Dr. Andrea Miller, professor of library science at Clarion University, has been appointed to the board of program reviewers of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Her term will run until Aug. 31, 2011.

            NCATE's Specialty Areas Studies Board approved the establishment of the NCATE Board of Program Reviewers (BoPR). The board, analogous to the board of examiners at the unit review level, is made up of program reviewers who have been co-trained by their specialized professional association and NCATE and who have successfully completed one program review.

            The purpose of the BoPR is to provide consistent policies for program reviewers across all SPAs, but primarily, to provide a status and position for program reviewers within the NCATE system. SPAs will continue to have the responsibility for selecting and co-training program reviewers. Once a trained program reviewer has completed one program review, they can be named to the BoPR.

            As a member of the BoPR, Miller will be expected to participate in at least one cycle of program reviews annually, complete program reviews in accordance with assigned deadlines, be fair and consistent with reviews, work collaboratively in the review process, keep all information and results confidential, and respond to reviewer evaluation activities.

            NCATE is the profession's mechanism to help establish high quality teacher preparation. Through the process of professional accreditation of schools, colleges and departments of education, NCATE works to make a difference in the quality of teaching and teacher preparation today, tomorrow, and for the next century. NCATE's performance-based system of accreditation fosters competent classroom teachers and other educators who work to improve the education of all P-12 students.

            NCATE was founded in 1954. Five groups were instrumental in the creation of NCATE: the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC), the National Education Association (NEA), the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), and the National School Boards Association (NSBA). When NCATE was founded as an independent accrediting body, it replaced AACTE as the agency responsible for accreditation in teacher education. These groups represented the field at large at that time. They recognized the need for a strong, independent, quality assurance mechanism composed of all key stakeholders in education.