Graduates of the Counseling MA program are effective counselors.
Objective
Competency In Core Content Areas And Skills In Counseling.
Graduates in the Counseling MA program will be knowledgeable in the core content areas for community mental health counseling.
Indicator
Evaluations
1. To continue in the program, faculty must score counseling students on a scale of 0-7, with 5 and above being acceptable and program faculty preferring a score of 6 or 7 on the Counselor Potential Scale.
2. Ninety percent of the MA graduates will make a passing score on the National Board of Counselor Certification (NBCC) National Counselor Examination for Licensure.
Criterion
Passing Scores
1. To continue in the program, faculty must score counseling students on a scale of 0-7, with 5 and above being acceptable and program faculty preferring a score of 6 or 7 on the Counselor Potential Scale. 2. Ninety percent of the MA graduates will make a passing score on the National Board of Counselor Certification (NBCC) National Counselor Examination for Licensure. We will continue this criteria for an additional year to maintain a pass rate of 90% on the NBCC.
Finding
Passing Scores On Counselor Potential Scales And NBCC
1. All of the students currently enrolled in the Counseling program were rated at 5 or higher on all 7 areas of the counselor potential scale with the exception of two students. One of the students was rated lower than 5 on academic potential and one student was rated lower than 5 on receptive to feedback. It was determined by the Counseling faculty that the advisors for these two students would meet with each of these students to provide feedback and determine a plan for remediation. 2. Thirteen students took and passed the NBCC in fall 2014. Nine student took the NBCC in spring 2015 with seven passing the test. For fall 2014 our students were at 100% pass rate; however, our pass rate was 83% which is below the desired 90% pass rate for spring 2015 semester. There is a pattern of students' scores falling low in the area of Diagnostic and Assessment Services and an additional areas where students' scores fell low are in Human Growth and Development. This was the area the two students who did not pass received low scores. Specifically, scores for the area of Diagnostic and Assessment for our students falls below average scores for other CACREP and non-CACREP programs.
Action
Increase Pass Rate On The NBCC
1. Counseling advisors will continue to meet with students and when needed develop a growth plan to help students remediate and strengths in areas where they are rated below 6-7 on Counselor Potential Scales. 2. Our plan of action is to look closely at the Diagnostic and Assessment CACREP standards and make efforts to align our curriculum with these standards. Specifically, in COUN 5334 Affective Behavior and COUN 6363 Assessment as these are the two courses where diagnostic and assessment are taught.
Goal
Professional Practice And Training
Candidates will engaged in an internship providiing supervised professional practice and training experiences.
Objective
Graduate Students Complete An Appropriate Professional Practice And Training Experience.
Students will successfully complete an appropriate professional practice and training experience by demonstrating a thorough understanding of the process of counseling.
Indicator
Site Supervisors Evaluation Form.
Site supervisors will complete and submit the Site Supervisor Evaluation Form to faculty teaching COUN 6386, Field Practicum (Internship for Counseling students) when student completes the field experience.
Criterion
At Least Meets Expectations.
All students enrolled in COUN 6386, Internship will be evaluated by their site supervisor. Items are scored on a scale of 1-6, with 3 and above being at the acceptable or exceptional level of performance. Program faculty prefer scores of 4-6. The site supervisor are to review the completed evaluation form with the student intern. Both site supervisor and student will sign and submit the evaluation to the faculty member teaching the course. Students will receive a rating of meets or exceeds expectations on all items of the Site Supervisor Evaluation Form.
Finding
Site Supervisors' Evaluation Of Interns
In fall 2014, 34 students were enrolled in COUN 6386, Internship I or Internship II. Only one student was evaluated below a score of 3 by a site supervisor. The area the student earned a score of 2 was "Demonstrates time, energy, and personal commitment in becoming an exemplary counselor." All other items, students were ranked at 3 to 6 with a majority of the students being evaluated at the 5 and 6 level. In spring 2015, 55 students were enrolled in COUN 6386, Internship I or Internship II. All of the students were evaluated by site supervisors at level 4 or better. For one area, "Recognizes and resists manipulation by the client," four students were scored at level 3.
Action
Performance Of Students In COUN 6386
Faculty teaching COUN 6386, Internship I and Internship II will meet with supervisors to gather more information about student's performance on areas of time, energy, personal commitment in becoming an exemplary counselor and recognization and resistance to manipulation of clients. The faculty will work together to develop some learning experiences for students concerning professional development and how to recognize manipulating clients and how to respond to their attempts to manipulate counselors.
Goal
CACREP Accreditation For MCFC
Begin alignment of the Marriage Couples Family Counseling track to seek CACREP accreditation.
Objective
MCFC Track.
Create a track for the MCFC under the Master of Arts degree option.
Indicator
New Study Plan For MCFC
Students seeking the Master of Arts degree in the Counseling program will have a choice of two tracks rather than only one option, the Clinical Mental Health Counseling track. A new study plan and track option for Marriage Couples Family Counseling will be created and available for students seeking this specialization.
Criterion
MCFC Track Option
During the school year 2014-2015, MCFC faculty will meet with the VP of Graduate Studies and the Registrar to seek approval and support to add the MCFC as a specializated track option under the Master of Arts degree in the Counseling master's program.
Finding
MCFC Track Option Offered
VP of Graduate Studies and the Registrar approved the MCFC track option for students enrolling in the Master of Arts degree. The MCFC option was been added to the new graduate catalog, added as an approved option with the Registrar, and is now available on the Counseling program web page as a specialization track option under the MA degree.
Action
MCFC Option Available For Students
New students entering the Counseling program must attend an orientation meeting or watch an orientation DVD prior to beginning the program. In the orientation, students are made aware of the degrees, specializations, program options available. Students are given information about the advisor to contract depending on the degree and/or specialization they are seeking. Students seeking the Master of Education for school counseling do not have a specialization area to select only students enrolling the Master of Arts option must select the Clinical Mental Health Counseling specialization or the Marriage Couples Family Counseling specialization.
Objective
Curriculum Alignment For MCFC
The MCFC faculty will begin curriculum alignment and new course development following the standards for CACREP accreditation for the Marriage Couples Family Counseling
Indicator
MCFC Courses Available For Enrollment
Existing MCFC courses will be aligned with CACREP standards and new courses developed to meet the curricula requirements for MCFC programs seeking CACREP accreditation.
Criterion
CACREP Standards For MCFC Programs
All CACREP standards for MCFC programs will be included throughout the courses required for the MCFC specialization.
Finding
MCFC Curricula Aligned
All of the MCFC CACREP standards are included in the courses required for the MCFC track option of the Master of Arts degree and is available as a track selection to students entering the Counseling program or students interested in switching to the MCFC specialization track option.
Action
MCFC Track Advertized To Students
The Counseling program web page will highlight the new MCFC track option for students seeking to specialize in MCFC and obtain a Master's degree in this speciallized concentration.