BOLIVAR – The College Database recently released named its Top Colleges for Teacher Education. The new list entitled “Top Colleges in Missouri: Shaping the Next Generation,” ranked Southwest Baptist University 12th out of 41 schools in the state. The list highlights the post-secondary institutions that produced the most education graduates during the 2012 academic year. SBU awarded 256 education degrees in the 2012-13 year.
“Many colleges and universities have tremendous teacher education programs,” said Doug Jones, founder of The College Database. “But which ones are producing the most young educators today? We wanted to identify the colleges making the largest impact on our students.”
To be identified as one of The College Database’s top colleges, an institution must be a fully accredited, four-year, public or private not-for-profit college or university in the U.S. that had a minimum of 10 graduates from education or teaching programs in 2012. The goal of The College Database is to provide free information about education options both nationally and locally to students, parents and other interested parties.
“I am pleased that SBU is among the top teacher producing programs in the state; that the hard work of our faculty, staff and teacher candidates is recognized; and that these servant leaders are influencing students in, and beyond, the state of Missouri,” said Dr. Dwight Haun, chair of the department of education and director of teacher education at SBU.
SBU offers undergraduate degrees in elementary education, middle school education, and secondary education certification in content areas. SBU also offers five master’s degrees in education, an education specialist degree and a doctor of education in educational leadership.