Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College administers Arizona State University's undergraduate and graduate programs in education. The college is headquartered on ASU's West campus, but offers programs on four of ASU's five campuses, online and in school districts throughout the state. The college was named for ASU education alumna and successful business woman Mary Lou Fulton.
History
Prior to 2009, ASU maintained three schools/colleges of education: the College of Education (later named Mary Lou Fulton College of Education) at the Tempe campus, the College of Teacher Education and Leadership on the West campus, and the School of Educational Innovation and Teacher Preparation on the Polytechnic campus.
In May 2009, ASU's education programs underwent a renaming and reorganization. The Mary Lou Fulton College of Education, which was ASU's original college of education, became the Mary Lou Fulton Institute and Graduate School of Education.[2] This new school focused solely on graduate-level programs and research. All teacher preparation degree programs (including all undergraduate education programs) were consolidated into the College of Teacher Education and Leadership.
A year later, in May 2010, these remaining two education colleges were merged into Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, which now administers all education programs â€" graduate and undergraduate â€" throughout the university.
Ranking
Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University is ranked 11th in the U.S. among all public and private graduate schools of education and No. 4 among public universities by U.S. News & World Report (2018). Rankings for the school continue to climb. Previous rankings for the graduate school were 14th in 2017, 17th in 2016, 18th in 2015, 24th in 2014, 26th in 2013, and 35th in 2012
Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College is recognized as one of the nation's best schools of education for students wishing to earn an online degree. According to U.S. News & World Report, the college is ranked 40th among online graduate education programs. In 2014 its online master’s in education degree program ranked No. 7 for veterans. In 2015, the U.S. News & World Report listed ASU as one of the fastest rising top-tier colleges of education in the U.S. in a 5-year time span.
The magazine, “Diverse: Issues in Higher Education,†gave Teachers College high rankings for universities that award master’s, doctoral and professional degrees to underrepresented minority students. The college was ranked first for Native American doctorates in education, fifth for Asian American doctorates in education, and sixth for Hispanic doctorates in education.
Programs
Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College has two divisions: Teacher Preparation, and Educational Leadership and Innovation. The college emphasizes teacher education, community service, and academic research. A full spectrum of degree programs include BAE, MEd, MA, MPE, EdD and PhD in fields such as early childhood education, elementary education, secondary education, special education, physical education and educational administration/supervision. The College also offers advanced study and research in school leadership, curriculum and instruction, school and educational psychology, education policy, education technology, higher and post-secondary education.
Teachers College programs combine classroom- and community-based learning opportunities, and courses are designed to encourage diversity of thought â€" engaging students in the latest educational theories and research, as well as new technologies, that place them on the cutting edge of the education field. An ASU exit survey of 2013-2014 graduates found that 97 percent of Teachers College graduate students pursuing jobs â€" and 93 percent of Teachers College undergraduate students pursuing jobs â€" were employed or had at least one job offer 90 days after graduation.
Initiatives
The college hosts several initiatives, including the nationally acclaimed iTeachAZ, teacher preparation program. The rigorous program requires teacher candidates to complete a full-time, yearlong Senior Year Residency prior to graduation. The residency integrates coursework with practice, allowing teacher candidates to gain real-world experience under the guidance of highly qualified mentor teachers â€" without increasing the amount of time it takes to earn a bachelor's degree. In April 2014, the program was cited as an example of “new and innovative efforts to make teacher preparation more hands-on, relevant, and effective†in a fact sheet issued by The White House Press Office. Universities and colleges around the nation continually reach out to ASU to learn about iTeachAZ, highlighting the impactful and innovative nature of the program.
Teachers College also is home to Inside the Academy, a free, open-source online website that features archived video interviews of esteemed educational researchers and practitioners. The archives, created by Associate Professor Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, are inspired by the Emmy-award-winning television program, “Inside the Actors Studio.â€
The college’s Professional Learning Library is a free, comprehensive archive of professional resources categorized by standard, topic, type and other attributes. The online resource houses a vast array of instructional materials to aid current and future educators’ informal and formal professional learning (pedagogical and content-area). This virtual library contains more than 5,000 resources for educators, which are created or recommended by Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University and select partners.
Through edXchange, a knowledge mobilization initiative, the college is making educational research more accessible, usable and relevant by fostering exchanges among scholars, educators, policymakers, journalists, social entrepreneurs, civic organizations and other concerned individuals. Its focus is on fostering interdisciplinary research-based collaborations to strengthen the relationships between research, policy and practice.
In fall 2014, Teachers College launched its Center for Advanced Studies in Global Education. The center aims to extend the college’s pursuit of the highest standards for teaching, discovery and innovation to a global audience.
Awards
Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College earned the Best Practice Award for Effective Partnerships from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) in 2007. The College received the Rich Media Impact Scholastic Achievement Award and the Best of the West Award from the Western Maricopa Coalition (WESTMARC) in 2007. Additionally, the College was awarded the Best Practice Award for the Innovative Use of Technology from AACTE in 2009.
In 2014, Teachers College received the TAP Award of Distinction in recognition of its dedication and commitment to advancing educator effectiveness. TAP: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement is America’s leading comprehensive educator effectiveness model that aligns career advancement, professional development, educator evaluation and performance-based compensation.
References
