Accreditation

Accreditation Index

National Accreditation since 1988

Grand Valley State University's initial Education programs were reviewed by CAEP (the national Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation), and were awarded Full Accreditation in October 2019. The Education initial programs will remain accredited by CAEP through December 31, 2026.

  • GVSU's Initial Accreditation recognition on CAEP's website
  • GVSU's next CAEP Site Review is scheduled for March 22nd through March 25th, 2026.
  • Prior to receiving CAEP accreditation, the College of Education and Community Innovation's Education programs were nationally recognized and accredited by NCATE (the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education) from 1988 through 2019.
CAEP Accredited Provider: Excellence in Educator Preparation Accreditation

List of Programs Accredited by CAEP

CAEP's accreditation of Grand Valley State University's initial teacher preparation programs covers the accreditation of the following programs:

CAEP Accountability Measures

CAEP has four accountability measures that Grand Valley State University (GVSU) is required to report on annually. These measures provide information to the public on the effectiveness of GVSUs Michigan Department of Education approved programs and program graduates' impact on P-12 learning.

Each year the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) uses data collected from multiple assessment tools and data sources to measure 11 indicators of an educator preparation institution’s ability to deliver high-quality teacher preparation and engage in continuous improvement.  Each Educator Preparation Institution is assigned an EPI Performance Score and based on the score is identified by the MDE as either satisfactory or low performing. A percentage score of 77% across all measures is the benchmark for obtaining a satisfactory performance rating. The indicators used to determine the rating are as follows. GVSUs 2025 EPI Score is 98.9%.  Given the breadth of data used to determine GVSUs EPI Score, the EPI score's 11 indicators and associated data address CAEP Measures 1, 2, and 3.

  1. Teaching Promise
  2. Mastery of Teaching Subjects
  3. Subject-Specific Pedagogical Knowledge
  4. Candidate Teaching Skill
  5. Candidate Rating of Program
  6. Impact on P-12 Student Learning
  7. Demonstrated Teaching Knowledge/Performance as Classroom Teachers
  8. Robust Clinical Experiences – Candidate Placement Opportunities
  9. Candidate Rating of Placement Opportunities
  10. Survey Participation from Teacher Candidates, Candidate Supervisors, and Cooperating Teachers
  11. Program Partnership Strength

EPI Score Report

Measure 1: Completer Impact and Effectiveness

Effectiveness of Initial Completers

MDE Effectiveness Ratings of Initial Certification Completers – completed by Michigan school administrators where graduates are employed at least one year; administrators evaluate all teachers and assign one of four labels: Highly Effective, Effective, Minimally Effective, and Ineffective.

Grand Valley State University initial program completers receiving the Highly Effective or Effective labels:

  • 2023-2024: 99.5%
  • 2022-2023: 96.4%
  • 2021-2022: 98.0%
  • 2020-2021: 99.3%
  • 2019-2020: 98.5%

Effectiveness of Advanced Completers

In 2021 the MDE began collecting data on the effectiveness rating of advanced completers. Advanced completers are evaluated by their supervisors and received one of the following effectiveness labels: Highly Effective, Effective, Minimally Effective, and Ineffective.

Grand Valley State University advanced program completers receiving the Highly Effective or Effective labels:

  • 2023-2024: 97.2%
  • 2022-2023: 99.7%
  • 2021-2022: 99.7%

MDE Year Out Report on Preparation of Completers

Administrator Survey (also used for Measure 2)

In 2021, MDE began to issue an annual Administrator Survey to P-12 Employers, which provides institutional data on the satisfaction of employers and stakeholder involvement. Prior to this survey, the Michigan Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (MACTE) developed a survey in 2017 that was sent to area principals and administrators in 2017 and 2019. This data was reported by Grand Valley State University biennially in odd numbered years. 

Measure 2: Satisfaction of Employers and Stakeholder Involvement

Principal Advisory Board Feedback

The college's Center for Educational Partnerships hosts a Principal Advisory Board meeting at least once per year that brings area school principals and administrators to the college to discuss the teacher preparation program and updates in the field.

Measure 3: Candidate Competency at Program Completion

MTTC Pass Rates for Title II Report

In the first few months of each calendar year, the initial Education programs are required to report on their completers from September 1st through August 31st of the previous academic year. For example, the 2020 Title II Report reflects back on the 2018-2019 academic year. The Title II Federal Report website provides information on Grand Valley State University's Education program completers.

Additionally, Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC) Annual Institution Reports for Grand Valley State University are available below for the following program years:

Impact on P-12 Learning and Development

Candidates in the undergraduate initial certification programs conduct a pre-test and post-test with P-12 students during two units of instruction while in their Teacher Internship semester. The results provide data on each candidate's impact on the P-12 classroom.

Clinical Internship Performance Evaluation

During GVSU teacher candidate internship semesters, candidates are evaluated by their mentor teacher(s), their university field supervisor, and themselves. Candidates are evaluated on their internship performance and their professional dispositions.

Survey of Initial Teacher Candidates at Program Completion

At the conclusion of each initial/undergraduate teacher candidate's preparation program, Michigan Department of Education (MDE) surveys the teacher candidates on their effectiveness as candidates.

Survey From GVSU Clinical Instructors on Initial Teacher Candidate at Program Completion

At the conclusion of each initial/undergraduate teacher candidate's preparation program, Michigan Department of Education (MDE) surveys both the university field coordinator/supervisor on the effectiveness of the candidates.

Graduation Rate for Undergraduate Teacher Education:

Graduation rate: 99.6%
(Students awarded a bachelor's degree within three years after admission to the Education program during the 2018-2019 academic year)

Graduation Rate Graduate Teacher Certification:

Completion rate: 95.5%
(Students completing all requirements to earn a Michigan Standard Teacher Certificate after admission to the Education program for the 2023-2024 cohort)

Measure 4: Ability of Completers to be Hired in Education Positions for Which They Have Been Prepared

Employment data from the Michigan Department of Education's Year Out Survey provides responses from alumni:

Survey of Graduate Completers

For graduate programs, Grand Valley State University surveys all students at the completion of their program.

Student loan default rates and other consumer information:

GVSU Student loan default rates information:

Tuition rates information:

Teacher Salary information:

Michigan Department of Education Program Approvals

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) periodically reviews Grand Valley State University's Education programs. MDE maintains a list of approved educator preparation programs offered by Grand Valley State University.

List of Approved Programs on MDE's ProPrep website

List of Nationally Recognized Programs

In addition to CAEP accreditation, the following programs at Grand Valley State University have gone through SPA (specialized program association) review and have received national recognition.

College of Education Programs

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) Programs

Organization Affiliations

Grand Valley State University’s Education programs maintain memberships or affiliations with the following organizations:


Page last modified May 15, 2025
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