Brief History of LICOSESS

The Liberian Cooperative Standard Education School System (LICOSESS) was established by a group of Liberian professional teachers and administrators on 4th November 1994. The institution was established with the main purpose of buttressing the effort of the Ministry of Education to support the school system with qualified and well-prepared teachers and administrators to teach at both primary and secondary school levels in Liberia. In this regard, the LICOSESS was incorporated on May 10, 1995 as an educational entity to prepare teachers for C, B and AA Certificates. The college has a Demonstration school which is used as a lab school to evaluate student-teachers performances before graduation.

LICOSESS is a unique and innovative teacher training institution founded on principles of accessibility, affordability and relevance of quality teacher education for improved teaching and learning outcome in K-12 classrooms. LICOSESS has trained and graduated over fifteen thousand teachers and administrators through short-term workshops and seminars as well as the full-time Grade “C”, “B” and Associate of Arts Degree Programs. The “C” Certificate and “B” Certificate programs are accredited by the Bureau of Teacher Education at the Ministry of Education and runs for a period of one year, while the Associate of Arts Degree Program is accredited by the National Commission on Higher Education and it takes up to a maximum of two years. The “C” and “B” Certificate were accredited in 1997 by the Ministry of Education. The Minister of Education, Dr. Evelyn S. Kandakai was one of the first signatory to LICOSESS’s certificates in 1997-1999. The Associate of Arts Degree was recognized by the National Commission on Higher Education in 2004 but was officially accredited in 2017. In 2021, the National Commission on Higher Education officially elevated LICOSESS to a full bachelor degree granting institution

The college currently has seven departments in its Associate of Arts Degree program, which include; the Department of School Administration; Department of General Science; the Department of Social Studies; the Department of Mathematics; the Department of English Literature, Department of Early Childhood Education, Department of Primary Education. For the “C” Certificate Program, there is only one department called the Department of General Education. The “B” Certificate has two departments called the Department of Arts Education and the Department of Science Education. The Bachelor Degree program has five Departments including the Department of Secondary Education, Primary Education, Early Childhood Education, School Administration and General Studies.

Currently, only LICOSESS offers braille to sighted teachers in Liberia. Primarily, the inclusion of braille course in LICOSESS curriculum ensures that persons with disabilities have equal rights to teacher education to support inclusivity of visually impaired education in to all integrated K-12 school systems. Secondly, because of the lack of teachers trained in braille education in Liberia, students with visual impairment are mostly not allowed in schools that are intended for visually eligible children. Therefore, the acquisition of braille literacy by all teachers and administrators will help bridge the segregation due to disability. Teachers and administrators would learn to appreciate students with disabilities since they have acquired prior knowledge on how to educate visually impaired pupils.

Governance Structure

The Senior Academic Management Team (SAMT), Executive Council (EC) and Board of Trustees (BOT) are the three bodies spearheading the academic, administrative, managerial and advisory affairs at LICOSESS College of Education. The Senior Academic Management is composed of The President, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Vice President for Administration, Vice President for Admission and Records the Finance Manager and the Dean. They are responsible for matters related to curriculum and degree requirements as well planning, implementing, and coordinating the educational programs of the College. The Executive Council appoints members of the SAMT and is the body which specifically reserved right to approve all decision unrelated to academic affairs such as the Bylaws of the Board of Trustees and other collective bargaining agreements in force. The Board of Trustees serves as a forum for discussing issues and problems of general college concern, shall advise the President and shall provide, through its existence, a formal body for each constituent group to express its viewpoint and settle issues of disputes as well as approve long term administrative Policies.

Mission Statement

• To assist teacher-students in developing the passion and skills for becoming 21st century teachers by providing them with the highest quality content & pedagogical knowledge and experiences needed for day to day classroom instruction.

Core Values

Innovation

• Accessibility

• Affordability

• Doing More with Less

• Community Service

Vision Statement

To become the Center of Excellence for the training of professional teachers & administrators through the provision of accessible, affordable, quality and relevant teacher education for improving teaching and learning outcomes.

Programs

LICOSESS-Profile-for-USAID-TESTS-1

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