Accreditation & Program Data – Office of Educator Preparation

University of Southern Maine is a premier Educator Preparation Provider (EPP) serving local Maine P-12 educational communities and beyond. Our educator preparation programs prepare students (known as “candidates”) who seek to enter education-related professions. See below for information about USM’s educator preparation programs, the EPP accreditation status, and data related to program quality and effectiveness.

Educator Preparation Programs and Accreditation

The following programs were reviewed by teams representing the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and the Maine State Board of Education in Fall 2021, with accreditation granted in Spring 2022.

Initial-Level Licensure Programs

Program Name	Degree	Maine Endorsement Code
Extended Teacher Education Program (ETEP), K-8*	Post Baccalaureate	020
ETEP, 7-12*, English	Post Baccalaureate	100
ETEP, 7-12*, Life Science	Post Baccalaureate	395
ETEP, 7-12*, Mathematics	Post Baccalaureate	300
ETEP, 7-12*, Physical Science	Post Baccalaureate	350
ETEP, 7-12*, Social Studies	Post Baccalaureate	200
ETEP, K-12*, World Language, French	Post Baccalaureate	420
ETEP, K-12*, World Language, Spanish	Post Baccalaureate	440
Special Ed., Integrated General Education & Special Education, K-8	Master’s	282, 020
Special Ed., Integrated General Education & Special Education, 7-12	Master’s	282, various
Special Education, 282, K-8	Master’s	282
Special Education, 282, 7-12	Master’s	282
TESOL, K-12*	Master’s	660
Art Education, K-12*	Baccalaureate	620
Music Education, K-12*	Baccalaureate	614
UG Teacher Education, K-8 (phasing out)	Baccalaureate	020
UG Teacher Education, K-8*, Elementary Education (Major – new Fall 2020)	Baccalaureate	020
UG Teacher Education, 7-12*, English	Baccalaureate	100
UG Teacher Education, 7-12*, Life Science	Baccalaureate	395
UG Teacher Education, 7-12*, Math	Baccalaureate	300
UG Teacher Education, 7-12*, Physical Science	Baccalaureate	350
UG Teacher Education, 7-12*, Social Studies	Baccalaureate	200
UG Teacher Ed., K-12*, World Language, French	Baccalaureate	420
UG Teacher Ed., K-12*, World Language, Spanish	Baccalaureate	440

*The program names in this table are presented as they were reviewed and accredited by CAEP and the Maine State Board of Education in Spring 2022. Revisions to Maine Chapter 115 in June 2022 changed elementary licensure to K-6, secondary to 6-12, and K-12 licensure areas to PK-12, with the exception of special education. Our programs have been phasing in grade level changes in accordance with Chapter 115.

Advanced-Level Licensure Programs

Program Name	Degree	Maine Endorsement Code
School Psychology, B-12: PsyD in School Psychology	Doctorate	093
School Psychology, B-12: EdS in School Psychology	Specialist	093
Educational Leadership, Building Administrator, K-12	Master’s	040
Educational Leadership, Curriculum Coordinator, K-12	Master’s	015
Educational Leadership, Administrator of Special Education, K-12	Master’s	030
Certificate of Graduate Studies in Assistant Principal	Endorsement only	045
Literacy Specialist	Master’s	092
School Counseling, K-12^	Master’s	075

^The program names in this table are presented as they were reviewed and accredited by CAEP and the Maine State Board of Education in Spring 2022. Revisions to Maine Chapter 115 in June 2022 related to advanced programs changed School Counseling licensure to PK-12.

USM’s educator preparation programs were approved by the Accreditation Council of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) in May 2022 and by the Maine State Board of Education in September 2022. Accreditation is granted to the programs listed above, at the initial-licensure level and the advanced level, effective Spring 2022 through Spring 2029.

CAEP accreditation standards can be found at the following link:

CAEP Revised 2022 Standards for Initial Level Programs (One-Pager)

CAEP Revised 2022 Standards for Advanced Level Programs (One-Pager)

USM’s educator preparation programs were most recently reviewed in 2021 under the 2013 standards.

Completers of initial level programs who are currently teaching in the field report feeling well or very well prepared to utilize multiple forms of assessments and differentiate instruction to support multi language learners, and students with the full-range of learner readiness.

ETEP & UG Novice Educator Initial Data Tables

Table 1.1	n=7
Indicator	Not at all prepared (1)	Somewhat prepared (2)	Well prepared (3)	Very well prepared (4)	NA
3.5 Use technology in the classroom appropriately to support instruction.	0	0	5 (72%)	2 (28%)	0
4.1 Engage in ongoing professional learning to provide all learners with engaging learning experiences.	0	1 (14%)	4 (58%)	2 (28%)	0
4.3 Reflect on teaching practice to improve instruction.	0	0	5 (72%)	2 (28%)	0


Table 1.2	n = 7
Indicator	Not at all prepared (1)	Somewhat prepared (2)	Well prepared (3)	Very well prepared (4)	NA
2.3 Integrate cross-disciplinary skills (e.g., critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, communication) to help learners use content.	0	2 (28%)	3 (44%)	2 (28%)	0
3.4a Differentiate instruction for students with disabilities.	0	1 (14%)	4 (58%)	2 (28%)	0
3.4b Differentiate instruction for English language learners.	1 (14%)	1 (14%)	3 (44%)	2 (28%)	0

Employer & Stakeholder survey was replaced with a stakeholder roundtable discussion. See Round Table Discussion notes.

ETEP & UG Exit Survey Initial Data Tables

Table 1.1	n=24
Indicator	Not at all prepared (1)	Somewhat prepared (2)	Well prepared (3)	Very well prepared (4)
3.5 Use technology in the classroom appropriately to support instruction.	0	0	7 (29%)	17 (69%)
4.1 Engage in ongoing professional learning to provide all learners with engaging learning experiences.	0	0	6 (25%)	18 (75%)
4.3 Reflect on teaching practice to improve instruction.	0	0	5 (21%)	19 (79%)


Table 1.2	n = 24
Indicator	Not at all prepared (1)	Somewhat prepared (2)	Well prepared (3)	Very well prepared (4)
2.3 Integrate cross-disciplinary skills (e.g., critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, communication) to help learners use content.	1 (4%)	0	9 (36%)	14 (60%)
3.4a Differentiate instruction for students with disabilities.	0	2 (8%)	8 (32%)	14 (60%)
3.4b Differentiate instruction for English language learners.	0	0	9 (36%)	15 ((64%)

Employment

The employment survey was sent to Initial-level licensure program completers in May 2025 (with follow-up reminders throughout summer 2025). 38 completed the survey to report employment in their field (40.4% survey completion rate).

Highlights:

At completion, 84.2% of respondents reported full-time employment in the education field
At completion, 88.9% of respondents reported employment as teachers

Table 3.1 Type of employment

Full-Time	Part-Time	Temporary (sub)	Not employed
84%	5%	5%	5%

Total n = 38

Table 3.2 Position title

Teacher	Ed Tech III	Substitute teacher	Other staff
89%	3%	3%	6%

Total n = 36

The Office of Educator Preparation is developing instruments to collect employment information for advanced program completers, in collaboration with program faculty and external partners.

Contact the Office of Educator Preparation with any questions, comments, or concerns at usm.oep@maine.edu or (207) 780-5055.