Assessment Accreditation

SACSCOC Accreditation

Georgia Southern University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).

Institutional information related to SACSCOC can be found on the Georgia Southern University’s Institutional Assessment and Accreditation website.

CAEP Accreditation

The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) accredits initial teacher licensure and advanced programs within Georgia Southern University’s College of Education. CAEP promotes excellence in educator preparation through content and pedagogy, clinical partnerships and practice, candidate recruitment, progression and support, program impact, and quality assurance and continuous improvement.   The last continuing accreditation review was held April 2022.

Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) Approval

Programs leading to initial licensure in teaching, service, and leadership fields are approved by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC).  Approval reviews are guided by the policies and procedures outlined in the Educator Preparation Rules, and based upon the Georgia Standards for the Approval of Educator Preparation Providers and Educator Preparation Programs.  The most recent program approval review was in November 2021.

CACREP Accreditation

The College of Education attained accreditation by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) in the following specialty areas: clinical mental health counseling and  school counseling. The accreditation allows Georgia Southern students concentrating in those fields to be eligible to take the National Counselor Examination for Certification when they graduate, without having to complete the additional post-graduate work normally required. View the Counselor Education Program website for program information

NASP Approval

The College of Education has National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) full approval for its EdS graduate program in school psychology. NASP is one of the specialized professional associations (SPAs) of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). The Georgia Southern School Psychology Program is the only program in Georgia to earn this recognition at the Ed.S. level.

Annual Program Data

The College of Education (COE) offers over 45 undergraduate and graduate programs across four departments.  The programs listed below are reviewed and accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC).  A full listing of all COE programs offered can be found here.

CAEP/GaPSC Programs

Initial Cert. Programs

• Art Education BFA **
• Human Development and Family Science Concentration in Birth Through Kindergarten BS
• Elementary Education BSED/MAT
• Dual Certification, Elementary and Special Education BSED
• Middle Grades BSED /MAT
• Music Education BM/MM**
• Secondary Education BSED/MAT
• Spanish Education MAT
• Special Education BSED/MAT

Advanced Programs

• Communication Sciences and Disorders MED **
• Counselor Education MED**
• Curriculum and Instruction Accomplished Teaching MED
• Educational Leadership MED
• Instructional Technology MED
• School Psychology EDS**

Endorsements***

• English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
• Gifted In-Field
• Online Teaching and Learning Endorsement
• Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports Endorsement
• Reading
• Teaching Leadership
• Teacher Support & Coaching
• Urban Education Endorsement

**The programs listed above hold national specialized programmatic approval (SPA) recognition: Art Education, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Counselor Education, Music Education, and School Psychology.

***Endorsement programs are only reviewed by the GaPSC and do not fall under the scope of CAEP.

Measure 1: Completer Effectiveness (Initial)

In 2024, GaDOE will resume reporting progress for districts and schools using Student Growth Percentiles (SGPs). For educator-level evaluation purposes, our Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) recommended waiting to resume utilizing SGPs until another year of post-pandemic test scores are available. To maximize the validity and reliability of growth measures for evaluating educator performance, GaDOE is continuing TKES/LKES flexibility for school leaders and teachers in the 2023-2024 school year. All prepandemic requirements related to TKES and LKES will resume in the 2024-2025 school year.  The most recent available three cycles of data are provided below pending the 2024-2025 school year.

The following measures are provided to show the impact on P-12 learning and teaching effectiveness from Georgia Southern completers: Teacher Assessment on Performance Standards (TAPS) and Student Growth Percentiles (SGP’s). These are data points provided by the GaPSC and are used in evaluating teacher effectiveness and completers’ impact on P-12 learning. Detailed information about the measure can be found in the links below:

• 2019-2022 Student Growth Percentile (SGP) (PDF)
• 2019-2022 Teacher Assessment on Performance Standards (TAPS) (PDF)

Measure 2: Satisfaction of Employers and Stakeholder Involvement (Initial and Advanced)

Initial

Each year, the GaPSC surveys employers and initial certification program completers on their satisfaction of Georgia Southern.  The most recent three years’ satisfaction results are listed below by employer and completer.

Employer

• 2023 Employer Satisfaction Surveys (PDF)
• 2022 Employer Satisfaction Surveys (PDF)
• 2021 Employer Satisfaction Surveys (PDF)

Completer

• 2023 Completer Satisfaction Surveys (PDF)
• 2022 Completer Satisfaction Surveys (PDF)
• 2021 Completer Satisfaction Surveys (PDF)

Advanced

• Advanced Standard 4 Phase-In Plan (PDF)

Measure 3: Candidate Competency at Completion (Initial and Advanced)

Initial

Below are the three most recent federal Title II reports available.  These reports present completer information, including their ability to meet licensing requirements.

• IPRC Title II Report 2021-2022 (PDF)
• IPRC Title II Report 2020-2021 (PDF)
• IPRC Title II report 2019-2020 (PDF)

Advanced

Below are the most recent advanced programs’ GACE content area test exam scores. The Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators® (GACE®) is Georgia’s state-approved educator certification assessment program. The purpose of the GACE assessments is to help the GaPSC ensure that candidates have the knowledge and skills needed to perform the job of an educator in Georgia’s public schools.

• 2018-2023 Advanced Programs’ GACE Assessment Pass Rates (PDF)

Measure 4: Completer Hiring (Initial and Advanced)

First Destination Survey

The Office of Career and Professional Development surveys Georgia Southern University graduates regarding their initial career outcomes. This survey, called the First Destination Survey (FDS), captures information regarding how new Georgia Southern graduates fare in their careers within six months of graduation. The annual initiative provides clear, concise, and consistent data on the outcomes associated with a college education. Outcomes include 1) types of employment—full or part-time, contract, freelance, etc.; 2) additional education, e.g., accepted to graduate or professional school; 3) still seeking either employment or further education; 4) and starting salary for those employed full time.

Georgia Teacher Retention

We also provide data from the GaPSC documenting 6-year retention rates for Georgia Southern completers in public school systems.

• Georgia Public K-12 Teacher Retention in Education, 6 Years
• Georgia Southern and COE Graduate Rate and Degrees Conferred

Graduation Rates

• Georgia Southern and COE Graduate Rate and Degrees Conferred