It's official: Marquette will be adding another college to its list in July 2008. The School of Education will become the College of Education, a change that university officials say will allow the department to play a larger role in students' academic careers.

By becoming a college, the education program will be able to admit freshmen and offer a Bachelor of Science degree in education with majors in elementary/middle- and middle/secondary-level education, according to William Henk, dean of the School of Education.

With the School of Education, students are enrolled in and graduate from either the College of Communication or the College of Arts & Sciences. Students have a primary major within those colleges and a secondary major in education, according to Henk.

"The School of Education monitored their growth as teachers and worked with departments to make a recommendation to the Department of Public Instruction that students had earned the right to be licensed in the state of Wisconsin," he said. This will not change when the School of Education becomes a college.

With the college, students will still be required to double-major, but education will be their primary major.

"This allows students to complete their degree requirements in a more timely and affordable way," Henk said.

The college will also introduce its own internal core curriculum that is integrated with the education curriculum, Provost Madeline Wake said in an e-mail interview.

"The preparation of teachers has become more of a priority in our society," she said. "The university will benefit by having teacher preparation more focused as a discipline, which has potential for profound societal change."

Kristin Herdrich, a sophomore in the School of Education, said she was happy that the change will place more importance on the education major.

"Marquette has all the other colleges, like the College of Business Administration or the College of Arts & Sciences, and this puts education on the same level," she said. "It takes a step in the right direction to acknowledge teaching as an important profession."

Henk said proposals to make the school a college and to offer degrees started in 2004, but added that it has been a desired change since the School of Education was founded in 1971.

"They were looking for the outcomes that we got," Henk said. "They wanted to have the ability to do more than make recommendations that a teaching license was earned."

According to an executive summary of the college proposal, the change will also help the program compete effectively with other institutions of higher education. College status will allow the program to prepare for the expected increasing demand for teachers and improve operations from recruiting and registration to budget and data analysis.

The summary adds that becoming a college will also reduce confusion about the program and provide a sharper identity that will aid in attracting and retaining high-quality students.

"Students, families and other stakeholders of the school expected education to be the primary major, and because it wasn't, explanation was routinely required," Henk said. "The distinction will no longer need to be made."

This will clear up confusion for students admitted for fall 2008, who will study under the new program. Henk said students admitted for fall 2007 may have the option to choose either the school or college format, and current students will continue on their current paths.