Counselor Education Program Evaluation

            The Counselor Education (CED) programs in the Special Education, Rehabilitation, Counseling/School Psychology Department focuses on program evaluation from multiple perspectives.  This includes consideration of evaluation feedback and information gathered for University and College of Education evaluation processes and evaluation gathered for accreditation.  All programs in Counselor Education; School, Community Agency, and Counselor Education and Supervision, are accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Programs (CACREP).  In addition, the program reviews:           

·         Alumni and Employer Evaluations

·         Faculty Involvement in student research

·         Faculty Professional Service

·         Feedback from Assistantship Supervisors

            The CED programs have a comprehensive program evaluation system for students in the program.  This policy can be found in the CED Master's Handbook and the Counselor Education Doctoral Degree Handbooks.  This comprehensive system focuses on both summative and formative areas of evaluation.  This includes:

·         Academic, Clinical, and Intra/Interpersonal Functioning

·         Evaluations from Site and University Supervisors in Practicum and Internship

·         Master's and Doctoral Portfolios

·         Master's scores on the CPCE exam

A program evaluation summary is provided below  for the Master's programs and the Counselor Education and Supervision programs.

Master's Programs

·         During the most recent CPCE exam all Master's students taking the exam passed with scores in all sections (except Career and Lifestyle Development staying the same) significantly increasing over last year.

o    Mean score 101.06

·         Feedback from the Supervisor's Practicum Evaluation

o    Averages ranged from  2.79-2.89 (with 3 being competent)

o    The highest ranked items included the ability to interview clients, apply evaluation skills to culturally diverse clients and several indicators of professionalism (e.g., advocacy, self-awareness)

·         Feedback from the Supervisor's Internship Evaluation

o    Averages ranged from  3.89-3.99 (with 4 being excellent)

o    The majority of items reflected scores of above 3.75 with high scores on areas pertaining to professional behaviors, attributes and effectiveness as well as strong counseling skills.

·         Master's Portfolio

o    All students passed the portfolio with multiple students receiving exemplary scores on competency areas.

o    Student's feedback indicated that they would like additional training in the areas of substance abuse counseling, crisis management and advanced counseling skills or theories.

o    Student's recommendations will be incorporated into the proposed addition of hours to the Community Agency Counseling program

Doctoral Program

·         Counselor Education Portfolio

o    All CED students completing the portfolio passed with multiple students receiving exemplary scores on these sections

§  Teaching

§  Leadership

§  Professional Issues

o    Students showed an increase in overall scores on the Supervision section

·         Supervisors Evaluation of Advanced Practicum Students

o    100% of supervisors rated all students as competent (3) on item 8: An ability to utilize the appropriate ethical standards and legal statutes relating to the specific populations with which they work.

o    Total evaluation scores ranged from 2.55 to 3.

1.     Students do a great job with the session summaries and are able to identify the most pertinent issues presented by their clients.

2.     Students are proactive in identifying and exploring literature that helps them understand their clients and plan effective treatment.

3.     Maintain appropriate ethical standards throughout the term.

4.     Establishing a warm, safe, and non-threatening environment.

Recommendations 

1.       Continue to develop confidence and a more theory-driven approach to counseling

2.       Students should come to their site supervisors more and use the consultation opportunity more effectively.

3.       Increase enhancement of conceptualization skills in the development of a comprehensive way of viewing the client and the counseling process.