Purpose of the Degree

The purpose of the M.S.E. degree in School Counseling is to train school counseling professionals with expert skills in coordinating school counseling programs, supporting the teaching/learning process, counseling with students, and consulting with persons having significant influence on students’ well-being and development. This program provides graduate-level study which is based on the comprehensive developmental model of school guidance and counseling. This program prepares K-12 counselors to promote development of skills and experiences needed by all students for success in school and later life, to develop prevention programs focused on predictable hindrances to development of identifiable groups of students, to conduct interventions for remediation of individual concerns, and to intervene with both groups and individuals in crisis situations.

Throughout the program, school counseling trainees are required to engage in experiences intended to increase their self-awareness and promote their own personal and professional development. The educational and developmental orientation of the School Counseling Program provides students with unique expertise that makes them the appropriate choice for counseling practice in a school setting. Students in the School Counseling Program experience a depth of training and acquire a level of expertise for practice in the school setting that is comparable to that of counselors in other settings.

Program Admission Procedures

1. Contact the Graduate School for an application materials packet.
2. Submit to the Graduate School all application materials, including:
   1. Completed Graduate School application form with specified application fee, proof of immunization for measles and rubella (if date of birth is January 1957 or later), selective service status form, and separate official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate work from all colleges and universities attended.
   2. Official report of a score, obtained within the last five (5) years, on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
   3. A typewritten essay that addresses (1) personal, educational, and career goals and aspirations; (2) personal perceptions of influences on goals and aspirations; and (3) personal view of the role and value of school counseling.
   4. Three appraisal/recommendation forms, with at least one completed by a work supervisor and at least one completed by a faculty member in the applicant’s most recent academic program of study. (When the applicant has not completed that program of study, a statement of status in that program also is required.)
      
      Applicants who have not been enrolled in an academic program for more than five years may substitute a recommendation from a current or recent employer for the faculty recommendation. The third form may be completed by anyone who can attest to the applicant’s ability and/or character, except that it may not be completed by anyone who is a relative of the applicant.
3. Application file is reviewed by the Graduate School and, if applicant qualifies for admission to the Graduate School, the file (including all materials listed above) is forwarded to the School Counseling Program Coordinator in the Department of Psychology and Counseling.
4. Application file is reviewed by the School Counseling Program Committee on Admissions. This committee evaluates all materials submitted by the applicant, decides whether the applicant meets program requirements and expectations, appoints an academic adviser for the applicant who is admitted to the program, and sets any conditions of admission.
5. Application file is returned to the Graduate School for notification to the applicant of the admission status. For applicants who are admitted, the notice also will include identification of academic adviser and conditions of admission, if any.

Program Admission Procedures

To be considered for admission to the School Counseling Program, applicants must present evidence of qualities consistent with those required for effective school counseling practice. The written statement prepared by the applicant, combined with the appraisal/recommendation forms from references, will be used as the basis for committee members’ judgment of the applicant’s personal and interpersonal qualities. All persons admitted to the program are required to meet the same standard in regard to these qualities.

Applicants also must present evidence of potential ability to perform academic work at the advanced graduate level. Standardized test proficiency and past grade performance provide the primary data for judging academic ability; other indicators, such as quality of writing in the applicant’s prepared statement, also will be considered. Based on the combination of test proficiency and past academic performance, an applicant may qualify for either unconditional or conditional admission status.

Unconditional Admission Status:

Academic proficiency for unconditional admission may be established through satisfaction of either of the following criteria:

1. A minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 3.00 (or 3.25 on the last 60 hours of undergraduate work) and a minimum cumulative score of 290 on the combined verbal and quantitative sections of the GRE.
2. Unconditional admission to the Graduate School, a cumulative score of at least 290 on the combined verbal and quantitative sections of the GRE and a minimum cumulative graduate grade point average of 3.25 on 12 or more hours with no grade less than a “B.”

Conditional Admission Status:

Academic proficiency for conditional admission may be established through satisfaction of either of the following criteria:

1. A minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 2.75 (or 3.00 on the last 60 hours of undergraduate work) and a cumulative score of at least 290 on the combined verbal and quantitative sections of the GRE.
2. Unconditional admission to the Graduate School and a minimum cumulative graduate grade point average of 3.00 on 12 or more semester hours with no more than one course with a grade of “C” and no grade less than a “C.” GRE scores may be required.

Eligibility to Continue in the School Counseling Program

Students admitted in Conditional status must earn a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.00 on the next 12 hours of course requirements and have no more than one course in these 12 hours with a grade of “C.” Students who fail to remove Conditional status in this manner will be dropped from the School Counseling Program.

Retention checkpoints for students admitted to the School Counseling Program include the following:

1. Semi-Annual Review:
   In addition to the academic standards for continuing enrollment, all students admitted to the School Counseling Program will be subject to semiannual review by the Degree Program Committee. This semi-annual review will be conducted at some time during the last three weeks of the Fall and Spring semesters. At this review, the Committee will assess current evidence of each student’s personal and interpersonal qualities deemed essential for effective school counseling practice. The Committee also will assess overall quality of academic performance, and any student having earned more than one grade of “C” will come under close scrutiny. Outcomes at each review may be approval for unrestricted continuation in the program, approval for continuation in the program with specified contingencies, suspension from the program with specified contingencies for readmission, or removal from the program.
2. Approval to Register for Clinical Courses:
   Eligibility to enroll in supervised clinical training (i.e., COUN 6213 , COUN 6223 , and COUN 6233 ) is subject to approval of a Screening Committee. To obtain this approval, a student must have successfully completed all prerequisites and be deemed to have shown evidence of readiness for the level of practice required in the particular course.
3. Eligibility for Comprehensive Examination:
   Students who have earned an overall graduate grade point average of 3.00, have earned a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.00 on all courses completed in the School Counseling Program, and are enrolled for their final period of study will be eligible to sit for the comprehensive examination.
4. Eligibility for Graduation:
   Students who have earned an overall graduate grade point average of 3.00, have completed all courses required for the School Counseling Program and earned a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.00 on these courses, have earned a grade of “B” or better for clinical courses (i.e., COUN 6213 , COUN 6223 , and COUN 6233 ), have taken the appropriate PRAXIS II examination, and have passed the comprehensive examination will be eligible for conferral of degree.

Academic Credit

Graduate School policy prohibits credit toward degree requirements for any courses completed more than six years prior to completion of the degree program. In addition, both degree-seeking and nondegree-seeking students enrolling in COUN and PSY courses are expected to provide evidence that prerequisite knowledge is sufficiently current to support successful academic and/or clinical performance. Thus, students with dated courses may be asked to repeat such courses whether or not they have been used to fulfill requirements of another degree.

All candidates for the M.S.E. degree in School Counseling must take the PRAXIS II specialty area test in Professional School Counseling (#0421) before graduation. The candidate must arrange for a score to be sent to Arkansas State University and must provide a copy of the individual score report to the program coordinator.