Mission
The mission of the College of Education and Human Development is to prepare highly skilled, knowledgeable, and continually developing undergraduate and graduate candidates who make informed decisions, use current evidence and research-based practices, and promote healthy and equitable communities through careers in counseling, family and consumer sciences, leadership, teaching, and technology.
Goals
Four broad goals guide the College of Education and Human Development in positively impacting student performance, enhancing the quality of programs, and improving the efficiency of operations. The goals are to model and promote the use of emerging technology resources, to acknowledge and address the diversity of students, faculty, staff, curriculum, and field or clinical placements, to collaborate with public schools and other community agencies to positively impact P-12 student learning and client development, and to encourage the use and development of best practices in specific fields of study.
Accreditation
The College is a member of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). The Alabama State Board of Education approves all programs that lead to teacher or leader certification. The American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) accredits the Family and Consumer Sciences program. The graduate Counseling Program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The CEHD’s Child Study Center is accredited through the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Departments
Degree Programs
An Alternative Master of Education (M.Ed.) degree leading to initial teacher certification is offered in the following areas:
A Master of Education (M.Ed.) degree for already certified Professional Educators leading to advanced teacher certification is offered in the following areas:
A Master of Education (M.Ed.) degree is also offered in:
- Applied Instruction
- Counseling
Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) degrees are offered in
A Professional Educator certificate only programs are offered in:
A Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.) is offered in
Admissions Requirements
Each program has admission, retention, and completion requirements beyond those listed earlier in the Bulletin, which will be evaluated consistent with the rigorous standards developed by the faculty of each program. It is important that application materials be complete, professional in appearance, and free of grammatical/mechanical errors. Additionally, in programs where candidates are offered an admission interview, prompt and professional communication regarding the scheduling or cancellation of those interviews is expected. Any candidate who fails to attend their scheduled admission interview without advance notification may forfeit consideration for admission.
Student Responsibilities
While the University provides an academic advisor to assist students with meeting academic requirements and planning their curriculum and courses, it is ultimately the students’ primary responsibility to know the requirements for their degree, acquire current information about their academic status, and choose their curriculum and individual courses accordingly. By registering for classes, students certify that they have independently determined that the courses chosen are appropriate to meet their academic goals.
The requirements for licenses, certifications, or similar credentials (e.g. teaching certificates, etc.) issued by the government or other organizations and agencies change frequently, and students are responsible for monitoring those requirements for any changes, planning their course work accordingly, and making proper application for the credential. While the University endeavors to provide courses that qualify students to receive credentials and to keep students informed of any changes in requirements for credentials, it is ultimately the student’s responsibility to monitor the requirements to ensure that their academic program meets the applicable criteria. The University has no authority in overseeing the criteria and approval for credentials issued by outside organizations and cannot guarantee that a student will receive a credential based upon coursework completed at the University.