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The Minnesota Daily

Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

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UMD owes its students better

The State Board of Teaching has suspended the University of Minnesota-Duluth’s college of education after controversial findings of alleged mistakes made by staff became public. The alleged mistakes led to more than 20 students being unable to receive their teacher’s licenses in January, after the college failed to track and document changes in their programs over the past few years. 
 
After some students were forced to apply for temporary teaching licenses and the college still failed to follow up on their duty to ensure students’ licensure upon graduation, some may be skeptical when they hear that students affected by this situation will still be able to apply for a regular license.
 
The State Board of Teaching, skeptical of the college’s Dean Jill Pinkney-Pastrana — who has a number of human resources complaints filed against her — put the
program on probation until both the state and UMD rectify the situation. This probation aims to keep prospective students from entering a tough job market without the necessary qualifications. 
 
While it may be the case that the college had management issues, department changes and even a culture of fear that paralyzed progress, we find this situation inexcusable. It is the duty of the University to uphold its standards of the quality of its education and ensure that students — who at UMD spend nearly $6,000 a semester — are properly prepared with the qualifications they are promised. Administrators must act swiftly to remedy this situation.
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