Counseling Program Receives National Accreditation
Thursday, September 15, 2005
OSU’s master’s degree programs in school counseling and community counseling have
received full accreditation from the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related
Educational Programs.
According to Dr. Al Carlozzi, head of the OSU School of Applied Health and Educational
Psychology in the College of Education, OSU is the only university in Oklahoma that
has undertaken and successfully completed the extensive self-study process for national
accreditation in these graduate programs.
“Our faculty has worked diligently to get our programs entirely consistent with the
standards established by CACREP, which is the only national accrediting body for the
counseling discipline,” Carlozzi said.
Seventy-five students are enrolled in the master’s programs offered in Stillwater
and at OSU-Tulsa. National accreditation for these programs is important because it
underscores their credibility and promotes national visibility, Carlozzi said.
“Accreditation is one of the premier ways that an academic program can establish
visibility across the country and internationally.”
It’s especially important for graduates of the program when they seek employment
and state licensure as professional counselors, he said.
“Graduating from a nationally accredited program underscores the quality of their
master’s degree,” he said. “When you graduate from our community or school counseling
master’s program, you can be proud that you have a degree from Oklahoma State University
that has met the stringent standards of a highly respected national accrediting body."
The programs received accreditation for the maximum number of years allowable by
CACREP, an eight-year period through 2013. Students who receive master’s degrees in
school counseling work in public schools. Community counseling seeks to understand
and treat human problems in social and community settings, and graduates work in places
such as college counseling centers, domestic violence centers, youth and family service
centers, community mental health clinics, residential treatment centers, and hospital
settings.
According to Carol L. Bobby, executive director of CACREP, located in Alexandria,
Va., “Programs receiving accreditation for an eight-year period deserve to be commended
for the work they completed throughout the accreditation process.”