University of Massachusetts Global (formerly Brandman University)

A quality education for every child, regardless of race or background, requires a world-class teaching force. Relative to other nations, the United States has long struggled to assert sufficiently high academic standards for entry into teaching. Setting more rigorous admissions standards for aspiring teachers both supports student learning and the prestige of the teaching profession—making the prospect of increasing teacher compensation more likely.

This program was not included in the 2021 Admissions analysis.

A diverse teacher workforce benefits all students, particularly students of color. While there has been real progress over the last thirty years in adding teachers of color to the workforce, these gains have not kept pace with a rapidly diversifying student population. Teacher preparation programs have a responsibility to recruit and support aspiring teachers who will help to make the teaching profession more racially diverse.

This program was not included in the 2021 Program Diversity analysis.

All elementary teacher candidates should learn scientifically based reading instruction, the research-based content and methods to effectively teach all children to read. This content should be clearly evident in a teacher preparation program’s course materials, including class session topics, assignments, practice opportunities, and background materials. The five core components of scientifically based reading instruction evaluated under this standard are: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension.

An attempt to review EDMU 520 and EDMU 521 could not be completed because the necessary documentation was not provided. As a result, the quality of reading instruction at University of Massachusetts Global (formerly Brandman University) remains unclear and the program earns a "cannot be determined" designation.

For additional information on how cooperative programs are scored, please review the technical report.

In order for elementary schools to deliver equitable and effective instruction in mathematics to all students, they need their teachers to have acquired the mathematics content and pedagogical knowledge specified in commonly accepted mathematics education standards. To evaluate that coverage, the Elementary Mathematics standard examines the instructional time allocated to each of the five essential topics in coursework required by teacher preparation programs.

To assess performance under this standard, the distribution of instructional time is estimated using syllabi and course descriptions. Only courses that provide content and pedagogical knowledge related to elementary mathematics are considered.

A review of EDMU 524 found the following coverage:

Numbers & Operations: 0 instructional hours*
Recommended target: 45 hours

Algebraic Thinking: 0 instructional hours*
Recommended target: 20 hours

Geometry & Measurement: 0 instructional hours
Recommended target: 25 hours

Data Analysis & Probability: 0 instructional hours
Recommended target: 15 hours

Mathematics Pedagogy: 45 instructional hours
Recommended target: 45 hours

*Please note that for grading purposes, the hours for Numbers & Operations and Algebraic Thinking are summed and measured against a combined target of 65 hours. Under this measure, 0 instructional hours were found.

Programs earning an F do not provide enough of the content and pedagogical knowledge elementary teachers require for effective mathematics instruction. Programs earn this grade by allocating fewer than 90 hours (out of the 150 target hours) to the five essential topic areas combined, less than 60% of the total target recommendation.

Analysis of the required coursework for elementary teacher candidates at University of Massachusetts Global (formerly Brandman University) found the program to address 30.0% of the total target recommendation.

To be successful, elementary teachers need content knowledge in science and social studies, both to build their students' understanding of the world and their critical thinking skills, and also to support students in becoming strong readers. Becoming a strong reader requires cumulative exposure to content knowledge, cutting across multiple domains and disciplines. The courses aspiring teachers take gives them strong background knowledge in these subjects, and in turn, they give this knowledge to students.

This program was not included in the 2023 Building Content Knowledge analysis.

Strong preparation requires meaningful practice. All aspiring teachers benefit from the firsthand experience of observing effective teachers at work and practicing under their tutelage. The challenge for teacher preparation programs is not only to provide teacher candidates with enough practice but also to ensure that the practice, regardless of length, is a high-quality experience.

This program was not included in the 2020 Clinical Practice analysis.

New teachers (and their principals) invariably cite classroom management as a pressing challenge. That's why teacher preparation programs need to provide teacher candidates with practice in universally effective classroom management strategies. With practice, novice teachers arrive better prepared to successfully manage the full range of student behaviors necessary to maintain a productive classroom climate.

This program was not included in the 2020 Classroom Management analysis.