SYLVANIA—The Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) has awarded national accreditation to the Teacher Education Program at Lourdes College.

TEAC is recognized as a national accreditor by the United States Department of Education and by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Lourdes College joins more than 110 programs in 21 states with TEAC-accredited educator preparation programs.

“Only a small percentage of the United States’ college and university teacher education programs and programs for professional educators are nationally accredited,” says Frank Murray, president of TEAC. “We are pleased to welcome Lourdes to this group and congratulate them on this significant accomplishment. We truly appreciate their dedicated work for students and educators.”

To be accredited by TEAC, a teacher education program must have solid, independently verifiable evidence of its graduates’ competence. In particular, the program must show that its graduates understand the subject matter they are certified to teach, understand the process of learning and teaching and possess teaching skills that lead students to appropriate levels of achievement.

Founded in 1997, TEAC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving academic degree programs for professional educators. Accreditation by TEAC is a voluntary system of quality review for educator preparation programs. It is designed to assure both education professionals and the public of the institution’s commitment to academic quality and fiscal integrity as well as stimulate on-going improvement in its educator preparation programs.