The State Board of Education voted to grant full approval to Simpson College’s teacher preparation program on June 17 after a multiyear review process that included a desk review, site visit, surveys and interviews.

The department’s educator quality team recommended full approval while noting a set of improvements and follow‑up items. The college will submit a one‑year follow‑up report and must address outstanding recommendations in its annual reports.

Why this matters: State approval authorizes Simpson College to continue recommending candidates for Iowa teacher licenses and confirms the program meets state standards for governance, faculty qualifications, assessment, clinical practice and candidate support.

Key points

- The department’s review included more than 45 survey responses, review of 30+ course syllabi, 12+ interviews and five classroom interviews, plus review of candidate files. The report referenced work against chapter 79 and parts of chapter 13 of Iowa rules governing educator preparation.

- The review team highlighted strengths: stable full‑time faculty (nine full‑time faculty), cohesive department leadership, improved assessment systems, strong clinical placement processes and active advisory‑committee engagement.

- Recommendations and required follow‑up included: formalizing advisory‑committee use of assessment data, documenting adjunct communication and professional development pathways, ensuring faculty workloads and responsibilities are sustainable, clarifying integration of the program’s conceptual framework across coursework, and assuring consistent tracking of candidate experiences with diverse learner groups.

- The program has adopted new measures since the prior visit, including a required “reading in the content area” course for secondary candidates to improve literacy and dyslexia preparation, and a policy to ensure faculty complete required field engagement hours within five years.

Action taken

The board approved Simpson College’s educator preparation program for full approval through its next scheduled review in the 2031–32 academic year and required a one‑year follow‑up visit and report addressing the team’s unresolved concerns.

Quotes

“Mariam Rod Szabo, the department reviewer, recommended Simpson College for full approval after documenting strengths and targeted areas for continuous improvement,” the department said in its presentation.

“We really focus on updating and improving our conceptual framework, our K‑12 contact hour requirements, assessment plans, and providing explicit instruction for all students seeking any K‑12 licensure,” Kate Lerseth, department chair at Simpson College, told the board.

Ending

The board’s action preserves Simpson College’s role in preparing Iowa teachers while retaining supervisory follow‑up to ensure the program completes planned improvements and reports progress to the department.