21.   The change would allow up to six units from education courses to be applied to a teacher preparation program at CSU.

22.   The CSU system has added an online teacher credentialing program and increased the flexibility of its teacher preparation programs.

23.   The measure also imposes stiffer requirements on teacher education programs at colleges and universities throughout New York state.

24.   The proposal also ups the ante for teacher education programs at colleges and universities around the state.

25.   The teacher training programs that received grant money would use it to help support students who promised to teach in poor districts for three years.

26.   Those programs include teacher mentor programs, teacher training programs and seminars that might be viewed as luxuries next year.

27.   Throughout the country, more and more are entering teacher education programs, particularly at the graduate level.

28.   Also Friday, the Regents approved an alternative teacher certification program to address teacher shortages statewide.

29.   In addition, Gov. Christie Whitman unveiled a new teacher mentoring program in her State of the State address earlier this week, he noted.

30.   It also said colleges should expand teacher preparation programs to five years and work more closely with new teachers once they enter the classroom.