Accreditation Information

The graduate program in school counseling strives to prepare practitioners who:

• work in various settings in diverse and complex environments;
• are self-aware and sensitive to and respectful of all others in their work environments and communities;
• are multiculturally aware and competent;
• have developed a knowledge base and skills in the delivery of individual and group counseling;
• are able to assume leadership roles within the counseling profession, the work environment, and their communities; and
• serve as advocates for their profession and their clients.

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

• Apply the knowledge base of counseling and evidence-based practices to develop, implement, and evaluate comprehensive developmental school counseling programs with diverse counseling populations.
• Assume the roles and functions of the professional school counselor as described by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Programs (CACREP), the American School Counseling Association (ASCA), National Standards, and ASCA National Model.
• Apply and adapt theories of counseling, human development, educational and psychological assessment, career and educational development, family counseling and group dynamics into effective evidence-based interventions and practices for diverse individuals, groups, and families.
• Form effective helping relationships with diverse individuals and groups.
• Develop empowering relationships between parents/communities and educators that contribute to the academic, social, and emotional development of students.
• Apply leadership group dynamics knowledge and skills into effective classroom counseling interventions.
• Apply educational planning, career development and decision theory, and knowledge of sources of career information to student development and aspirations.
• Use formal and informal assessment procedures to identify student and school community needs, focus interventions, and assess counseling intervention and programmatic outcomes and effectiveness.
• Apply evidence-based research results and culturally competent research skills to guide counseling practice.
• Demonstrate ethical behavior based on the ethical standards for ACA and ASCA, and understand the legal issues relevant to school counseling.
• Exhibit the professional leadership and social advocacy skills necessary to serve as an effective change agent, and advance the cause of disenfranchised, marginalized, and/or underrepresented groups, parents, and students.
• Foster self-reflective capacities in oneself and others that facilitate personal, emotional, social, spiritual, and multicultural competencies development and that allow one to consider the meaningfulness of education as a lifelong evolutionary process.