned and how we’ll use your feedback.
Already, I'm predicting that AAQEP’s 5th year will be the best one yet. We’ll have new cohorts to support members writing the Quality Assurance Report, new workshops on improvement and implementation science, and a gradual return to in-person collaboration. Not only are we hoping that site visits will once again be on site next spring, but face-to-face workshops and other events may be returning even sooner. (While the annual Quality Assurance Symposium in March and our full series of workshops will continue to be held online, and most of you have said online events are still the right solution for the coming year, a third of survey respondents indicated a strong desire to get back together in person, and staff are eager to do so as well.) If you are interested in hosting a workshop or bringing an AAQEP consultant to your campus, please contact Linda McKee at [email protected].
Perhaps the most exciting initiative of the coming year will be the launch of our standards revitalization effort. AAQEP’s current standards were published in January 2018, with a shelf life of 7 years. So now is the time for our Quality Expectations Committee to begin its work, under the guidance of the Board of Directors and the Accreditation Commission. Look for invitations to participate in working groups, provide suggestions, and respond to initial drafts as the standards review gets under way. We are eager to engage the professional community as broadly as possible as we reflect on and revitalize the expectations that reflect and inform our shared professional judgment.
There is indeed much exciting work ahead! But first, how about enjoying a July picnic?
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We have so much to celebrate this summer! |
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First, please join us in congratulating the following institutions on their recent AAQEP accreditation:
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George Fox University (OR)
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Russell Sage College (NY)
- SUNY Plattsburgh
- University of Hawaii at Hilo
- University of Hawaii at Manoa
- University of Missouri - St. Louis
- University of Texas at Arlington
These providers join 31 others that have now achieved AAQEP accreditation. For a chronological list of actions by the Accreditation Commission, see this online record.
Second, several individuals have received appointments to important AAQEP roles this summer:
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Board of Directors – Congratulations to the newly elected Board Vice Chair Anthony Rivera, dean of academic affairs at the Inter American University of Puerto Rico, Bayamón Campus. Rivera was elected by fellow directors to serve out the term vacated by former Vice Chair Lynn Hammonds, who retired this spring from the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board and from the AAQEP Board of Directors. (And we wish her all the best in her retirement!)
Accreditation Commission – Three new commissioners have been appointed by the Board of Directors to begin service this summer:
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Rob Akers, Kentucky Department of Education (retired)
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Chris Godwin, Campbell University
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Rodrick Lucero, National Center for Clinical Practice in Educator Preparation
With the addition of these individuals, the Accreditation Commission will grow to 14 members, increasing AAQEP’s capacity for completing quality assurance reviews as more programs enter the system.
Events Committee – Four new committee members begin service on the Events Committee this month:
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Lisa Huffman, Texas Woman's University
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Melissa Lancaster, Western Governors University
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Brittany Lane, Colorado Department of Higher Education
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Barbara Lucas, Westfield State University
These individuals fill the seats vacated by four others who have completed their terms. Please join us in thanking these outgoing committee members for their service:
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Deborah Banker, Tarleton State University
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Ray Francis, Central Michigan University
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Jerry Rivera-Wilson, University at Albany
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Trina Lynn Yearwood, Long Island University
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Session Proposals Due August 2 |
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The Events Committee is planning another terrific online symposium and looks forward to peer-reviewing your session proposals. Don’t miss the August 2 submission deadline for a chance to be part of this popular event! Visit the symposium web page for the call for proposals and other details, or contact Jennifer Hsu, AAQEP's event planner, at [email protected].
P.S. Save the event dates now on your calendar: March 22-24, 2022. Registration will open in September.
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Please give a warm welcome to our newest members joining in the last 2 months:
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Fitchburg State University (MA)
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Linfield University (OR)
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Loyola Marymount University (CA)
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Meredith College (NC)
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Stevenson University (MD)
AAQEP membership now numbers 158 educator preparation providers in 27 states and territories. The five states with the most AAQEP members are New York, Oregon, Hawaii, Missouri, and Texas. See our searchable member directory for more information.
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Did you know AAQEP also offers individual membership for people who want to support or work with AAQEP but are not affiliated with a member institution or organization? See our membership web page for details. (And hello to our individual members!)
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Get a summer refresher and ask questions about your training in a role-specific “review and refresh” webinar. Sign up through the links below:
Open to current AAQEP reviewers only
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A note from Christine DeGregory, Director of Professional Learning |
AAQEP’s reviewer pool continues to grow (over 200 strong!) and we hope that you’ll consider taking part in this rewarding work if you have not already done so. For a quick overview of what’s involved in being a proposal reviewer or Quality Review Team member, visit our reviewer training page.
If you are a current member of AAQEP’s reviewer corps, you will have access to our updated training modules August 2. See what’s new and on the horizon for our modules, resources, and reviewer webinars in this Summer 2021 Update Fact Sheet.
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A note from Karen Lowenstein, Director of Member Services
Thanks to all of you who were able to offer feedback during the last cohort meeting of the 2020-21 academic year about what is working well for cohorts and what might make cohorts work even better! In reviewing this feedback, we learned that members:
- Overwhelmingly see cohorts as a way to learn from both AAQEP staff and each other and as an opportunity to hear suggestions, different perspectives, and ideas.
- Appreciate the comfort of being with peers who are navigating similar challenges, fostering a sense of professional connection.
- Are grateful for flexibility in cohort agendas and on the part of staff to enable member questions and topics to be addressed during monthly meetings.
As I reported in the May Member Update, we’re making a few adjustments to the cohorts for the 2021-22 academic year. In addition to adding two new writing-focused groups, we will hold all cohorts’ monthly Zoom calls during the following dates, generally the second week of each month):
2021: Sep. 14-16, Oct. 12-14, Nov. 9-10 & 18, Dec. 14-16
2022: Jan. 11-13, Feb. 15-17, Mar. 15-17, Apr. 12-14, May 10-12, June 14-16
We've deleted the old calendar invitations for this past year's cohort meetings, but if you have them saved locally, you might also need to delete them from your calendar. If you are on a cohort roster, you will receive more detailed information about your specific new cohort time in August.
Meanwhile, please contact me at [email protected] with any questions or needs related to cohorts or other member services.
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CALENDAR REMINDER – SUMMER MEETINGS
Monthly cohort meetings are on hiatus in July and August, but we'd love to see you at a "Summer Cohort Conversation" on Thursday, August 12, 2:00-3:00 p.m. EDT. (Thanks to everyone who attended yesterday's session, too!) If you are wrestling with a question or if you are just feeling a need to connect with your educator preparation peers, AAQEP staff invites you to join the conversation. Register here if you're interested (it’s free and open to all Regular Members)!
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A note from Sara Hiller, Director of Accreditation Services
If you have an AAQEP site visit coming up or are interested in learning more about our review process, please come to our Site Visit Essentials webinar Thursday, August 5, 1-2 p.m. EDT. The webinar goes over timelines and logistics around the site visit process, and we leave time for Q&A at the end. Sign up here—it’s free to all AAQEP members.
Are you interested in observing a site visit? This fall our site visits are virtual again and provide a convenient, no-cost opportunity for you to observe a site visit before planning your own. Here is more information on being a site visit observer. Please email me if you would like to request an observation—first come, first served!
Here’s a quick overview of where the action is in the current AAQEP accreditation cycles:
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For spring 2021, site visits are complete. Thank you to our reviewers who make this all possible. The accreditation decision meetings are under way and will continue through the summer.
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For fall 2021 reviews, I have contacted all programs to confirm their Quality Review Teams. Remember that Quality Assurance Reports and local practitioner selection are due 6 months before the scheduled visit date.
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For spring 2022 reviews, almost all of the site visit dates are set. If you are in this group, I highly recommend you attend our August 5 Site Visit Essentials webinar. I will begin to schedule your site visit logistics calls in August as well.
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For fall 2022, I will email programs in October to start securing specific visit dates.
For an overview of the AAQEP accreditation timeline and other member resources, please visit this web page. If you have any questions about the next step in your accreditation review, contact me at [email protected].
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If you are already accredited by AAQEP, you know about filing Annual Reports each December to keep us informed about your work and goals. But if you have substantive changes to your accredited program, we need to know about those right away.
See this web page for our substantive change policy and notification form, and contact your AAQEP liaison with any questions.
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Accreditation Proposal Deadline |
Writing an Accreditation Proposal? Keep in mind that August 1 is the next quarterly match date for you to send AAQEP a proposal for peer feedback.
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Looking for an online workshop? Our fall series kicks off in October—see our website for details!
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Questions? Suggestions? Please reach out at any time to your AAQEP liaison or simply email [email protected].
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AAQEP — Always improving together |
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