Academic Year 2019-2020 General Profile

Academic Programs

All school-based professional preparation programs offered at Shippensburg University are housed within or coordinated through the College of Education & Human Services. All programs are approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), nationally recognized by their content specific Specialized Professional Associations (SPA’s) and other nationally recognized accreditors such as CACREP, and all are accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Colleges of Teacher Education (NCATE). NCATE is the nationally recognized and approved overarching accreditor for school-based professionals and includes teachers, school counselors, reading specialists, special educators, principals, and superintendents. Shippensburg University is a charter member of NCATE and has been continuously accredited by NCATE since 1954.

Being an accredited institution recognizes Shippensburg University as an educational institution that meets or exceeds state and national standards.  This accreditation involves a regular process of alignment with state teacher education program standards and compliance with all aspects of appropriate Pennsylvania state law and code.

NCATE focuses on establishing high-quality preparation for teachers and other professionals. 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 PK-12 students.

Shippensburg University recognizes that the accreditation process is an important time for self-study and reflection. The accreditation process allows us to continually reflect and implement changes in order to better prepare teacher candidates and other school professionals to impact PK-12 student learning.

The chart below lists the name of each program, the corresponding certification level (initial or advanced), the academic degree awarded, and the name of the Specialized Professional Association (SPA).

Initial Certification Program Completer Undergraduate & Post Bac (Academic Year 2019-2020)

Initial Certification Program Completer UG & PB AY 19-20

Measure 1: Impact on P-12 Learning and Development

Data for Measure 1 (Impact on P-12 Learning and Development) are not yet available due to the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on collecting valid and reliable data during the spring 2020, which is the EPP’s assessment cycle for this measure.  The EPP has revised its assessment cycle and its assessment tools to collect the data via other direct and indirect assessments. Thus, information for this measure will be available to the public by September 24, 2021.

Measure 2: Indicators of Teaching Effectiveness

Data for Measure 2 (Indicators of Teaching Effectiveness) are only partial due to the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on collecting valid and reliable data during the spring 2020, which is the EPP’s assessment cycle for this measure.  The EPP has revised its assessment cycle and its assessment tools to collect the data via other direct and indirect assessments. Thus, complete information for this measure will be available to the public by September 24, 2021. Meanwhile, the EPP reports that a completers’ survey conducted by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) for the 2018-2019 year indicates that 95% of respondents (N=243) who graduated with a teaching degree from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania feel that they are adequately prepared to design and implement instruction and assessments that are aligned with State standards.

Measure 3: Satisfaction of Employers and Employment Milestones

Initial Certification Program Completers

The EPP has revised its assessment cycle and its assessment tools to collect the data via other direct and indirect assessments.  The EPP reports that the Initial Certification Employers’ Survey conducted by the EPP for the Academic Years 2017-2020 indicates that 92.11% of respondents (N=27) that employers are satisfied with the completers’ preparation for their assigned responsibilities in working with P-12 students. The EEP continues to work on ways to increase survey response rates for subsequent assessment cycles.

Measure 4: Satisfaction of Completers

Initial Certification Program Completers

The EPP has revised its assessment cycle and its assessment tools to collect the data via other direct and indirect assessments. The EPP reports that the Initial Certification Completers’ Survey conducted by the EPP for the Academic Years 2017-2020 indicates that 87.32% of respondents (N=43) perceive their preparation as relevant to the responsibilities they confront on the job, and that the preparation was effective. The EEP continues to work on ways to increase survey response rates for subsequent assessment cycles.

Measure 5: Graduation Rates

The institutional graduation rate for Fall 2019 was 40% at the four-year graduation rate and 55% at the six-year graduation rate (2019 Institutional Graduation and Retention Report).

Preliminary data indicate that in the fall of 2015 Shippensburg University had 143 new incoming Teacher Preparation Program UG students.  At the 4-year graduation point of the spring 2019 semester, there were 73 students completing an UG Teacher Preparation Program.  That shows a graduation rate of 51%.  It should be noted that the EPP's UG Special Education/Early Child Education dual program requires an additional semester, so the overall graduation rate becomes skewed due to those numbers not being factored in for the spring 2019 graduating population.  Additionally, there are a few students from the fall 2015 cohort that did not graduate for reasons different from academic or program accreditation (i.e., GPA, Licensure Tests).  Once final data are available, this information will be updated. 

Measure 6: Ability of Completers to Meet Licensing and State Requirements for Certification

Institution Pass Rates listed below are generated by the Title 2 Report and are calculated based on Pennsylvania's Cutscores.

ETS 19-20 Summary & Single Assessment Report 

Teacher Education Title II Summary Report AY 19-20

Measure 7: Ability of Completers to be Hired in Education Positions for Which They Have Been Prepared

PLEASE NOTE:In 2010 the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) began using a sliding-scale system that allows candidates to score slightly lower than the State cut scores on the certification tests and utilize a higher grade point average to satisfy PDE requirements.  The Title II Report does not reflect the GPA Qualifying pass rates. Below is the calculations including the GPA sliding scale for our Academic Year 2019-2020 Program Completers.

To be hired in teaching positions, candidates must graduate from the program and pass the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s required certification test for that specific program/content area/grade span. For AY 2019-2020, the EPP had a total of 126 completers.  Of those 126, only six did not meet licensure requirements. Therefore, 95% of graduates have the ability to be hired.

Measure 8: Student Loan Default Rates and Other Consumer Information.

The FY 2017 national cohort default rate is 9.7 percent.

Other Consumer Information

The cost of attendance has not varied much over the past three years. The PASSHE System has frozen tuition since 2019. In April of this year, the Board of Governors announced that tuition for Fall 2021 was frozen again. Thus, in-state students taking 12 credits per semester, living on campus and using a meal plan pay roughly $25,400 a year ($319 credit-hour). They may expect to spend about $1,200 on books and supplies and $1,200 on transportation (2019 Institutional Report, p. 16-17).

Advance Program Completer  (Academic Year 2019-2020)

Measure 3: Satisfaction of Employers and Employment Milestones

Advanced Program Completers

The EPP has revised its assessment cycle and its assessment tools to collect the data via other direct and indirect assessments.  The EPP reports that the Advanced Program Employers’ Survey conducted by the EPP for the Academic Years 2017-2020 indicates that 95% of respondents (N=4) that employers are satisfied with the completers’ preparation and that completers reach employment milestones such as promotion and retention. The EEP continues to work on ways to increase survey response rates for subsequent assessment cycles.

Measure 4: Satisfaction of Completers

Advanced Program Completers

The EPP has revised its assessment cycle and its assessment tools to collect the data via other direct and indirect assessments. The EPP reports that the Initial Certification Completers’ Survey conducted by the EPP for the Academic Years 2017-2020 indicates that 96% of respondents (N=10) perceive their preparation as relevant to the responsibilities they confront on the job, and that the preparation was effective. The EEP continues to work on ways to increase survey response rates for subsequent assessment cycles.