March 2025

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The 8th annual Quality Assurance Symposium is just around the corner! On April 3-4, some 250 registrants will convene at the Tempe Mission Palms to learn from each other’s peer-reviewed work and connect with their community, their accreditor, and numerous state agency staff and service providers.

Don’t miss the opening keynote with Kevin Kumashiro, the closing with Troy Hutchings, or the dozens of peer-reviewed and invited concurrent sessions in six thematic tracks. You can preview the full program now at aaqep.org/qas-25; starting March 20, registrants will be invited to log in to Whova, the conference app, to build their personal schedule and begin connecting with one another.

Still need to register or book a hotel room? Tomorrow (March 12) is the last day for advance registration rates. It’s also the final day to book hotel rooms in the AAQEP discount block (which still has limited rooms available). Join us in sunny Arizona!

The second book in AAQEP’s Program Evaluation in Education series with Myers Education Press is now available to preorder! The publisher anticipates shipping orders at the end of March. BONUS: All registrants at the Quality Assurance Symposium will receive a complimentary copy of this book.

Locating Quality in the Dynamic Educator Preparation Landscape: Creating Quality in Context

Edited by Christine DeGregory, Mark LaCelle-Peterson, Karen Lowenstein, and Stephanie Schneider

This edited volume presents quality program practices from seven AAQEP-accredited programs with diverse models, each illustrating a different approach to addressing the needs of prospective teachers and P-12 school partners. The book shows that while qualities can be shared, quality is fundamentally a divergent rather than a convergent characteristic: A varied and dynamic landscape of educator preparation is an asset in addressing the varied and particular needs of today’s schools, communities, and populations that are entering the educator preparation pipeline, as long as the programs meet national accreditation standards.

Join the conversation! The AAQEP Editorial Board will release a call for proposals for future volumes this spring. Publisher Chris Myers and Editorial Board Chair Sylvia Read will also present a session at the Quality Assurance Symposium in Phoenix with information for prospective authors.

Christine DeGregory, Director of Professional Learning

AAQEP staff have been busy updating materials and resources since the new expectations framework was approved in December. We know you’re eager to receive a revised Guide to AAQEP Accreditation and dig into guidance documents on writing the Accreditation Proposal, Initial Accreditation Report (IAR), and Quality Assurance Report (QAR), and staff are just as eager to get them to you! Now with spring nearly here, the release of these resources is just around the corner. Here’s what you can expect starting in April:

• Digital release of the 2025 Guide to AAQEP Accreditation, followed by a printed copy mailed to each member’s primary contact.
• Updated guidance on writing the Accreditation Proposal
• Guidance documents on writing the IAR and QAR along with a new compilation of templates and sample reporting formats for each self-study type
• Revised member webinars to support writing the IAR (April 29) and QAR (May 1 and 7)

Other webinars, workshops, and materials are being refreshed as well. Thank you for your patience and engagement in AAQEP’s standards renewal!

Looking for an engaging professional learning experience to advance your work in accreditation and program improvement? Try an in-person AAQEP seminar!

We’ve heard many of you ask for more opportunities for face-to-face professional learning, and we’re excited to launch this new offering in partnership with AAQEP member campuses. These 2-day seminars follow the format and content of the national AAQEP Institute, but are hosted by members to offer more options and regional accessibility. 

Registration is open to all! Sign up now for one (or more) of this semester’s seminars:

Please give a warm welcome to AAQEP’s newest members working toward accreditation:

• Central New Mexico Community College
• Marshall Teacher Residency (CA)

Learn about membership at aaqep.org/why-choose-aaqep, or sign up for a webinar to learn about the value of national accreditation and how AAQEP's collaborative, contextual approach can benefit your program:

Congratulations on Your Accreditation

Congratulations to the educator preparation providers that earned AAQEP accreditation in the past 2 months:

• Boricua College (NY)
• Canisius University (NY)
• Earlham College (IN)
• Hofstra University (NY)
• Iona University (NY)
• Long Island University-Riverhead (NY)
• Metropolitan College of New York
• Southeast Missouri State University
• SPEDACTS (IN)
• University of Nevada, Reno

Over 75% of AAQEP’s regular members now hold accreditation status. For links to action reports and a complete list of AAQEP-accredited programs, visit https://aaqep.org/accredited-programs.

Sara Hiller, Director of Accreditation Services

If you missed the Site Visit Essentials webinar in January, its recording is now posted. 

Here’s a quick overview of where the action is in the current AAQEP accreditation cycles. Remember to consult your Provider Review Timeline or Provider Review Timeline for Initial Accreditation for details.

• Fall 2024: The accreditation decision meetings from last fall’s visits are now complete. Congratulations to all of the newly accredited programs! To see the Accreditation Commission’s running record of actions, click here.
• Spring 2025: Spring reviews are underway, and accreditation decision meetings start in May. If you’re hosting a visit, be on the lookout for a decision meeting scheduling email from me.  
• Fall 2025: Logistics calls will start this month for fall visits. Remember that self-study reports and local practitioner nominations are due at least 6 months before your scheduled visit date. 
• Spring 2026: I’ve contacted next spring’s providers to start the process of selecting specific site visit dates. If you are in this group and have not yet filled out the form for site visit dates and self-study information, please do so as soon as possible.

Visit our Member Resources web pages for guidance documents, templates, and other support for all stages of your quality assurance review, or contact me at s.hiller@aaqep.org with any questions.

AAQEP was a sponsor, exhibitor, or participant in the winter conferences of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education, National Association of Community Colleges with Teacher Education Programs, Teacher Education Council of State Colleges and Universities, and Association of Teacher Educators, where staff spoke with attendees, distributed materials, and made helpful new connections. 

Staff and members also served as presenters at several gatherings this winter, including:

• Sungti Hsu partnered with state colleague Susan Boe of the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission in a presentation at the January NASDTEC conference in Austin, TX.
• Sungti also presented the new 2025 expectations framework at the Tennessee Association of Colleges for Teacher Education spring meeting.
• At the AACTE annual meeting in February, Mark LaCelle-Peterson was a panelist along with other accreditor leaders for a well-attended session, “Accreditation Under Fire: What Is the Future of Quality Assurance for Educator Preparation?”
• Sungti joined member representatives from Rio Grande University to present to the Ohio Deans Compact about their experience with AAQEP.
• Linda McKee is attending the Association of Teacher Educators conference in New Orleans this week and speaking with their Certification and Accountability SIG.

This spring, in addition to attending conferences and visiting campuses for seminars, site visits, and consulting engagements, staff will be joining several AAQEP members at the virtual Day of Assessment hosted by the New Jersey Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. Registration is open to the public for this free event March 20, 1:00-4:00 EDT, which includes an AAQEP-themed session with panelists from Brookdale Community College, William Paterson University, Saint Peter's University, and the New Jersey Center For Teaching and Learning along with Mark LaCelle-Peterson.

March 18 – Introductory Webinar

March 19 – AAQEP’s New Expectations Framework: Implementing the 2025 Standards Webinar

March 25 – Initial Accreditation Pathway Webinar

March 26-27 – Online Workshop: Ensuring Data Quality and Equity

April 2 – Cross-State Convening Precon

April 3-4 – Quality Assurance Symposium

April 9 – Introductory Webinar

April 22-23 – Quality Improvement Seminar - Alfred University

April 29 – Member Webinar: Writing the Initial Accreditation Report

May 1 – Member Webinar: Writing the QAR: Effectively Sharing Your Program’s Story

May 7 – Member Webinar: Documenting Program Practices

May 8-9 – Mapping Your Quality Assurance Process Seminar - New York University

May 20-21 – Quality Improvement Seminar - Brookdale Community College

May 22 – Spring Member Quarterly

May 28-29 – Online Workshop: Making the Case for Quality

AAQEP — Always improving together