By Kim Manahan The Whetstone

The Whetstone/ Kim Manahan

Wesley College’s Education Department has 18 months to get things in order.

The program has been given provisional approval by the Delaware Department of Education to continue to operate after losing accreditation with the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

“We worked with the state to develop an improvement plan for the department,” said Dr. Patricia Dwyer, vice president of academic affairs.

Much of the plan focuses on the areas which failed to meet the NCATE standards, including assessment and governance.

The agreement with the DOE began Jan. 4.

Secretary of Education Lillian M. Lowery said Wesley was given the approval because the school showed a strong commitment to fix its issues.

“The Department intends to rigorously monitor the plan submitted by Wesley and to provide periodic updates to the public, especially to students and their parents,” she said in a DOE press release.

“We continue to collect date and analyze data in a unit,” Dwyer said.

Physical education was added to the department last year.

The provisional approval will last until June 30, 2012, and guarantees students who graduate during this time “remain eligible for a Delaware teaching license and certificate,” the DOE said.

The state and Wesley recognize the importance of maintaining the program, Dwyer said.

“In the state, our teacher program serves a niche,” she said. “It’s different than other programs offered in the state.”

State accreditation is generated at the state level, unlike NCATE which is national.

“Students graduated from a [Middle States] accredited college, take the Praxis I and II, and have a GPA minimum,” Dwyer said. “State requirements need to be met for Wesley to have this provisional agreement.”

Wesley will apply for re-accreditation with NCATE this fall.

“We have every intention of being re-accredited,” Dwyer said.

The final decision will be made in April 2012.

Education majors have to maintain a 3.0 grade point average and physical education majors a 2.75.

Several local news sources reported the news of the college agreement with the DOE, including The News Journal, WBOC and the Delmarva Times.

Wesley College, including its Education department, remains accredited by the Middle States Association.