Accreditation Activities
Committee on Accreditation
Submitting a Proposal for an Educator Preparation Program in California
When an institution (college, university, school district, county office of education or other entity) wants to offer one or more educator preparation programs to prepare candidates to teach or provide services in the California public schools, the institution needs to become approved by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Approval by the Commission is a multi-step process involving formal action by both the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the Committee on Accreditation. Only once both the Commission and the Committee on Accreditation have taken formal action may the institution (approved program sponsor) recommend candidates for a California credential or certificate.
1. Initial Institutional Approval (process usually takes 6-12 months to complete)
If the prospective program sponsor already has Initial Institutional Approval, then the institution will begin with the Program Approval Process
Initial Institutional Approval [MS Word] is granted by the Commission after an institution has demonstrated that it meets the appropriate Preconditions and the Commission's Common Standards.
Formal action is needed by the Commission at a regularly scheduled Commission meeting to approve the institution as an approved program sponsor for educator preparation. This Intent to Submit a Proposal for Initial Institutional Approval form [PDF] needs to be submitted 60 days prior to the date when the institution expects to submit its proposal for initial institutional approval.
Once an institution has been granted Institutional Approval, then the specific educator preparation program must be reviewed and approved by the Committee on Accreditation (COA). Provided here is a template [MS Word] for a response to the Common Standards. The use of the template [MS Word] is optional, but the template provides a way to organize a response to each component of the Common Standards AND how to link the narrative to the supporting documentation.
Alternative Process to Establish Institutional Viability (as required by SBX5 1)
2. Program Approval (process can take 6-12 months to complete)
2.a. Submitting a Program Proposal
Program approval is accomplished by submitting program documentation for the Initial Program Review process. The program documentation must describe how the institution will meet the appropriate program standards and provide the necessary evidence (such as course syllabi, handbooks, evaluation forms, etc) to support the narrative description. All Educator Preparation Program standards can be found on the Commission's standards web page.
Submission guidelines are found in each program's Handbook and describe the program submission process. Suggestions are given for the type of information to include in the program document. To download the appropriate program handbook please visit our technical assistance page.
Intent to Submit an Educator Preparation Program
When an institution elects to offer a new, or updated, credential program a program proposal must be submitted to the Commission. This intent form [PDF] notifies the Commission of the intent to submit the new program for review and approval. The form is due a minimum of 60 days before the program proposal will be sent to the CTC.
Submission Guidelines and Transmittal Cover Sheet
The Submission Guidelines [PDF] specify the number of copies (paper and electronic) that must be submitted for the program proposal.
How to Organize an IPR Document for Electronic Review
This document [PDF] provides samples of how you might wish organize documents to be submitted electronically for easy review and access by the Initial Program Document Reviewers.
2.b. Review of Initial Program Proposals
Initial Program Proposals for all types of educator preparation programs will be reviewed on a monthly basis at the Commission. Documents to be reviewed must be received by the IPR Staff a minimum of two weeks prior to the scheduled IPR meeting days and accompanied by this submission/transmittal document.
Initial Program Proposals will be reviewed on the following schedule:
Note: Due to extreme fiscal constraints, no additional program proposals will be accepted in 2011-12. Documents that are scheduled to be submitted to the Commission between March 26 and June 30, 2012 will be scheduled for reading in 2012-13.
Note: The complete program proposal must be received at the Commission a minimum of 30 days prior to the scheduled reading date and the Intent to Submit form [PDF] must be received a minimum of 60 days prior to the scheduled reading date.
IPR Reading Date Document Due to CTC Intent to Submit Due January 11, 2012 December 12, 2011 November 15, 2011 February 15, 2012 January 16, 2012 December 15, 2011 March 1, 2012 February 1, 2012 January 4, 2012 April 24, 2012 March 26, 2012 February 27, 2012 May 29, 2012 April 30, 2012 March 29, 2012 June 26, 2012 May 28, 2012 April 26, 2012 2.c. Formal approval by the Committee on Accreditation.
Once the reviewers have indicated that the program proposal meets all credential program standards, formal action must be taken by the Committee on Accreditation at a regularly scheduled meeting.
Timely reading of documents depends on volunteer reader support. Help facilitate the IPR process by signing up to attend an IPR Reading: Sign Up to Attend an Initial Program Review Reading Session – Reading session dates located at the bottom of the page.
The Commission has consultants to assist and guide all prospective educator preparation programs. For more information on a specific program, please contact the appropriate consultant.