The BOE team will be primarily interested in determining the quality of the unit’s candidates and graduates, as measured by their ability to help all students learn. To that end, the BOE team will spend a substantial amount of its time during the visit examining and assessing the quality of the unit’s assessment system and the data generated by that system. Teams will evaluate evidence, conduct individual and group interviews, visit school sites and observe some professional education classes.

During the visit, teams look for answers to the following questions related to each of the six standards:

1. What performance assessment data suggests that the unit is producing quality candidates?
   
   
2. What system is being used to evaluate candidate performance and unit operations? How have the results of evaluations been used to guide the improvement of practice within the unit?
   
   
3. How has the unit structured field and clinical experiences? How is the unit assessing the performance of its candidates in classroom and school settings?
   
   
4. What curriculum and experiences are planned, implemented, and evaluated to ensure that candidates are able to have a positive impact on students from diverse backgrounds?
   
   
5. How does the unit ensure that its faculty is qualified, models best practices, and received adequate professional development?
   
   
6. Does the unit have to necessary governance and resources to prepare candidates to meet professional, state, and institutional standards?

A template for the institutional site visit is included in the Handbook for Accreditation Visits.

Planning the Previsit | Logistical Arrangements | Budgeting for the Visit Interviews Conducted by the BOE Team | The Exhibit Room | The Exit Conference

Planning the Previsit

Team chairs conduct a previsit to the institution, usually one to two months before the on-site visit by the full team. The previsit should include the unit head, the unit’s coordinator of the visit, the state consultant, and state team chair or co-chair if the visit is being conducted jointly with the state team. The unit should coordinate the schedule and agenda for the meeting.

The previsit is a means for the team chair to provide help to the unit as it finalizes preparation for the visit. It is a chance for the unit to ask questions about the continuing accreditation process, logistical arrangements, and the conduct of the on-site visit.

Logistical Arrangements

Several months before the scheduled visit, the institution’s NCATE coordinator, faculty, and administrators must begin making logistical arrangements to ensure that the BOE team’s visit runs smoothly, a checklist is available in the Handbook for Accreditation Visits that should guide the coordinator in making the necessary arrangements for the on-site visit.

Budgeting for the Board of Examiners (BOE) Visit: Guidance for NCATE Institutions

Beginning with visits in the fall of 2003, NCATE began charging institutions a Periodic Evaluation Fee of $1,000 per BOE team member. The number of BOE team members assigned to an institution is usually three to eight persons, and is determined by the NCATE Accreditation Department based on factors including number and size of the institution’s programs, and the state partnership agreement, following the guidelines outlined on http://ncate.org/institutions/hbk_page.asp?ch=15&hbkch=1&hpkpg=15. This flat fee replaced the prior practice of invoicing institutions for exact accountings of airfare and other direct expenses incurred by NCATE on the institutions’ behalf. The new practice prevents uncertainty to institutions’ budgets based on constantly changing airfares and the variety of home locations of team members.

Due to fluctuating airfares, the Fee was increased in 2006 to $1,200 per BOE team member, $1,350 in 2008. For the 2010-11 academic year we must regrettably raise the Fee to $1,500 per BOE team member. Institutions will be billed the Periodic Evaluation Fee during the semester of their visit.

In addition to the Periodic Evaluation Fee, the institution will continue to be directly responsible for arranging and paying for:

1. the hotel expenses for team members;
2. workrooms at the hotel and on campus for the visiting team, with Internet access;
3. transportation from the destination airport to and from the hotel, and transportation to and from campus from the hotel;
4. the Sunday night dinner;
5. breakfasts, lunches, and refreshments for the team during the visit;
6. computer rentals if necessary; and
7. supplies provided for the team members in their workroom.

This strategy gives the institution as much cost control as possible, e.g., selection of the hotel, and sending a graduate student to the airport to meet team members rather than having the team rent a car. It also minimizes the out-of-pocket or credit card load to our Examiners, who are volunteers, many of them classroom teachers. If it is not possible for the institution to set up direct-billing arrangements with the hotel, please contact the NCATE Finance Department for guidance and assistance.

In other words, NCATE will continue to pay for airfares or alternative transportation, as well as parking, meals, and other transit expenses for the team members before their arrival and after their departure from the institution’s location (closest practicable airport). The institution will pay the Periodic Evaluation Fee and for the on-location expenses.

As part of the Visit, the chair of the BOE team also makes a Pre-Visit to the institution. NCATE will administer the expenses of the Pre-Visit within the Periodic Evaluation Fee according to the same guidance and expectations, paying for airfare and transit expenses and expecting the institution to pay for Pre-Visit hotel and other on-location expenses as listed above. For example, for a five-member team, the institution would pay a $6,750 Periodic Evaluation Fee and NCATE would pay for six airfares, one for the Pre-Visit plus five for the Visit.

The institution incurs some expenses prior to the on-site review. The costs of typing, copying, and shipping of preconditions materials and program reviews should be planned for 18-24 months prior to the visit. Some institutions, especially large ones, give release time for a coordinator of the review and may assign a secretary and/or graduate assistant to the project as well. Other related costs might be faculty attendance at one of NCATE’s institutional orientations or AACTE’s professional development workshops.

Interviews Conducted by the BOE Team

Much of a Board of Examiners (BOE) team’s time on Monday and Tuesday of the visit is spent interviewing individuals and groups. Whom the team decides to interview depends, in great part, on the information provided in the institutional report. In addition to interviewing faculty, staff, and administrators on campus, the team talks with candidates, cooperating teachers, principals, and other members of the professional education community. Team members usually visit schools in the area or talk with personnel in schools via telephone or two-way video conferencing. The types of people and groups with whom the BOE team would like to meet are outlined in the template in the Handbook for Accreditation Visits.

The Exhibit Room

The unit should gather its supporting documentation in a single location, which is referred to as the exhibit room. The exhibit room should contain the documentation that supports the institutional report and shows how NCATE standards are being met. This evidence should include items used by the unit and its programs to assess the proficiencies of the candidates and the effectiveness of the unit. All of the documents in the exhibit room should be clearly labeled and keyed to the standards. A list of the documents that should be available in the exhibit room is included in the Handbook for Accreditation Visits.

Units are encouraged to use technology in the planning and conduct of the visit. Interactive video conferencing often facilitates conversations with school personnel and student teachers who are not geographically close to the institution. Faculty, administrators, students, and other members of the professional community could communicate with the team via e-mail during the visit. Documentation normally in the exhibit room could be sent to the team on a CD-ROM for review before the visit begins. Institutions that are interested in exploring new technologies in the conduct of their on-site visits should contact the NCATE office to ensure that a BOE team with experience in their use is assigned to the visit or view the guidelines for electronic exhibit rooms.

The Exit Conference

The BOE team is scheduled to leave campus between 11:00 A.M. and 3:00 P.M. on Wednesday. At some point during that time (scheduled as far in advance as possible, the BOE team chair meets with the unit head and the NCATE coordinator to summarize the team’s findings. If the visit was held concurrently with the state visit, the state team chair and state consultant attend the meeting as well. In the exit conference the team chair provides a general overview of the findings, including the team’s recommendations regarding whether each standard is met, and indicates the areas for improvement that will be cited in the written BOE report.