Mission and Vision

Our Mission Statement

The College of Education (COE) prepares effective professionals for a variety of societal service delivery and leadership roles across a range of settings including schools, postsecondary institutions, social service agencies, and vocational rehabilitation organizations. The College contributes to the knowledge base in both educational theory and practice through professional inquiry and scholarship. The College engages in strategic partnerships with the field of practice to improve client outcomes, to increase institutional effectiveness, and to promote social justice.

Our Central Tenets

The College of Education’s vision and mission rest upon 8 central tenets we believe are essential to our relevance in the 21st century:

Access to a quality education

An essential and necessary condition of a democratic society; critical in promoting social and economic justice for individuals, families, communities, and our nation

Uniqueness of individuals

A fundamental respect for the uniqueness of all individuals and confidence in their ability to learn and grow, whether they are the professionals we prepare or the clients they serve

Excellence in teaching

A belief in the central role that excellence in teaching plays in the mission of the college—an excellence reflected in the quality of our graduates that is measured against the highest professional standards

Diversity

A belief that diversity—including its multicultural and multilingual character—provides a rich venue for scholarship and reflective practice informing findings of state, national, and international importance 

Scholarship

Dedication to thoughtful scholarship which identifies effective practice,  which can then be implemented to improve the quality of life in our community

Technology

To be used as a tool to improve the quality of the learning environments while increasing student access to all useful technologies

Strategic partnerships

A belief that the field of practice can be improved through developing and applying strategic partnerships to facilitate positive change

Community of learners

The College is a community of learners encompassing not only the students we serve and their clients but also our faculty, staff, and administrators

Our Vision Statement

The College of Education produces effective professionals, new knowledge through research and inquiry, and partnerships with the field of practice that make a difference in the lives of the people served.

Our Commitment

Our commitment is to prepare teachers, school administrators, counselors, community college faculty and leaders, performance improvement/technology professionals, and community service professionals to provide the highest quality learning environments to ensure student and client success and achievement through our teaching, research, and service.

The following represent priority focus areas which we identify to have the greatest potential to “make a difference” in fulfilling our commitments: 

  • Closing the Achievement Gaps in all areas of performance through multi-disciplinary, integrated, and cross departmental/cross university initiatives
  • Provide the highest quality clinically-based preparation programs focused around 21st century skills
  • Sustain and continue development of a culture of inquiry, scholarships, and continuous improvement
  • Develop and nurture globally aware, multi-culturally competent faculty, staff, and students
  • Engage meaningfully and productively in our communities whether local, state, regional, national, or international 

The College of Education is currently engaged in Academic Planning that promises to transform how we conduct our work. Specifically, we endeavor to transform our practice in the establishment of: 

  1. Common foundations that establishes and support the COE “brand”
  2. Core essential knowledge within and across disciplines
  3. Interdisciplinary focus through the scope and sequence of all our programs
  4. Clinically-based Practices throughout preparation in coursework, laboratory-based experiences, and in school-embedded practice
  5. A college structure that supports the new direction of the COE and is focused on the effectiveness of our graduates, best practices, and preparation program performance to support continuous improvement