The University of North Carolina at Charlotte was reviewed by the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) in fall 2020. Full accreditation status was awarded to all College of Education programs, with no Areas of Improvement or Stipulations noted. Our next accreditation visit will be in fall 2027. CAEP (Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation) has four measures, which are used to provide information on program outcome and program impact. Below are the four reporting measures by initial and advanced programs with data tables that provide supporting evidence for each measure:
Initial Programs List Advanced Programs List


Source: UNC Charlotte Institutional Research Census Data Files

Source: NC DPI EPP Report





Source: NCDPI EPP Report





Source: NCDPI - NC Employer Survey
Educators who complete advanced (master’s) licensure programs at UNC Charlotte are expected to understand the learner and learning, their content area, instructional practice, and professional responsibility that allows them to work effectively with diverse P-12 students and their families. As part of CAEP Annual Report Measure 2: Satisfaction of employers and stakeholder involvement (Components R4.2, R5.3, RA 4.1) for advanced programs, a survey was piloted to gather responses from NC public and charter schools where three or more UNC Charlotte Cato College of Education advance program graduates (ranging from spring 2016 to spring 2021) were employed in the academic year 2020-21. This survey has not been validated as it is in the pilot phase. It aligns with the collective preparation of those teachers or administrators, not individuals, and includes graduates of all Master of Education, Master of School Administration, Add-on Certificates and Doctorate in Educational Leadership programs. The data tables below show aggregated results.
Source: UNC Charlotte Advanced Completer Survey
The data below represents the various indicators used in our initial programs to determine if UNC Charlotte candidates are prepared to enter the profession of teaching.
Licensure Exams – Title II
As part of the Higher Education Act, the Federal Title II reporting process collects data from all EPPs and state organizations to formulate one report with licensure exam pass rates for each institution in comparison to the all test takers in the state. Teacher candidates must successfully pass one or more standardized exams within their first three years of licensure to convert their Initial Professional Educator License to a Continuing Professional Educator License. The table below shows the pass rates of UNC Charlotte candidates in comparision with the overall NC pass rates. Data on individual tests is available on UNC Charlotte's most recent Title II report for traditional programs (test data starts on page 28) and alternative programs (test data starts on page 26). Pass rates are only provided for licensure categories where there are at least 10 graduates.
Source: Title II Report
edTPA
All candidates are required to complete the edTPA assessment for external scoring through Pearson during the full-time internship. edTPA is a pre-service assessment process designed by educators to answer the essential question: "Is a new teacher ready for the job?" edTPA includes a review of a teacher candidate's authentic teaching materials as the culmination of a teaching and learning process that documents and demonstrates each candidate's ability to effectively teach their subject matter to all students. Teacher candidates at UNC Charlotte complete the edTPA assessment aligned with the content area in which they are seeking licensure. Assessments vary by number of rubrics. The table below shows the overall pass rates of Charlotte candidates. *edTPA became consequential for NC licensure in fall 2019.
Source: Pearson edTPA Data Reports
Per NC State Board of Education policy, beginning September 1, 2019 (fall 2019 semester), all candidates seeking a North Carolina licensure recommendation must have an official edTPA minimal passing score:
- For 15-rubric handbooks, a score of 38
- For 13-rubric handbooks, a score of 32
- For 18-rubric handbooks, a score of 45
The data tables below show overall average total rubric scores for UNC Charlotte in comparison with all NC average total rubric scores.
Source: Pearson edTPA Data Reports
CPAST
Beginning in fall 2020, student teaching candidates in the Cato College of Education at UNC Charlotte are assessed on the Candidate Pre-Service Assessment of Student Teaching tool (CPAST). Developed by The Ohio State University, the CPAST rubric has established validity and reliability and was specifically designed with meeting CAEP standards in mind. CPAST has 21 rubrics that cover seven domains: (1) Planning for Instruction and Assessment, (2) Instructional Delivery, (3) Assessment, (4) Analysis of Teaching, (5) Professional Commitment and Behaviors, (6) Professional Relationships, and (7) Critical Thinking and Reflective Practice. These collectively represent the content knowledge and pedagogical skills that candidates are required to demonstrate before being recommend for licensure at the end of their programs. Candidates receive evaluations at the midpoint and end of the semester. The data table below shows the midpoint and final average scores for three semester cycles collected with CPAST.
Source: COED Office of Assessment & Accreditation
The mission of the Cato College of Education is to prepare highly effective and ethical professionals whose work positively impacts the people and organizations they serve in urban, rural, and other diverse settings. In order to prepare Advanced Program completers to uphold these standards, UNC Charlotte Cato College of Education has developed an assessment of professional disposition process to evaluate, provide feedback, coach, and assess candidates at various points in the program progression. Candidates complete a dispositions self-assessment at the entry point to the program. Another dispositions self-assessment and instruction midpoint evaluation is completed by an instructor in a designated course. At the end of the program, an affirmation to uphold the professional disposition is completed by the candidate. If any concerns are identified during the courses, faculty members work with the student to identify areas of need and methods to achieve the desired outcomes and submit documentation to the COED Office of Assesment & Accreditation regarding the disposition. The data table below shows the overall proficiency of advanced program students evaluated during the midpont assessment of professional disposition. Data is collected at the end of each semester.

Source: COED Office of Assessment & Accreditation
All advanced program completers are eligible to apply for an advanced professional educator's license through the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI). Recommendations for licensure are completed by the Office of Teacher Education Advising & Licensure (TEAL) at UNC Charlotte once a completer submits the application to NCDPI and meets all requirements for the license. Below is a data table showing the number of advanced program completers, the number of advanced licensure recommendations completed by the TEAL office, and the percentage of the advanced program completers recommended by the TEAL office. Note: While all advanced program completers who pass NCDPI-required exams (when applicable) are eligible to be recommended for an advanced license in NC, not all completers immediately apply. The data below represent only those advanced completers who applied for licensure.
Sources: UNC Charlotte Institutional Research Census Data Files and TEAL Database
Information to Note from Map:
1. UNC Charlotte Cato College of Education graduates are employed in 88 of the 100 NC counties.
2. UNC Charlotte Cato College of Education graduates are employed in 100 of the 113 NC school districts


Source: NCDPI Employment File and Institutional Graduation Data