Nova Southeastern University's Fischler School of Education Granted National Accreditation by NCATE

In addition to regional accreditation, NSU's education programs now have highest level of national accreditation

FT. LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla., May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nova Southeastern University (NSU) President and Chief Executive Officer George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D., has announced that the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) recently granted accreditation without qualifications to NSU's Abraham S. Fischler School of Education.

Hanbury said that in addition to NSU's regional accreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), this means NSU's education programs have been vetted at the highest levels for quality and the ability to produce effective, high-achieving educators.

"Excellent teaching is both an art and a science. Now more than ever there is a need for great educators," Hanbury said. "NSU is proud to receive NCATE accreditation because it is a testament to the high quality of our educational offerings and our top-notch graduates who will ultimately benefit generations of students to come."

NCATE is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as a professional accrediting body for teacher preparation. Including NSU, NCATE currently accredits more than 650 colleges of education. NCATE also represents more than 3 million teachers, teacher educators, content specialists, and local and state policy makers committed to quality teaching.

Hanbury said NSU reached NCATE accreditation through the guidance of Fischler School Dean H. Wells Singleton, Ph.D., with the help of Fischler School faculty and staff members, and by the support and collaboration provided by NSU's Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences and Center for Psychological Studies.

He also said this collaboration and resulting achievement embodies NSU's Core Values of Academic Excellence and Scholarship/Research, as well as NSU's Vision 2020 statement that:

"By 2020, through excellence and innovations in teaching, research, service and learning, Nova Southeastern University will be recognized by accrediting agencies, the academic community, and the general public, as a premier private not-for-profit university of quality and distinction that engages all students and produces alumni who serve with integrity in their lives, fields of study, and resulting careers."

Through its Abraham S. Fischler School of Education, NSU has helped develop the careers of more than 60,000 teachers, administrators, trainers, and other educational professionals who are now teaching across the nation and beyond.

In addition, there are also approximately 300 current superintendents and 33 current college presidents across the nation who hold doctorate degrees from NSU's Abraham S. Fischler School of Education.

For more information about NSU's Abraham S. Fischler School of Education, please visit www.fischlerschool.nova.edu. For more information about NCATE, please visit www.ncate.org.

About Nova Southeastern University: Located in Davie, Florida, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a dynamic fully accredited Florida University dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs of distinction from preschool through the professional and doctoral levels. NSU has more than 28,000 students and is the eighth largest not-for-profit independent institution nationally. The University awards associate's, bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, specialist, and first-professional degrees in a wide range of fields, including business, counseling, computer and information sciences, education, medicine, optometry, pharmacy, dentistry, various health professions, law, marine sciences, early childhood, psychology and other social sciences.  Classified as a research university with "high research activity" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU was also awarded Carnegie's Community Engagement Classification in 2010 for the University's significant commitment to and demonstration of community engagement.   For more information about NSU visit www.nova.edu.

SOURCE Nova Southeastern University - Abraham S. Fischler School of Education