The Minnesota Board of Teaching suspended the University of Minnesota Duluth's teacher preparation program after it failed to document and report changes. The suspension will cause difficulties for 24 students slated to obtain teaching licenses this year.

"The College of Education and Human Service Professions — with the exception of its approved special-education programs — has been given a probationary status through April 10, 2016, while it undergoes review," according to The Duluth News Tribune.

Because of this, the program can continue classes but cannot enroll new students. Further, UMD's secondary education programs have been disapproved altogether "because UMD failed to document changes to their program in 2012."

The 24 students in the programs in question would consequentially not be able to obtain regular teaching licenses upon completion this spring, but could apply for temporary licenses if they had job offers.

"[T]he board also disapproved UMD’s early-childhood special-education program — for the same reason as the secondary programs — and gave UMD a variance to allow the December graduates of the dual-licensure elementary and special-education program to obtain their teaching licenses," according to the article.

Under that said variance, students would be able to apply for a regular license.

"UMD maintains that the problem is not with the curriculum, but with recordkeeping," the article said. Nonetheless, students are worried that the situation will affect job prospects, and UMD is concerned it will deter new students from the program in the future.

Read the full story here and comment below.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

4/15/2015