Southern Connecticut State University’s educator preparation programs have received full continuing approval until September 2019 from the state Board of Education.

The Board of Education found Wednesday that Southern met all state standards and fully addressed the areas of improvement identified by the board when it granted the university’s education programs probationary approval last fall.

Southern had already earned a full, five-year national accreditation under the rigorous standards of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) in late 2014. That reaccreditation was administered by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation.

“We are very pleased that our professional education unit has received full approval from the state, and we look forward to further enhancing our program in the spirit of the continuous improvement model that is at the heart of successful educator preparation programs,” said SCSU President Mary A. Papazian.

“I thank School of Education Dean Stephen Hegedus for his leadership, and the faculty and staff in our Schools of Education, Arts & Sciences and Health and Human Services for their dedication to maintaining our time-honored standards of excellence,” Papazian said. “Southern has been the frontrunner in educator preparation in our state for the last 120 years, and our graduates will continue to teach and lead in Connecticut’s schools.”

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