Discover FAU With the College of Education

Fact Sheet

The College of Education is the fourth largest college at FAU with a fall 2010 enrollment of 3,882 undergraduate and graduate students. Nearly one‐third of our students are over the age of 30, a reflection of our service to individuals seeking a second career in education, practicing educators pursing advanced degrees or certification, as well as students working toward a degree in education or an allied health field. Most of our students are Florida residents and 32% represent ethnic minorities.

The college opened its doors in 1964 when FAU became the state’s fifth public university, and welcomed lower division students in 1984 when FAU became a four year institution. The college employs 71 tenured/tenure-track faculty members, 35 instructors, as well as classroom teachers at lab schools.

Through the efforts of many, the College of Education at Florida Atlantic University offers a variety of excellent and accredited undergraduate and graduate programs from the departments of Communication Sciences and Disorders; Counselor Education; Curriculum, Culture and Educational Inquiry; Educational Leadership and Research Methodology; Exceptional Student Education; Exercise Science and Health Promotion; and Teaching and Learning.

Also housed under the College of Education are A.D Henderson University School, FAU High School, Karen Slattery Educational Research Center, Palm Pointe Educational Research School, Pine Jog Environmental Educational Center and the Everglades Youth Conservation Camp. These schools and centers provide educational opportunities for those not yet in college, as well as, university-wide research and hands-on experience for College of Education students.

The college hosts avenues for a variety of services available to students, faculty, staff and the local community. Services are offered through the Center for Autism & Related Disabilities, the Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education, the Communication Disorders Clinic, the Human Performance Lab Facilities, and the FAU WELL Program.

The college is proud of its programs that recruit, prepare, and support quality educators. The College of Education was named the grant administrator by the U.S. Department of Defense for the State of Florida’s Troops to Teachers program.

Troops to Teachers is a nationwide program authorized by Congress to recruit and provide support services to veterans who enter the teaching field. Those eligible can receive a stipend to pay for certification costs or a bonus if they teach for three years in a high-need or a high-poverty school.

The college has joined forces with the School Board of Broward County to meet the challenge of attracting, developing, and retaining qualified, competent educators for local schools by establishing the Teaching and Leadership Center on the FAU Davie campus. The center’s efforts include recruitment and training mid-career professionals, procuring grant funds for professional development, and developing programs that encourage school students to choose education as a profession.

The college provides opportunities for students to earn income while learning to become effective teachers in three programs collectively known as the Florida Institute for the Advancement of Teaching (FIAT). Project Good FIT (First Introduction into Teaching) places students during their freshman or sophomore year in college in a local school as a paid instructional intern under the supervision of a mentor teacher; Project SMaRT (Substituting with Mentors and Realistic Teaching) places juniors and seniors into schools as paid substitute teachers under the supervision of a university mentor; Project AIT (Accelerated Induction Into Teaching) places highly qualified student teachers in their own classrooms for one semester under the supervision of a university mentor.

Although the College is a state institution, its funded allotment is not sufficient to cover all of our operational costs. We must rely on grants and the generosity of our alumni and donors to supplement funding.

Points of Pride

  • The College has earned accreditation with the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the American Speech‐Language‐Hearing Association (CAA), the Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP), the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), and the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).
  • Elementary Education is one of the largest FAU undergraduate majors by enrollment.
  • The College of Education produces the second highest number of doctoral graduates at FAU.
  • The Counselor Education program ranked 6th in the nation amongst Counselor Education programs on the Faculty Scholarly Production Index (FSP) conducted by Academic Analytics. Researchers in the department were recently awarded a $2.7 million grant from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) to fully fund a four-year project titled “A Randomized Controlled Trial of Student Success Skills: A Program to Improve Academic Achievement for All Students.”
  • A.D. Henderson Laboratory School is a Florida Department of Education A+ School based on student scores on the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test.
  • FAU High, an intensive dual enrollment comprehensive public high school enables students to earn 90+ college credits by the end of their senior year.
  • The Karen Slattery Educational Research Center for Child Development earned a perfect rating on Palm Beach County's QIS school evaluation.
  • The Communications Disorders Clinic provides quality speech, language, hearing diagnostic and treatment services and community education as well as serving as a training facility for graduate students.
  • The Center for Autism and Related Disorders serves nearly 1000 registrants from Palm Beach and the Treasure Coast annually.
  • The Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education provides training and resources to teachers involved in Holocaust and genocide education.
  • The department of Exercise Science & Health Promotion offers the FAU WELL program as a free community service for older adults residing in Boca Raton and surrounding areas.
  • The Pine Jog Environmental Education Center is one of the oldest nature centers in the nation serving over 25,000 students, 750 teachers and 12,500 adults/families annually from Palm Beach County and surrounding counties.
  • The Everglades Youth Conservation Camp, managed by the Pine Jog Environmental Education Center, is made up of 252 acres surrounded by 60,000 acres of Everglades habitat. EYCC’s summer camp programs feature a unique environmental education theme with outdoor adventure activities for campers 8 to 14 years old with a Junior Counselor program for campers 15-17 years old.
  • Graduates from the Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology are currently serving locally as an Associate Superintendent of Schools, an Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, a Dean of Academic Affairs, as well as professors and education professionals in a variety of roles.
  • Faculty in the Department of Curriculum, Culture and Educational Inquiry are engaged in a multitude of international projects, like training teachers in countries such as Brazil and Belize, working with educators in Mexico, presenting at conferences in Malaysia, South Africa, and Italy, and sponsoring study abroad programs in Great Britain and Mexico.
  • Our faculty members are involved in a broad spectrum of research including areas of Early Childhood Education, Reading, Asperger’s Disorder, Cooperative Learning, Student Success Skills and Student Achievement, and Strategic Leadership, to name a few.

The college of Education offers programs, services and classes across four Florida Atlantic University campuses: Boca Raton, Davie, Jupiter and Treasure Coast.

Updated October 19, 2011