Teacher Preparation Accountability Committee (TPAC)

The Teacher Preparation Accountability Committee (TPAC) operates with an understanding that teacher preparation is a college-wide activity and responsibility. TPAC is the coordinating body between the Education Studies Department, the college community, and the school partners. The committee is charged with the overall responsibility to assist in the planning, approving, and reviewing all teacher education programs that lead to public school teaching licensure. The Committee must ensure that the institutional mission, the departmental philosophy, and the most effective approaches to teacher education are considered in all EDS policy matters. The Committee will monitor teacher education policies and program practices for compliance and conformity with current national and state standards, and responsiveness to regional educational needs. 

The specific duties of the Teacher Preparation Accountability Committee are:

  1. Commitment to a formal, systematic, and continuous evaluation process of teacher education and licensure to promote excellence in the preparation of K-12 educators;
  2. Regularly review education programs (certification areas) and auxiliary services related to them to ensure that program goals are being met and that the Quality Assurance System plan is being implemented appropriately (this system provides credible performance data on the progress and achievement of each candidate which are available for feedback and reporting to the candidate, faculty, and program. The Quality Assurance System or QAS, allows the EDS to monitor and report overall candidate progress toward standards);
  3. Review candidate performance data, program performance data, and make recommendations for program improvements as needed;
  4. Serve as liaison between Education Studies and other departments with teacher preparation programs to facilitate broad faculty participation;
  5. Review the courses and programs from departments with teacher preparation programs to make recommendations to ensure best practices and compliance with national and state standards; 
  6. Encourage the development of new courses and programs when the need for these becomes apparent;
  7. Set and review standards for admission to, continuation in, and exit from teacher education programs; 
  8. Review applications for admission to teacher education programs and admission to student teaching and approve all candidates who meet or exceed the standards;
  9. Approve and monitor a collaborative effort to develop a long-range plan to address the recruitment/retention of a diverse student body in teacher education;  
  10. Monitor Student Support Systems (i.e. the Teacher Candidate Support Team policy which covers concerns about teacher candidates' behaviors and/or dispositions); 
  11. Review student/teacher candidate appeals concerning grievances regarding admission to the Teacher Education Program (TEP), retention in the TEP, and teacher certification/licensure;
  12. Perform all duties specified by the Council for the Association of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and the Kentucky Educational Professional Standards Board (EPSB).

Composition of the Teacher Preparation Accountability Committee is designed to meet institutional needs and expectations of the Council for the Association of Educator Preparation (CAEP), and the Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB).

Thirteen voting members make up the Committee:

  1. Four (4) faculty members elected from the College Faculty Assembly from Departments that offer majors in which teacher candidates may seek a license to teach (excluding the Education Studies Department), serve three-year staggered terms,
  2. The Chair of the Education Studies Department, permanent member,
  3. A second faculty member from the Education Studies Department, appointed by the Chair of the Education Studies Department, serves a two-year term,
  4. Associate Provost, permanent member,
  5. A public school administrator from the region, selected and appointed by the Committee, serves a two-year term,
  6. Three (3) public school teachers representing elementary, middle, and high school grades selected and appointed by the Committee, serve staggered three-year terms,
  7. A student/teacher candidate from the elementary education program, serves a one-year term, 
  8. A student/teacher candidate from a secondary education program, serves a one-year term.  

Note: Student/teacher candidate members of this Committee have the right to vote in all matters coming before the committee except matters of licensure.

Meetings:

The Teacher Preparation Accountability Committee meets monthly during the academic year and at other times when necessary to make decisions regarding curriculum, policies, and procedures that affect all teacher education programs. The Committee will designate a regular meeting date for the academic year. The Chair of the TPAC is elected from faculty members by the committee at the first meeting of the academic year. The chair of the Education Studies Department is not eligible to be chair of this committee.

The Chair of TPAC shall call meetings of the Committee although any other member has this power. The Chair of the Education Studies Department shall prepare a written agenda for the committee meeting to be distributed a week in advance. A majority of the membership constitutes a quorum for voting purposes (i.e., 7 members). A committee member who is unable to attend a regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee must inform the Chair of the Committee or the Chair of Education Studies Department in advance of the meeting. That member may submit in writing the name of a “non-voting proxy” to attend the meeting in their absence. Committee members who miss three consecutive meetings may be replaced by the Committee if deemed necessary.

When meeting to select teacher education candidates for admission to the program or admission to student teaching, the Committee must invite attendance of appropriate representatives of those departments with teacher education curricula which do not also have direct representation on the TPAC. Departments with candidates under review for admission to the program or student teaching will be given 30 days advanced notice for attendance at a TPAC meeting.

The Education Studies Department Administrative Assistant will be responsible for taking attendance, recording minutes, and distributing information.