From its inception in 1839, Longwood has prepared educators, first as a woman’s college, as a Normal School in 1884, as a State Teachers College in 1924, as Longwood College in 1949 and as Longwood University in 2002. As Longwood grew additional majors were added in Arts and Sciences, Business, Health and Human Services. The College of Education and Human Services encompasses five Bachelor’s degrees, 13 Master’s degrees, three initial licensure programs and one five-year combination Bachelor’s/Master’s program provided by 43 full-time faculty and numerous part-time faculty. Every program in the College of Education and Human Services integrates field experiences into its curriculum.

CEHS is a member of the Renaissance Group, (http://education.csufresno.edu/rengroup/) a national consortium of colleges and universities with a major commitment to the preparation of educational professionals; one in every ten teachers is educated in Renaissance institutions. Longwood adheres to the Renaissance Group’s guiding principles that affirm the importance of the education of teachers as an all-campus responsibility, a campus culture that values and models quality teaching, the creation of partnerships with practicing professionals, the extensive use of field experiences in diverse settings, the adherence to high standards and accountability, a focus on student learning, the effective use of technology, and the development of teachers as creative and innovative leaders.

Longwood Freshmen and Seniors completed the National Survey of Student Satisfaction (NSSE) and rated Longwood University above the 90th percentile. One article published in a national journal said that this performance ranked Longwood #1 in the country in teaching excellence.

Evaluations of student rankings of overall professional preparation consistently rank Longwood among the top 10% nationally in overall satisfaction.

Accreditation

The Longwood College of Education and Human Services has been continuously accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) since 1954, one of the first 5 programs nationally to be accredited by NCATE.

Other accreditations include:

Therapeutic Recreation by the National Recreation Parks Association and the American Association for Leisure and Recreation, Athletic Training by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, and Social Work by the Council of Social Work Education.

(see more accreditations)