American University – School of Education, Teaching, and Health
NCATE: 6.1 Unit Governance and Resources
6.1 How do the unit's governance system and resources contribute to adequately preparing
candidates to meet professional, state, and institutional standards?
6a. Unit Governance and Resources
SETH is the EPP at AU and has the leadership and authority to plan, deliver, and operate coherent
programs of study for teacher education candidates. The Dean of SETH is the head of the unit and
oversees all faculty, staff and programs to ensure that candidates are prepared to be successful
teachers. The Dean is assisted by the Director of the Office of Teacher Education and serves as the
primary certification officer for the university in its relationship with local school systems, particularly
the DC Public Schools and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. The full-time faculty in
SETH are ultimately responsible for the university's teacher education programs, and are intimately
involved in the design, implementation and assessment of the programs. This includes curriculum
changes, admission of candidates, placement in clinical, field and internship settings, assessment of
candidate competencies, certification of program completers, and recommendation for licensure. Dayto-day governance and management of the unit's programs is officially vested in several individuals and
groups, including the Dean of the School, SETH's Faculty Council, the Dean of the College of Arts and
Sciences (CAS), the CAS Educational Policy Committee, the Faculty Senate, the Dean of Academic Affairs
and the University Provost. In addition, faculty, staff, and students in SETH participate in different levels
of governance through their membership on university-wide, college-specific, or student representative
bodies, committees, and councils. See Exhibit 6.4.b for the organizational chart. SETH's recruiting and
admission practices are provided in Exhibits 6.4.c, d, & e. Students have access to faculty advisors and
staff who support their preparation, which is comprehensively documented through our program and
assessment and management system, goed.american.edu.
6b. Unit Budget
The College of Arts and Sciences, as prescribed by the University Budget Office, allocates sufficient
financial resources to its various units, including SETH. SETH has budgetary authority and support for
initial and advanced teacher education programs, including funding for the supervision of field
experiences and maintenance of candidate records. The best examples of this are found in the materials
available to the BOE team in the Office of the Associate Dean for Budget and Finance in CAS, which
include detailed data about the comparative measures in CAS. CAS allocates an equitable number of
teaching fellowships and assistantships for deserving students in SETH. Research and other areas of
support are provided by graduate students, who are awarded fellowships and assistantships based on
academic merit, by CAS and SETH. During AY 2013-2014, SETH received 23 graduate fellowships, with
awards that included tuition of 18 credits per year and $9000 stipends, as well as smaller awards.
Graduate students are also eligible for federal work-study awards for up to 20 hours/week. Students are
assigned teaching assistant, research, or service duties to support faculty, based on the students'
academic endeavors and past professional experience, and in a manner mindful of enriching the
students' academic experience at AU. In addition, SETH houses a number of grants and contracts that
generate funds to support instruction and support activities, either directly or through indirect cost
recoveries. Using the indirect overhead charged on grants, SETH has created a scholarship fund for
graduate students while supporting additional professional development and research activities for
faculty and candidates.
6c. Personnel
In SETH, a regular teaching load for a research active, full-time, tenure-line faculty member is on average
four 3-credit hour courses during an academic year. Term faculty typically teach a total of six 3-credit
hour courses per year, with no more than 9 credit hours per semester. Specific teaching loads for SETH
faculty are determined by a number of factors, including a faculty member's responsibilities and his or
her unique and diverse experiences. A description of these factors can be found in the AU Faculty
Manual and SETH evaluation criteria in Exhibit 6.4.a. The teaching loads and workload reports are
reported in Exhibit 6.4.h. Class limits are determined with the CAS Deans Office and differ for elective,
general education, undergraduate requirements, and graduate elective and required courses. Full and
part-time clinical faculty supervise student teachers, with no more than 4 candidates supervised in any
given semester. SETH's clinical supervision workload model is presented in exhibit 3.4.d.
In addition to course load, SETH faculty keep regular office hours for student advising as outlined in the
manuals in Exhibit 6.4.a. Beyond these responsibilities, faculty who advise in teacher education
programs are members of the SETH Undergraduate and Teacher Education Committee. All faculty in
SETH serve on other committees in SETH, the University Senate, or in CAS; most faculty members are
also involved in service to the community as well as to the University. Exhibit 5.4.e provides details
regarding SETH faculty service activities. Professional development and technology training for faculty is
supported by the Center for Teaching, Research and Learning. Links to these materials can be found in
Exhibit 6.4.j.
AU's facilities as of fall 2013 comprise almost 4,000,000 square feet of area, in 54 on-campus buildings
and several off-campus buildings. The facilities are comprehensive and represent typical university uses.
They include 140 instructional spaces, libraries, a student center, athletic and recreation facilities, a
theatre, an art museum, and many other specialized facilities. In addition to new facilities, there have
also been adaptations of existing facilities to meet the university's evolving needs. New research labs for
biology and behavioral neuroscience have been created in existing buildings to support the increased
emphasis on research and science education. Faculty offices have been added to support the significant
growth in faculty over the last five years. The main offices of SETH are in Gray Hall, with additional
offices and space in the Mary Graydon Center, which was renovated in the spring of 2014 to
accommodate SETH faculty and staff. In addition to offices of 24 faculty and 12 staff members, Gray Hall
also includes two multi-purpose classrooms controlled by SETH (one is shared with the Math
Department), a conference room, and adequate storage space.
University classes, including those in professional education, meet across the universities campus in a
variety of the 16 buildings with classroom facilities. Assignment of classrooms is made according to the
demands of the courses, faculty needs, and student needs. Many University classroom facilities are new,
including a large number of classrooms with audio-visual and computer-aided technology. The majority
of classrooms are equipped with permanent faculty podiums, overhead projectors, and internet access.
6e. Unit Resources including Technology
Faculty and candidates in SETH's teacher education programs have access to a substantial array of
university resources to support their activities, particularly in the University Library, the Center for
Teaching, Research & Learning, the Office of Institutional Assessment, and the Office of Information
Technology.
Resources in the University's Office of Information Technology
A major challenge faced by institutions like AU is the demand and cost of technology. Information
technology (IT) resources have improved significantly in the past few years in direct response to the
growing demand for technological infrastructure and services. In 2008, a multiyear strategic roadmap
was outlined for IT, which is included in Exhibit 6.4.i. The roadmap targeted building out key
infrastructure and competencies, focusing on systems, processes, and people. Since then, numerous key
processes have been instituted internally, such as change management, asset management, project
management, service management, incident management, and problem management. Much of the
infrastructure has been consolidated and standardized, resulting in a more stable and manageable
architecture. Legacy systems have been replaced with industry-recognized enterprise-level systems. The
campus now has adopted many new enterprise systems, including a robust content management
system, a portal, a collaboration platform, enhanced administrative and student information systems, a
business intelligence platform, an integrated messaging system, a storage area network, a firewall, and a
network access control system.
Resources in the University Library
The University Library provides reference support, orientation, instruction, and research assistance to
meet the information and technology needs of students. In recent years the library has expanded its
online tutorials and provides laptops and other technology for students working in the library. Reference
support is available online through live chat for students outside the library. The library is open 24 hours
a day with staff support available until midnight Sunday through Thursday evenings and until 9 p.m. on
Fridays and Saturdays. Surveys of library use from midnight to 8 a.m. reveal the popularity of these
hours for student academic study. Student satisfaction with library service is consistently positive and in
the 2013 Campus Climate Survey, the university library received excellent or good ratings from
undergraduates. The education and teacher education collections are selected by faculty, in
collaboration with a full-time faculty librarian, Alex Hodges, an education subject specialist. Mr. Hodges
is the Curriculum Materials and Education Librarian for Reference and Instruction and a tenured faculty
member in the library with an affiliate appointment in SETH.