GTEP Discontinued

By Sean Decatur

The College Faculty Council and the General Faculty Council have made the decision to discontinue operations of the Graduate Teacher Education Program (GTEP) at the conclusion of the current academic year. This was a very difficult decision, made after careful and thoughtful deliberation and the consideration of a range of perspectives and voices, including those of students, community members, and alumni. We are committed to continuing the program through the end of the academic year, when the students currently enrolled in the program will receive their degrees.

The program has been the culmination of years of effort by Oberlin College faculty and staff, with input from the community, and it has had an impact on the both the GTEP students and the classrooms where they have served. However, these times require institutions as well as individuals to make difficult choices between competing programs and needs. GTEP was designed to be a self-sustaining program, and unfortunately the program is not in a position to reach a point of self-sustainability in the foreseeable future. In the current economic climate we cannot continue on this path.

Despite this decision, please know that Oberlin remains committed to community and school partnerships, including other outreach programs currently in place. We will continue working with area school systems to develop programming that has long-term viability, meets the needs of the schools, and contributes to Oberlin’s core mission of excellence in undergraduate education.

Sean Decatur is dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

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