The counseling program has been successfully endorsed by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling & Related Programs (CACREP) in both tracks, community and school counseling.  The program meets a multitude of standards related to the institution, the program objectives & curriculum, the clinical instruction, the faculty & staff, the organization & administration of the program, the evaluations at various transition points throughout the program, and the specialty requirements for each area of concentration.  The completion of this national accreditation process leaves the program in overall good standing with respect to the requirements for NCATE assessment. This overview describes the assessment phases that comprise the program’s assessment plan.  This overview addresses four transition points within the counseling program.  It also summarizes the relationship with CACREP’s curricular experiences and the graduate conceptual framework.

Phase I:  Admission to the Counseling Program

   We have clearly stated admission criteria upon which we base admission decisions.  Each prospective student must have completed a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution although the major is not specified.  Counseling is not typically offered as an undergraduate option so the master’s degree is the entry level of study for this field.  Often our prospective students apply from human service, education, psychology, and social work undergraduate areas but students with other majors have been successful in a counseling course of study.  Additionally, we require either the GRE or the MAT and prefer scores of 800 and 392, respectively.  Students seeking admission complete a program questionnaire to provide more information on writing capability, related background, and motivation for seeking a counseling career.  Three formal recommendations are required and hold considerable weight as the faculty make admission decisions.

   A four-hour pre-entrance interview is required for admission consideration.  This time consists of orientation information about the cohort design, basic information about courses and other curricular requirements including the special project, the National Counselor Exam, the comprehensive examinations, the CACREP Standards, the Graduate Conceptual Framework, and the faculty. Clinical sequences and the experiential component of the program are discussed in-depth.  Students also complete a writing exercise requiring self-reflection of personal attributes for this field.  Prospective students complete a ten-minute individual, oral interview where they answer questions posed by faculty.  This is used as a means of gathering data on interpersonal style, cognitive complexity, and ethical reasoning.

   Faculty make admission decisions based upon both a paper and interview process.  Each faculty member independently ranks each candidate on factors including oral and written presentation, interpersonal style, clarity of ideas, and relevant career goals. A Global Admission Index Score is calculated from these components of the admission process.

Phase II:  Admission To Clinical Field Experiences 

   Thirty hours of designated coursework is required prior to the student’s first field-based placement.  The student’s GPA must remain in the area of good standing with the university during the completion of these courses.  The clinical sequence begins the first semester of enrollment and contains lab-based simulations that are taped and evaluated with counseling skill feedback performance scales.  Students self-evaluate and receive evaluations from both peers and supervising faculty.  Students must meet faculty approval for field placement.  This is granted based upon skill mastery, assessment of personal readiness and stability, and successful completion of all prerequisite classes.  Students complete a “Student Progress Report” each semester that is filed with the faculty advisor.  Faculty discuss advisee progress and concerns at ongoing program meetings. 

Phase III:  Exit From The Program 

   Students must successfully complete 48 semester hours of prescribed coursework, pre-approved through the program of study, in order to graduate from either counseling track.  The clinical sequence culminates in three semesters of field-based work in either a school or community setting depending upon the track selection.  These experiences total 700 clock hours and include ongoing case presentations, taped evaluations with assigned clients, weekly group supervision with other interns, weekly individual supervision sessions with faculty and site supervisors, completion of the clinical portfolio, and written evaluations of candidate dispositions given by site and faculty supervisors.  The program administers a competency-based instrument at the conclusion of each field-based experience that is based upon CACREP’s core and specialty area standards for school counselors. 

   Program completion also includes comprehensive exams and a special project.  Comps are a written experience testing the student’s ability to translate theory into counseling practice.  Faculty independently score each student’s responses on a scale from P+(Pass with Exceptionality) to P- (Marginal Pass).  Students may remediate through oral or written exam on areas under P (Pass).  A number of case studies and clinical scenarios are given as the basis of this exam.  The special project is a documented professional workshop, conference presentation, or manuscript offered as professional contribution of the student. 

Phase IV:  Follow-up, Post Graduation