Department of Counseling and Student Personnel

Assessment of Student Learning Executive Summary, Master’s Programs

Academic Year 2016-17

The Department of Counseling and Student Personnel conducts an annual program evaluation in which several curriculum areas are assessed. These areas are selected on a rotating basis from the eight common core curriculum standards outlined by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The core areas assessed for the 2016-17 academic year were Helping Relationships and Group Work. Both areas were assessed using a combination of faculty ratings and student self-ratings. The key findings are listed below.

Helping Relationships

  • Virtually all CSP students were rated as performing at a satisfactory or proficient level on all seven of the specific learning outcomes in the helping relationships area.
  • CSP students appear to have a strong knowledge base in this outcome area, with a solid understanding of counselor behaviors that contribute to the helping process and a good understanding of counseling theories. Both faculty and student ratings indicated that students have a strong orientation to wellness and prevention as counseling goals.
  • All students were rated as demonstrating at least a satisfactory level of proficiency on essential interviewing and counseling skills. In addition, all students rated themselves as having a strong understanding of helpful counselor skills and being able to implement those skills well.
  • Most, but not all, students rated themselves as having at least a satisfactory understanding of counseling theories, as understanding a systems perspective, and understanding crisis intervention models.
  • Approximately two-thirds of the students rated themselves as not having a satisfactory understanding of consultation practices.

Group Work

  • The clear majority of CSP students have acquired at least a satisfactory level of knowledge and skill in the group work area; the large majority of students were rated as achieving at least a satisfactory level of performance on each of the 13 specific learning outcomes in this area.
  • Students appear to have a particularly strong understanding of group process components, stages of group development, group therapeutic factors, and group leadership styles.
  • There is tentative evidence that students have a relatively weaker understanding of group counseling theories and research related to those theories.