Records of Project Promise

Collection

Identifier: UPPR

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Records of Project Promise consists of documents dated 1989-2007, with the bulk falling from 1989-2007. The collection documents the history of Project Promise, an accelerated post-bachelor's degree secondary teacher licensure program offered from 1988-2007 by Colorado State University's School of Education. All materials came from the program's offices, which were emptied when the program ended, and fall into the following general categories: subject files, student records, binders (student work, administrative information, program curriculum), media, presentations and awards, and the program's resource library. Materials include administrative files, program curriculum, subject files, placement information for schools at which Project Promise students taught, promotional materials and brochures, clippings, student records, books, photographic materials, VHS tapes and miniature video cassettes, CDs, 3.5 inch floppy disks, posters, and a plaque.

Dates

Creation: 1988-2007
Creation: Majority of material found in 1989-2007

Creator

Colorado State University. School of Education (Organization)

Restrictions on Access

Due to the presence of student information, some files require review before research access is granted. These are noted in the inventory. Access to student information is open only to the student in question and to Colorado State University employees. However, access to others will be granted upon having written consent from the student or providing written proof that the student is deceased.

Restrictions on Use

Not all of the material in the collection is in the public domain. Researchers are responsible for addressing copyright issues.

History

Project Promise (Professionals with a Mission in Education) was an accelerated post-bachelor's degree secondary teacher licensure program offered from 1989-2007 by Colorado State University's School of Education. In 1988, Dr. Robert W. "Bob" Richburg, a professor in Colorado State University's School of Occupational and Educational Studies, proposed and gained approval for a one-year pilot teacher certification program for twenty non-traditional students. Eighteen students began the ten-month Project Promise program in August 1989 and finished in May 1990. They gained experience teaching in junior high and high school classrooms and in rural (Holyoke) and urban (Denver) schools. All eighteen had previously earned bachelor's degrees but decided to become teachers after working in other industries. After the successful pilot, CSU continued Project Promise for another seventeen years.

Project Promise served professionals in industries as varied as engineering and fitness instruction who wanted to make a mid-career change to secondary education. The intensive nature of the program allowed participants to earn their licenses in under a year while gaining a broader range of classroom teaching experiences than offered by many traditional licensing degree programs. In 1991, the Holmes Education Group identified Project Promise as an examplary program. The Colorado Commission on Higher Education designated Project Promse a 1992-1993 CCHE Program of Excellence. CSU discontinued Project Promise in 2007; instead, the School of Education now offers a Post-bachelor Teaching License Program and a Teacher Licensure and Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Education and Human Resource Studies, specializing in Education Sciences.

Extent

30.25 linear feet (21 record cartons)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Project Promise (Professionals with a Mission in Education) was an accelerated post-bachelor's degree secondary teacher licensure program offered from 1989-2007 by Colorado State University's School of Education. The collection documents the history of the program. Materials include administrative files, program curriculum, subject files, placement information for schools at which Project Promise students taught, promotional materials and brochures, clippings, student records, books, photographic materials, VHS tapes and miniature video cassettes, CDs, 3.5 inch floppy disks, posters, and a plaque.

Acquisition

The Records of Project Promise was transferred to the University Archive in October 2007 by Don Quick on behalf of the School of Education, College of Applied Human Sciences, Colorado State University.

Related Collections

Records of the Colorado State University School of Education.

Processing

As of September 2018, the collection was found housed in a mix of acidic and acid-free boxes and folders. Portions of the collection were not foldered or were housed in binders. In box 13, duplicates and student work were removed, and documents related to the program's history were cleaned for mold.