3. A.1. Courses and programs are current and require levels of performance by students appropriate to the degree or certificate awarded.
Miller College was founded because there was, and is, a need for a baccalaureate degree institution in Battle Creek, Michigan, for students with an associate’s degree or a minimum of thirty hours of college credit needing higher education. The Miller Foundation founded the College to meet this need. The College is a senior level college and is designed to continue beyond the associate’s degree transferring from other institutions. The external constituencies, i.e. the students and Miller College Alumni; K-12 education; health care community; business and industry; institutions of higher education; founders, area residents, and non-profit organizations; and faculty and staff support the programs offered at Miller College to meet the market demands for a highly educated workforce in business, human services, law enforcement, elementary education and nursing. Programs at Miller College are current, and require levels of performance appropriate to the 300/400 level degree courses. The Binda School of Education Program meets state standards and through its membership with the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) the College will meet eligibility requirements outlined in TEAC’s Guide to Accreditation (See School of Education State Approval, College Catalog-Degree Requirements, School of Nursing Accreditation, MAPP Test Results).
Evidence:
In addition to the rigor of academic programs, Miller College provides opportunities for students to enhance their learning experiences by collaborating with various community organizations. The School of Education is one example.
Miller College's close working relationship with area schools makes it uniquely responsive to the regional educational community. The College is able to offer courses for recertification and ongoing professional development that are tailored to the particular needs of the local workforce. Miller's smaller size allows it to be especially flexible and creative in addressing the ever-evolving needs of teacher preparation and development. Individual learning communities need centers of leadership to promote and support their efforts, and a strong college collaborating with a strong intermediate school district can help forge that leadership. To that end, Miller College has developed collaborative relationships with school districts in Calhoun County, and other surrounding counties including Barry, St. Joseph, Kalamazoo and Branch. Miller College has served as a host site for a series of professional development sessions for Battle Creek Public Schools (BCPS), to which teacher candidates have also been invited. This has allowed pre-service teachers the opportunity to learn about the best practices promoted by the district’s coaches and master teachers while enculturating them into a professional learning community to ease the eventual transition from pre-service to in-service teaching. The effectiveness of the programs in the School of Education is evidenced by its cumulative 3 year pass rate of 94.8% on the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (See MTTC 2008-11 3-Year Pass Rate Report).
Evidence:
New concentrations have been developed to meet current and future community demand (Human Services, and Law Enforcement). Regularly, experts in their field are used as guest lecturers in all Miller College Programs in the interest of staying current with the literature and needs of program standards, i.e. the Michigan Department of Education, nursing, and needs of the community.
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