STUDENT HANDBOOK. Counselor Education Program

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1 STUDENT HANDBOOK Counselor Education Program PURPOSE OF Handbook Welcome to the CACREP accredited Counselor Education Program in the Department of Human Studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. This online manual is designed to provide you with information about the Counselor Education Concentrations and offer guidance during your period of study. Students in the Counselor Education Program should become familiar with the information in both this publication and the catalog available from the Graduate School. If you have further questions regarding the material presented in this handbook, it may be helpful to meet with your faculty advisor for further clarification. FACULTY BELIEF STATEMENTS Faculty in the Counselor Education Program believe effective counseling programs: take place within a learning community in which the stakeholders collaborate to evaluate and improve programs, guide candidates through a developmental process extending across pre-service and in-service contexts, promote and value diversity within the faculty, students, and curricula, guide students to continually evaluate and improve their practices through a process of critical self-reflection, provide students with instruction consistent with sound theory and research about learning, prepare students through guided practice within applied contexts, demonstrate to students the inter-relatedness of research, theory, and practice, have explicit outcomes based on professional standards, and use multiple means of assessing candidate's achievement. GOAL OF THE COUNSELOR EDUCATION PROGRAM The graduate program in Counselor Education is designed to train students to make appropriate ethical decisions as counseling professionals. The most important of these

2 2 decisions is the selection of strategies that empower clients to make personal decisions leading to the resolution of problems and resulting in an improved quality of life. Clients represent the multi- cultural, multi-ethnic, and multi-values character of a diverse American society. Thus, counselors must understand human behavior in terms of its psychological, biological, and sociological influences and make professional decisions within the legal and ethical constraints that are applicable. Students in the Counselor Education Program are encouraged, aided, and expected to perceive themselves as professionals. Students work closely and cooperatively with other professionals, in public and private school systems, colleges and universities, community and private programs and agencies, and government service agencies. Professionalism in this context means students are aware of their own knowledge and skill levels, abilities, characteristics, and perspectives, and the respective limits thereof, and they behave in accordance with the highest ethical and professional standards. Students are expected to demonstrate acquired knowledge and skills throughout the program. Through seeking feedback and self-exploration students will gain a better understanding of their responsibilities as counselors. Both counseling concentrations, Clinical Mental Health and School Counseling, are designed to meet the academic course work and field experience requirements for professional licensure established by the Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling. Both concentrations are accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), and the School Counseling Concentration meets the course work and field experiences required by the Alabama State Department of Education for certification. Please note: The Clinical Mental Health Counseling Concentration at the University of Alabama at Birmingham is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The accreditation runs through January 15, (Note: The Clinical Mental Health Counseling program is currently accredited under the 2001 standards for Community Counseling programs as a Community Counseling program. The CACREP 2009 standards combine the Community Counseling and Mental Health Counseling standards into standards for Clinical Mental Health Counseling programs. The counseling program intends to seek accreditation for this program as a Clinical Mental Health Counseling program when it comes up for reaccreditation, per CACREP guidelines.) ADMISSIONS The Counselor Education Program has established the following dates by which applications must be received: October 1: spring term April 1: summer term June 1: fall term Admission to graduate study in Counselor Education must be initiated through the

3 3 Graduate School and all required materials are to be submitted per specified instructions delineated by the Graduate School. Only after the Graduate School has received and reviewed the veracity of all required materials is the application portfolio forwarded to the Counselor Education Program for review, evaluation, and processing. To request and submit an application for admission to the Graduate School, please call or write the Graduate School using the address or telephone numbers listed below. The Graduate School University of Alabama at Birmingham 511 University Center Birmingham, AL Telephone: (205) Fax: (205) Again, it is important to note that only after the Graduate School has deemed the applicant s materials to be sufficient, is the student's application packet forwarded to the Counselor Education Program ( It is important to note that the Counseling Program has application deadlines separate from the Graduate School and students should submit materials in a timely manner so they are received and reviewed by the Graduate School at least one month in advance of the Counselor Education Program's deadline. Each applicant seeking admission must include with the other required materials a typewritten statement of professional purpose that reflects the applicant s background development, pertinent work-related experience, professional career objectives and specified ways that completion of this program will contribute to his/her goal for becoming a professional counselor. * There are two different sets of requirements for the following applicants who are accepted into the School Counseling Concentration: Category A For those who hold a valid Class B Teaching Certificate and have two years of teaching experience: 1. Successfully complete all academic and field placement requirements; 2. Successfully pass Praxis II exam in School Counseling (taken during internship) 3. Submission of Alabama State Department of Education Supplemental EXP form completed by employer and verifying two years of full-time successful teaching experience. The form is available from Mary Norwood (mnorwood@uab.edu; or by going to the following link: If you have taught full-time in more than one school system, you will need to submit a Supplemental EXP form from each school system. The form should be submitted to the Office of Student Services in the School of Education as part of the Graduate School application. Please send a copy of the completed form to the following address:

4 University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Education - Office of Student Services (EB 100) Attention Graduate Application Processing (Supplemental EXP Form Enclosed) nd Avenue South Birmingham, AL Category B For those who do not hold a valid Class A Teaching Certificate or have two years of teaching experience: 1. Successfully pass the Alabama Basic Skills Test. Click here for more information. 2. Successfully complete all academic and field placement requirements. This also includes completion of ECY 600 Introduction to the Exceptional Learner. 3. Obtain a cleared background check. Upon admission, within the first semester of study, students in the School Counseling Concentration must submit to fingerprinting and a Background Review conducted by the Alabama State Department of Education at the student s cost (directions for completing this process are available at advising- areas/fingerprint- procedure). 4. Successfully pass the Praxis II exam in School Counseling (taken during internship; see Student Services website for dates). 5. Successfully pass the National Counselor Exam (may be taken during internship or after graduation). 6. Obtain the necessary signatures and paperwork from the Office of Student Services. For students in Category A: upon completion of all requirements, the Office of Student Services will forward necessary paperwork (see Class A Handbook on the SOE Student Advising Website: process/timeline) to the Alabama State Department of Education in order for the student to receive certification in school counseling. For students in Category B: upon completion of all requirements, the student is responsible for forwarding all necessary paperwork to the Alabama State Department of Education in order for the student to receive certification in school counseling. Admitted Students Background Reviews: Upon admission, within the first semester of study, students in the School Counseling Concentration must submit to fingerprinting and a Background

5 5 Review conducted by the Alabama State Department of Education at the student s cost. For information on the cost and how to complete this requirement, go to No school counseling counselor education student shall begin a clinical placement (Practicum or Internship in an education environment) in Alabama without a suitability letter from the Alabama State Department of Education demonstrating that the student s criminal background has been reviewed and cleared by the Department of Education. Clinical mental health counselor education students are not required to submit to fingerprinting or a background review upon admission to the Counselor Education Program. However, clinical mental health counselor education students are required to complete clinical placements in order to obtain the master s degree in counseling and many of the outside agencies/entities require fingerprinting and background reviews prior to accepting a student for clinical placement. For all counseling students, the appearance of one or more felonies and/or several misdemeanors on a student s background review may negatively impact placement potential and/or credential obtainment. ADVISING AND REGISTRATION Once admitted to the program, students are assigned an advisor according to the concentration area (Clinical Mental Health, School). The student should make an appointment with his/her advisor as soon as possible to draft a program outline. All students should have a program outline plan in place before the end of their first semester. Failure to complete a program of study may delay future class registration. The faculty advisor serves as a mentor as well as an advisor. Faculty advisors should be consulted about registering for classes, career plans and opportunities, possible practicum and internship experiences, and matters relating to transfer of credits from other universities or colleges. The faculty advisor will review, with the student, the student's performance on the comprehensive examination and any other performance issues that might have a bearing on the student's progress through the program. REGISTRATION PROCEDURES Students should follow registration procedures outlined in the UAB Class Schedule. Information about registration is also available through the UAB Home Page and Blazernet. Note pre-requisites for each course. Students will be administratively dropped from courses when pre-requisites have not been met. The annual calendar of Counselor Education courses can be found on the Counselor Education web page ( This calendar identifies the cycle in which courses are offered and is very helpful in making registration decisions.

6 ADDING AND DROPPING CLASSES 6 Refer to the UAB class schedule for deadlines for each term and for the process. When dropping a course, the instructor should be notified prior to dropping a course as a matter of professional courtesy. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS The program is divided into three Areas. Area I is required of all students regardless of concentration. Areas II and III are specific to concentration (Clinical Mental Health or School Counseling). Area I Clinical Mental Health AND School Counseling Concentrations EPR 590 Research and Program Evaluations in Counseling EPR 614 Lifespan Human Development ECG 612 Professional Orientation * ECG 621 Theories of Individual Counseling ECG 624 Assessment: Individual & Group (Prerequisite EPR 590) ECG 626 Group Counseling: Process & Procedures (Prerequisite ECG 621) * ECG 628 Social and Cultural Diversity ECG 630 Career Development: Vocational & Life Planning ECG 638 Practicum I: Clinical Skills & Techniques (Prerequisite 621) * Area II ECG 650 ECG 600 ECG 652 ECG 631 ECG 691 ECG 613 ECG 651 ECG 653 Area II Clinical Mental Health Assessment & Diagnosis of Mental Disorders Introduction to Community Counseling Advance Counseling Techniques Suicide Prevention Intervention and Postvention Introduction to Families and Couples Counseling Foundations of Substance Abuse Human Sexuality for Counselors Counseling Children and Adolescents School Counseling Concentration ECG 620 Foundations of School Counseling * ECG 623 Counseling in the Middle/High School ECG 627 Counseling in the Elementary School ECG 619 Special Issues for School Counselors * ECY 600 Intro to Special Education (for those who do not hold ALSDE certification)

7 AREA III Clinical Mental Health AND School Counseling Concentrations 7 ECG 695 Practicum II: Supervised Field Experience * ECG 697 Counseling Internship * ECG 697 Counseling Internship * * Denotes courses, which have high stakes artifacts. High stakes artifacts are course assignments which must be met at the proficient level in order for the student to move forward in the program. In addition to the course of study requirements, students must also meet the following program requirements: Personal Counseling o A minimum of eight sessions are required, o Documentation of participation in personal counseling will be provided to the advisor. This documentation, on letterhead stating your participation and signed by the Licensed Professional Counselor or Associate Licensed Counselor, must be in your advising file prior to registering for the Comprehensive Exam. Failure to complete this requirement will prevent you from registering and enrolling in ECG 695. Presentation at a Conference o Students are required to present at a professional conference. o Presentations may be in the form of a poster session or content session, individually or with a co-presenter. o Documentation must be provided to the advisor prior to application for degree. Failure to provide such documentation will prevent you from applying for your degree. Professional Development o Prior to graduation, each student must provide documentation to his/her advisor that he/she has attended 15 hours of Zeta Chapter of Chi Sigma Iota (Counselor Education s national honor society) sponsored professional development seminars (or other program-approved professional development). Failure to provide such documentation will prevent you from applying for your degree. COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION (CPCE) A comprehensive exam must be taken upon completion of Area I courses. The Counselor Preparation Competency Exam (CPCE) tests knowledge from each course in Area I. Students may, at their own risk, choose to take the comprehensive examination during a semester in which they are concurrently enrolled in final core courses. The test is administered the eighth Wednesday of each semester and requires a fee of $45.

8 8 Students must attain a passing score on this exam prior to placement for practicum. Students who do not pass the CPCE after the first time are allowed to retake the examination for a maximum of two (2) additional times. Students who do not pass the examination are strongly encouraged to schedule meetings with their advisor to review and discuss examination scores. Students who do not pass the exam after three attempts are not allowed to enroll for practicum and will be terminated from the program. Students are informed of their score on the examination via from the Program Coordinator and encouraged to schedule a conference with their advisor to discuss their score. CLINICALS: PRACTICUM AND INTERNSHIP Students should make an appointment to see the Clinical Placement Coordinator one semester prior to the Practicum and Internship to discuss possible clinical placements. ONLY the Clinical Coordinator makes contact with clinical sites for possible placements. The Clinical Coordinator will inform students of their placements and provide instructions on the process for beginning the clinical experience. Please refer to the Clinical Handbook on the program web site ( for more information. See Background Reviews above under Admitted Students for information concerning when a Background Review may be required before a student may obtain a clinical placement. APPLICATION FOR DEGREE Students are expected to signify their intention to graduate by submitting an "Application for Degree" form to the Office of Student Services located in the Education Building, Suite 100 by the School of Education deadline date. This form is employed to make sure program requirements have been met, to order the degree, and to enter the student in the commencement program. Students who fail to meet the deadline are not allowed to graduate and are required to apply for graduation the following semester. "Application for Degree" forms are available at The School of Education has earlier deadlines for application for degree. School of Education deadlines are listed at When submitting an application for degree a student should enter the information asked for, sign the form, and return it to the Office of Student Services one semester prior to graduation. The Office of Student Services is responsible for getting faculty signatures for the application for degree.

9 STUDENT PROGRAM EVALUATION 9 Upon the completion of the program, students are given the opportunity to evaluate the program. This is done via a survey, which is completed at the end of Internship. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Students are encouraged to join and participate in the activities of professional organizations, including but not limited to: *American Counseling Association and Divisions (ACA) *American School Counselor Association (ASCA) *American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) *Other Divisions of Interest Alabama Counseling Association (ALCA) School Counselor Association (ALSCA) Alabama Mental Health Counselors Association (ALMHCA) Other organizations of Interest *Chi Sigma Iota - Zeta Chapter Chi Sigma Iota is an international society of counseling professionals and professionalsin-training dedicated to excellence in scholarship, research, and clinical practice. Students with a GPA of 3.5 or higher and nine hours of coursework are invited to join the Zeta chapter of Chi Sigma Iota, International. SEVERE WEATHER In the event of inclement weather, tune to WBHM 90.3 FM for announcements regarding university closings. In the event of a tornado warning, students should go to an inner hallway in the center of the building. Warning procedures are posted in the classrooms. FIRST CLASS ATTENDANCE POLICY An instructor has the prerogative to ADMINISTRATIVELY drop a student from a course if the student is absent from the first class of a term. A student who misses the first night of class is responsible for determining his/her status in the class. CHANGE OF GRADUATE CONCENTRATION Each student is admitted to a specific concentration in the Counselor Education Program. Students who wish to change their graduate concentration (e.g. from Clinical Mental Health counseling to School Counseling) should meet with his/her

10 advisor to discuss the rationale for the request to change areas and make a formal request to change the graduate major. Forms for requesting to change the graduate concentration are available in the School of Education Office of Student Services. 10 STUDENT EVALUATION Counselor Education faculty, as a group, review individual student s progress in the program at the end of each semester. Additionally, Counselor Education faculty conduct ongoing evaluation of each student s dispositional capacity to perform the minimal competencies of a professional counselor. It is important to note even though the student may be demonstrating satisfactory performance in academic course work, student behaviors may be deemed inappropriate for practice in the profession of counseling. Faculty members have adopted the following policy in order to fulfill their professional responsibility to protect the rights of the community, other candidates enrolled in the program, as well as those of the student. Faculty will conduct an on-going assessment of students' dispositions, including but not limited to: * Respect for diversity * Class behaviors * Interactions with other students * Ability to listen and hear others * Acceptance of feedback * Trust level * Appropriateness of remarks * Ability to contribute to class discussions * Communication of ideas * Ethical behaviors * Ability to handle stress * Attendance If in the professional judgment of a department faculty member, a student's behavior is deemed inappropriate, unethical, and/or potentially harmful to themselves or others, the following steps will be taken: 1) a formal letter will be sent to the student outlining the concerns of the Counselor Education faculty, 2) the student will be asked to meet with his/her advisor to develop a formal remediation plan and/or the student may be asked to appear before the Counselor Education faculty, 3) if the problem is not resolved, the program faculty will bring the issue to the Chair of the Department of Human Studies for discussion and further action. STUDENT GRIEVENCE POLICY/PROCEDURE Students should expect to be treated fairly by the university and, if fairness is disputed, to have an avenue of appeal. Individuals with expertise in the particular academic discipline can most appropriately make judgments on academic matters, which are in dispute. For this reason, disagreements on academic matters should follow the steps:

11 11 1. The student should first contact the instructor of record directly in an effort to resolve the dispute. Most disputes can and should be resolved at this level. In rare situations where this does not occur, the student would move to step 2 in the process. 2. The student should contact the Chairperson of Human Studies. If the situation cannot be resolved within the graduate program, the student would go to step The student may request a decision from the Dean of Education. Where appropriate, the Dean will consult with the Graduate Council. The decision of the Dean is final. IT WOULD BE INAPPROPRIATE FOR STUDENTS TO BY-PASS ANY OF THE STEPS IN THE GRIEVANCE PROCESS. PLAGERISM The Counselor Education faculty define plagiarism as the presentation as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source. Common examples of plagiarism are as follows: including all or a portion of the written work of another in a response to a current requirement without giving appropriately cited credit to the source; purchasing a paper from another individual and presenting it as one's own work; developing an idea presented by another into a written document or presentation without giving appropriate credit to the person. The Counselor Education faculty believes plagiarism by a student is a serious violation of professional ethics and standards. STUDENT RECOMMENDATION AND ENDORSEMENT POLICY The Counselor Education faculty recommend program students and graduates only for employment or credentialing for which students and graduates meet established criteria. SEXUAL HARRASSMENT UAB has a formal policy forbidding sexual harassment, and students are covered by its protection. For information see the UAB Graduate Student Handbook, Program Policy Students are reminded that, at all times, they are expected to adhere to the Ethical Standards of the American Counseling Association. Revised 06/10/09, 1/28/10, 1/17/12, 10/18/12