Institutions Offering Degrees in Education

AACTE’s compendium of information on schools, colleges, and departments of education, Colleges of Education: A National Portrait (2018), documented the declining number of students earning degrees in education. It also sounded an alarm bell about the number of colleges and universities with small education programs. What that report did not do is examine recent trends in the number of institutions awarding degrees in education. This issue brief (2020) fills that gap, and provides institutions with useful information against which to benchmark their own experience.

Given anticipated changes in enrollment due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the findings presented in this issue brief raise significant concerns about the nation’s future capacity to meet the needs of students, families, and communities for new teachers and other education professionals. Many colleges and universities may be forced to decide among maintaining their education programs and investing in their expansion, developing partnerships with other institutions in order to sustain their education programs, or phasing out their education programs. AACTE will continue to monitor these trends to keep its members and interested stakeholders informed and to assist them in navigating these challenging times.