Diversity ensures greater collaboration, growth, and improvement of our collective goal to improve education for a free, democratic society. Becoming a teacher is one of the highest callings in life. As one veteran teacher put it: “Without teachers, we would have no other professions.”

Although Western Carolina University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), the university holds accreditation/membership in more than 50 other state and national associations.

The mission of the department rests on the following two principles: personal and professional integrity and respect for the worth of the individual. These principles guide all our actions and interactions. Our mission has three emphases: 

• Creating instructional environments that contribute to students meeting their personal and professional learning goals.
• Extending our teaching mission beyond the immediate classroom environment to include service to educational and education-related agencies.
• Ensuring—through research into discipline-related topics, through creating learning environments, and through the provision of professional service—that each faculty member remain a learner.