Call for Third-Party Comment Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation
On September 29-30, 2022, Colorado State University will host an accreditation visit by the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation. In preparation for the visit, the AAQEP Quality Review Team is soliciting public comment about the quality of educator preparation provided by Colorado State University. All comments must be submitted by August 31, 2022 through the AAQEP website: Submit Comment

Accreditation M.A. in Counseling and Career Development
Our Counseling and Career Development degree is nationally accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs.
The CCD program integrates academics, research, and engagement to prepare ethical and culturally responsive counselors who enhance and advocate for the mental health, wellbeing, and life quality of all people.
Our Counseling and Career Development Master of Arts degree is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs.
A specialized accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, CACREP has granted an 8-year accreditation (through March 2028) to our degree, which includes our degree’s three specializations:
- Career Counseling (one of a handful in the nation to be CACREP-accredited)
- Clinical Mental Health Counseling
- School Counseling
Our 2020-21 Annual Report is now available.
MA in Counseling and Career Development 2020-21 Vital Statistics (Summer 2020-Spring 2021)
Career Counseling Specialization
- Number of graduates: 4
- Completion rate: 80%
- Pass rates on credentialing examinations: 100%
- Job placement rates (within 180 days post graduation): 75%
Clinical Mental Health Counseling Specialization
- Number of graduates: 3
- Completion rate: 100%
- Pass rates on credentialing examinations: 100%
- Job placement rates (within 180 days post graduation): 100%
School Counseling Specialization
- Number of graduates: 8
- Completion rate: 89%
- Pass rates on credentialing examinations: 100%
- Job placement rates (within 180 days post graduation): 88%
Accreditation Educator Licensing Program
Our Educator Licensing Program is both state and nationally accredited.
State Accreditation
The Educator Licensing Program is accredited by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education and the Colorado Department of Education. On April 10, 2015, the Colorado Commission on Higher Education approved the reauthorization of the educator preparation unit at CSU.
National Accreditation
The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (formerly the Teacher Education Accreditation Council) awarded national accreditation to the Teacher Licensing Program at the Center for Educator Preparation – Colorado State University on November 24, 2015. CAEP is recognized as a national accreditor by the United States Department of Education and by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
The Teacher Licensing Program was granted accreditation for seven years with no weaknesses or stipulations.
Founded in 2010, CAEP is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving academic degree programs for professional educators—those who will teach and lead in schools pre-K through grade 12. Accreditation by CAEP is a voluntary system of quality review for educator preparation programs. It is designed to assure both education professionals and the public of the institution’s commitment to academic quality and fiscal integrity as well as stimulate ongoing improvement in its educator preparation program. Graduates of accredited programs can be confident that they are well prepared as competent, caring, and qualified educators—the main goal of CAEP.
Congratulations on your accreditation achievement. We look forward to a long and strong relationship as you document your preparation program’s quality, continuous improvement, and impact.
To be accredited by CAEP, a teacher education program must have solid, independently verifiable evidence of its graduates’ competence. In particular, the program must show that its graduates understand the subject matter they are certified to teach, understand the process of learning and teaching, and possess teaching skills that lead students to appropriate levels of achievement. The program must also have an ongoing process for reviewing and improving itself and must demonstrate that it has the capacity to offer quality education.
The CAEP accreditation process includes two levels of decision-making, culminating in a decision by CAEP’s Accreditation Committee, which includes representatives of both the public and the education profession.
In making the accreditation announcement, Dr. Christopher A. Koch, president of CAEP, noted, “Congratulations on your accreditation achievement. We look forward to a long and strong relationship as you document your preparation program’s quality, continuous improvement, and impact.”