Accreditation – Education

Initial Programs

Initial License

All of the Department of Education’s initial teacher licensure programs are accredited by the Council for Education Preparation Providers (CAEP) 2018 and approved by the State Department of Education:
- Early Childhood Special Education (graduate only)
- Elementary: Grades 1-6
- Secondary: Grades 7-12: science, mathematics, social studies, English and world languages
- Secondary K-12: Family and Consumer Sciences (graduate only)
- Special Education K-12
The following initial license programs are also nationally recognized through their Specialized Professional Associations (SPAs):
- Elementary Program (Grades 1-6) Association for Children’s Education International
- Secondary:
  - English: National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
  - Science: National Science Teaching Association (NSTA)
  - Social Studies: National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
  - World Languages: American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)
  - Special Education (K-12): Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)

CAEP Annual Report Data

Upon completion of required coursework, fieldwork and student teaching, candidates must pass rigorous assessments of their knowledge and skills in order to be eligible to be licensed to teach in the State of Connecticut. Assessment requirements differ somewhat according to the certification the candidate is seeking but the following licensure examinations include:

Early Childhood Assessment (Pearson) is required for candidates in Early Childhood/Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) and Elementary Education programs. The test is designed to measure candidates’ knowledge of child development, knowledge of children’s literature and the writing process, and core knowledge of instructional content knowledge. The test also measures the candidate’s ability to integrate knowledge and understanding.

edTPA: The edTPA is a performance-based, subject-specific assessment and support system used by teacher preparation programs throughout the United States to emphasize, measure and support the skills and knowledge that all teachers need from Day 1 in the classroom. Aspiring teachers must prepare a portfolio of materials during their student teaching clinical experience. Teacher candidates submit unedited video recordings of themselves at work in a real classroom as part of a portfolio that is scored by highly trained educators. All initial certification candidates complete the edTPA.

Foundations of Reading (FoR) The Foundations of Reading examination is required for candidates in Early Childhood/Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE), Elementary Education and Special Education programs. The Foundations of Reading test assesses the candidate’s proficiency and depth of understanding of reading and writing development based on the requirement that the candidates has participated in seminars or courses that address the teaching of reading.

Praxis II: Praxis II exams are used to test teachers’ content knowledge and teaching skills in specific subject areas. Candidates in all initial certification programs except Early Childhood/Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) are required to take Praxis II exams in content areas they will teach.

The following data is organized by initial certification program, to include the multiple measures of performance required for certification in each designated program area. Data is arranged in both table and graphic format and reflects the term in which a candidate completed their final clinical placement. Some terms are combined with another in order to account for low numbers of completers in certain time periods.

Measure 3 Summary table Download

Measure 3, Candidates Competency at Completion Updated Download

The following information is drawn from information on the Connecticut State Department of Education website, which identifies candidates who are currently teaching in Connecticut public or approved private schools, with the district in which they are employed. The table below is a composite of teachers who completed their programs at the University of Saint Joseph between 2018 and 2022. The Department of Education at the University of Saint Joseph continues to work closely with school districts across the state to prepare candidates to fill open positions as teacher shortages persist in 2022-2023.

The data below describes the percentage of candidates who are employed after graduation over a three- year period (2019-2020, 2020-21, 2021-2022).

Measure 4, Ability of Candidates to be hired updated Download

INITIAL CERTIFICATION CANDIDATE COMPLETION RATES & TIME TO COMPLETION, 2022

In-depth data for initial certification candidates completion rates and time to completion is available on USJ’s education data dashboard.

Part 1: Completion Rates lists all USJ initial certification programs for both graduate and undergraduate and includes the percentage of all candidates who completed their programs within the expected time period. Over the three-year period, more than 80% of candidates completed their programs on time, with a trend toward increasing percentages over the three-year period from 80.8% (2019-2020) to 86% (2021-2022).

Candidate completion rates describe the percentage of candidates who complete their degree program and graduate based on the time they enter the educator preparation programs as:

Undergraduates, who are expected to complete their Bachelor of Science (BS) degree and initial certification programs in 4 years; or,
Graduates, who are expected to complete their Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree and initial certification programs in 2 year.

This set of data also includes information about the candidates themselves, in the form of racial ethnic background in both tabular and graphic format. Percentage of candidates how identified themselves as from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds ranged from 19.23% in 2019-2020 to 15.00% in 2021-2022. The University of Saint Joseph continues to support local school districts in preparing teachers from diverse backgrounds to meet the needs of increasingly diverse student populations. The most recent data on percentage of teachers of color in Connecticut (2022) was 10.6%.

Part II: Enrollment Demographics

Information on enrollment demographics between 2019-2020 and 2021-2022 provides more detail on all candidates for initial certification. In addition to white students in 2021-2022 (78.7%), Black or African American (6.9%) and Hispanic candidates (7.9%) make up the largest percentage.

Part III Graduate completers

Part III provides additional details describing racial/ethnic backgrounds of MAT graduate completers, including details of completer demographics, with equal percentages of Black or African American, Hispanics, and two or more races (8.33%) and white candidates at 75%.

Part IV Undergraduate completers

Part IV provides additional details describing completion rates and racial/ethnic backgrounds of BS undergraduate completers. Candidates are asked to specify their racial/ethnic background upon application. Candidates may also choose not to include this information. Data in Part IV is incomplete at this time and will be added to the information at a later time.

Additional Master of Arts in Education (MA) Programs

Department of Education offers two advanced programs as defined by the Council on Accreditation of Educator Preparation Providers (CAEP). Both programs are accredited by CAEP and provide a sequence of advanced coursework which is approved by the Connecticut State Department of Education for cross-endorsement in the specialization area. Additional examinations are required for cross-endorsement:

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) PK-12 (#111), M.A.
Special Education Advanced Teaching (K-12) (#165), M.A.

Additional graduate programs leading to a Master of Arts degree:

Curriculum and Instruction, M.A.
Instructional Technology, M.A.
Literacy, M.A.
Education – Multiple Intelligences Theory Concentration, M.A.
Special Education, M.A.
Special Education, Autism Spectrum Disorder focus
Special Education Literacy, M.A.

Department of Education Advisory Groups

Members of the EPP Clinical Practice Advisory Council (Initial and Advanced Programs) include:

Director of Student Teaching and Clinical Experiences: Dianna Wentzell, Ed.D.

Jordan Grossman, Ed.D., Superintendent, Granby Public Schools
Kristen Heckt, Superintendent Bolton Public Schools, USJ Alumna
Joseph Macary, Superintendent, Vernon Public Schools
Colin Macnamara, Director of Personnel and Administration, South Windsor Public Schools
Desi Nesmith, Deputy Commissioner, Connecticut State Department of Education
Christopher Wethje, Director of Human Resources, East Hartford Public Schools
Lisa Lamenzo, Chief Turnaround Officer, Connecticut State Department of Education
Carly Paine*, Director of Curriculum, Mansfield Public Schools

Members of the Advisory Group for the Special Education Advanced Teaching Program include:

Program Director: Ashley Oldham, Ph.D.

Mark Proffitt, former Elementary School Principal, School District Supervisor of Special Education, Leadership Coach, Special Education Program Adjunct, USJ Student Teaching Supervisor
Sharon Bremner, Ed.D., Director of Pupil Personnel Services, East Hartford Public Schools
Michelle Lestrud, Director, Gengras Center (approved private school affiliated with University of Saint Joseph, West Hartford)
Mary-Grace Cianci, Middle School Teacher, Special Education Adjunct Instructor, USJ Alumna

Members of the Advisory Group for the Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) Program include:

Acting Program Director: Meredith McConnochie, Ph.D. Director, Graduate Early Childhood/Early Childhood Special Education; Acting Director Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

Eileen González, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Education, Director- Elementary Education, USJ
Jill Sleasman-Bessette, Middle School TESOL Teacher, TESOL Program Adjunct, Ed.D. Candidate (TESOL) at Anaheim University
Ernesto Davila, High School Spanish Teacher, TESOL Program Adjunct, Alumnus
Nitza Diaz, TESOL Program Adjunct, Connecticut State Board of Education, Special Education Resource Center (SERC)
Jonathan Gourlay, Ph.D Faculty Chair, Adult Education (ESL), Morton College, Cicero, IL, USJ TESOL Program Adjunct
Jim Minor, EL Teacher, Silas Deane Middle School, Wethersfield, CT, TESOL Program Adjunct
Lisa Carino, English Language Learner Program, St. Joseph School, Danbury, CT

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Accreditation – Education

Initial Programs

Initial License

CAEP Annual Report Data

Measure 1: Impact on Student Learning, Completer Satisfaction Survey

Measure 2: Satisfaction of Employers, USJ Employer Survey Results

Measure 3: Candidate Competency at Completion, edTPA and Praxis scores

Measure 4: Ability of Candidates to be Hired

Completion Rates and Time to Degree Completion

Student Loan Default