MARQUETTE, Mich.—The College Database has released its list of the Top U.S. Colleges and Universities for Teaching Education. NMU ranks 46th nationwide, based on the number of degree programs designed to prepare students for careers in teaching, education administration, curriculum development and student counseling. NMU offers a reported 44 different teaching education programs.

“This is not a full review of our program, but it’s reassuring that what they use in part to determine these rankings supports the rigorous peer review process we go through on a state and national level on an annual basis for accreditation,” said Joe Lubig, associate dean of the School of Education, Leadership and Public Service. “Aside from strictly numbers of programs, it’s worth noting that we are sincerely working to address the high-need areas that have been identified on a national level: learning disabilities, languages and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Eighty-one percent of the certificates we issued last year were in those areas. That’s huge.

Lubig identified other points of pride for the School of Education: 

▪Student grade-point averages in content areas are at or above the national norm.

▪The completion rate of 93 percent ranks near the state’s highest of 94 percent and comfortably above the state average of 86.7 percent.

▪The average pass rate for the test for teacher certification is 92 percent, or 7 percent above the state average.

“Those are all things we’re exceptionally proud of, but that aren’t factored into these rankings,” he added. “One area we are committed to working to improve is diversity of candidates. Only 4 percent of our graduates represent minority populations. The state average is 13 percent.”

NMU obtained a grant to host “The Pine Tower Retreat: Milling a Common Agenda for Quality Outcomes in Educator Preparation” on behalf of the Michigan Association for Colleges of Teacher Education (MACTE). Representatives of 13 universities and the Michigan Department of Education participated. The retreat was designed to identify strategic goals for 2013-18 that will help to influence legislative, regulatory and other decisions impacting teacher education and K-12 schools.

The College Database, which released the list of Top U.S. Colleges and Universities for Teaching Education, is a free, non-commercial website dedicated to providing current and future post-secondary students and their families with college- and career-related information. It relies on data sets from the federal government and the Carnegie Foundation.

For more information, contact Lubig at 227-1880.