Illinois Institute of Technology M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling Program Annual Program Assessment Report (Covers from 8/1/2011 7/31/2012)

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1 Illinois Institute of Technology M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling Program Annual Program Assessment Report (Covers from 8/1/2011 7/31/2012) The goal of the rehabilitation counseling master s program at IIT is to prepare students to become licensed as professional counselors and certified as rehabilitation counselors who perform a vital role in the vocational, educational and personal adjustment of persons with physical, mental and emotional disabilities Related Objectives: 1. To train students in knowledge and skills essential to the practice of rehabilitation counseling 2. To develop master s level professionals who are competent to work effectively with clients with disabilities, especially with those who are ethnic minorities. Assessment Plan The program evaluation relies mainly on formative and summative evaluative procedures focusing on three major areas: student evaluations, feedback from graduates, student outcomes, and feedback from the Advisory Board. I. Recruitment of students from underrepresented groups: Number of students by underrepresented group and status 2011 Admits Graduating African American 3 1 Asian 5 3 Hispanic 2 0 White 9 7 PWD 3 1 Total Minority 65% 45% Summary: 65% of newly admitted students and 45% of graduating students were from underrepresented groups. II. Student Outcomes: Clinical Coursework Evaluation Outcomes Pre-practicum N = 21 A B 5 1 Counseling Theories N = 23

2 M.S. Rehabilitation Counseling Page 2 C 0 2 I/E 1 1 Student Field Work Evaluation by Faculty Member: Course Pass Fail Practicum N= Internships 1 & 2 N= Student Field Work Evaluation by Site Supervisor Course Mid-Term Final Practicum Internship Internship Table 1 has a further break-down of mid-term and final scores by skill domain. Summary: 16 students completed 200-hour practicum and 18 students completed 600 hours of internship in each of two 300-hour internships. All but one student passed their clinical field training. III. Graduating Student Data: 1. A total of 11 students graduated during the academic year, a total of 37 students have graduates from the program in the past three years.. 2. Student retention rate for the year was 79%.* students dropped out of the program, 2 for personal reasons and 1 for lack of academic progress. One student withdrew from the program in the first semester /11 or 91% of graduating students completed the exit survey (results follow) % of graduates have obtained employment or have been accepted into academic programs where they are pursuing advanced graduate degrees % of current students and graduated students passed the Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) exam for the previous three-year period ( ) (National average is 69%) 7. All students graduating from the M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling are eligible for licensure as a Professional Counselor and Clinical Professional Counselor in the state of Illinois. 18% of graduates obtain a license as a professional counselor, for a five-year period from Employment Employment Setting Number Percentage Private Rehabilitation 1 9 Non-Profit Rehab

3 M.S. Rehabilitation Counseling Page 3 Federal Agency/VA 2 18 Independent Living Center 1 9 Advanced Graduate Training 1 9 TOTAL 11 IV. Financial Support to Students The master s degree in rehabilitation counseling is designed to be completed in two years. Cost of attendance. Cost of graduate tuition as of summer 2012 at IIT is $1,140 per credit hour. Master s Degree (60 credit hour). The cost of the 60 credit hour master s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, including tuition, health insurance, books and supplies, and fees is $37,284 per year or $74,568 for the entire degree program. Master s Degree- Working Professional s Program (48 credit hour). The cost of the 48 credit hour master s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, including tuition, health insurance, books and supplies, and fees is $30,444 per year or $60,888 for the entire degree program. Tuition Assistance. The Rehabilitation Counseling program at IIT has four long-term training grants from the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) totaling $2,500,000. The training grants provide scholarships to students for tuition, books and supplies. Summary: IIT Students received scholarships in the amount of 50% of the cost of their tuition, reducing the overall cost of the 60 credit hour program to $37,620. The cost of the working professional s 48 credit hour program is reduced to $33,528. V. Student Evaluation: As main consumers of the training program, students evaluative input to the program is of high importance. Students course evaluation is a common means to assess the quality of course delivery and its contents. Students in practicum and internship will evaluate their field training experience. On the same token, they will be evaluated on performance by their respective on-site supervisors. The program evaluates students progress in core courses, elective courses, research, and fieldwork training. Exit interviews were conducted prior to student graduation. Feedback from exit interviews will be used for curriculum revision. Course Evaluation: The following table depicts the average student ratings on instructors effectiveness during past three semesters (5 point Likert-Scale 1 = Poor ; 5 = Excellent): 3

4 M.S. Rehabilitation Counseling Page 4 Patrick Corrigan 4.8 Jonathon Larson 4.9 Frank Lane 4.2 Eun-Jeong Lee 4.5 Nicole Ditchman 4.5 Summary: Overall, faculty consistently received above average rating in course evaluations from students VI. Feedback from Graduates: An exit interview was conducted in May 2011 and students were provided an exit survey through Survey Monkey, which covered areas such as courses, fieldwork, administration, and scheduling. A total of nineteen graduating students completed an exit survey (6 fulltime program students and 12 students in the part-time program and one with missing data). In summary, most students found the program provided valuable training in both coursework and field placements. The following is a summary list of feedback from students: 1) The primary reason why students decided to pursue their training at IIT included: (1) wanting to make a difference in the lives of persons with disabilities and the program s person centered philosophy; (2) Familiarity of the program through people who had already completed it; (3) reputation of the program being more intensive and academically rigorous compared to local competing programs; (4) convenient distance and familiarity with the campus; (5) reputation, passion and accessibility of the faculty. 2) Students described their overall experience in the program as very positive. Student comments included statements such as being part of this program has been one of my greatest decisions and overall a wonderful experience. 3) They described the program prepared them well for the CRC exam and their future careers. The commented on the faculty having a strengths-based approach to teaching and clinical supervision. Faculty showed genuine interest in students and demonstrated knowledge about the field of rehabilitation and shared real life experiences. They also appreciated the opportunity to attend conferences. 4) Small class sizes, flexibility of courses and hours, peers and teachers were identified as the most positive aspects of the program 5) Recommendations for program improvement: adding a course in case management, increase funding availability, more effective and timely communication about funding amount, more information about how to build a private practice, more online classes, rolling admission. 6) Students described practicum and internship experiences as positive and beneficial VII. Program Advisory Board: 4

5 M.S. Rehabilitation Counseling Page 5 The rehabilitation counseling advisory board met twice during the past year, October 2011 and April The advisory board continues to provide feedback to the program through three workgroups focusing on marketing and recruitment, curriculum, and development. Feedback from the advisory board continues to be positive with regard to securing external resources, research activity of the faculty, and quality of the curriculum. The majority of time was spent reviewing the comparison of CACREP standards to the current curriculum. Summary: The general consensus of the advisory board is that the program must pursue accreditation by CACREP to secure maximum practice opportunities for its graduates. Moreover, a newly appointed member of the board who is a person with a disability said that practitioners must be trained to provide services to individuals with multiple disabilities and training future students in rehabilitation and mental health counseling will accomplish this goal. Challenges SUMMARY 1) Applicants. The program continues to face high competition for students from land grant universities that offer lower tuition costs than IIT. In addressing the high competition for student recruitment, we have aggressively implemented recruitment strategies to increase the pool of applicants for full-time and working professional cohorts. 2) Maximum Practice Options. Counselor licensure is an important component of clinical practice for professional counselors. The recognition of CACREP by the federal government (TRICARE, VA, US Army, Marines, etc) has restricted access to practice settings for our graduates. Also, the recent conclusion by the ACA 20/20 vision for the future of counseling shows that the future of counselor licensure will be strictly for the practice of mental health counseling, further restricting practice settings for our graduates. Strategic Plan for Change the name of the program and curriculum of the rehabilitation counseling program to rehabilitation and mental health counseling 2. Prepare self-study to accredit program as a clinical mental health counseling under the Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Education Programs (CACREP). 3. Maintain accreditation requirements for accreditation by the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE). 4. Pursue continued support for student tuition and related cost support through the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) Long-Term training grant program 5

6 M.S. Rehabilitation Counseling Page 6 5. Continue to develop program outcome measures in collaboration with accreditation agencies to meet requirements of the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). 6. Continue to work on the professional identity of master s students as counselors by continuing to support their involvement in the student rehabilitation counseling association and attending the annual conference of the American Counseling Association (ACA). * The student retention rate is did not include the student who withdrew from the program in the calculation. 6