GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF COUNSELING AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES (CPS) EXTERNAL ACADEMIC PROGRAMS AND CONTINUING EDUCATION (APACE) REVIEW COMMITTEE REPORT

External Review Committee

David L. Blustein, Ph.D.

Professor, Director of Doctoral Training

Department of Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology

Lynch School of Education,

Boston College

Dennis Engels, Ph.D., LPC, NCC, NCCC
Regents Professor
Counseling Program
University of North Texas

Arleen C. Lewis, Ph.D.

Professor and Director of School Counseling

Department of Psychology

Western Washington University

Horace W. Sawyer, Ed.D.

Professor and Chair

Rehabilitation Counseling

University of Florida Health Center

University of Florida

Mark E. Swerdlik, Ph.D., ABPP

Coordinator, Graduate Programs in School Psychology

Professor of Psychology

Illinois State University

Dates of Visit: January 25-26, 2005

Report Date: February 4, 2005


1. Historical and Current Context

·  Given the historical and current context of the Department as outlined in Sections A and B, are the programs offered and program enrollments appropriate from a disciplinary perspective?

As detailed in the Georgia State University Department of Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS) Self Study and the Executive Summary, CPS has been preparing graduate students in the fields of counseling, counseling psychology and school psychology for thirty-eight years. The Department maintains strong relationships with metropolitan Atlanta schools and community agencies as well as with other Departments in the College of Education and the University. Since the CPS Department’s last APACE review, nine faculty members have retired and new faculty have been hired. The current faculty is quite different from the faculty in the mid-90s and earlier, with a much stronger current emphasis on research productivity. All faculty members hold terminal degrees, and tenure-track faculty members have developed strong lines of focused research with national and, in some cases, international reputations in their fields.

The CPS Department consists of 7 masters and 3 doctoral programs. The three major areas of training are Counselor Education (M.S. degrees in Professional Counseling and Rehabilitation Counseling; M.Ed. degree in School Counseling; Ed.S. degrees in Professional and School Counseling; Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Practice), Counseling Psychology (Ph.D.), and School Psychology (M.Ed., Ed.S. and Ph.D. degrees). The master’s programs (with the exception of the M.S. program in School Psychology) all have a common core curriculum designed to meet the standards of the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Most faculty members teach in the master’s core, and all faculty and programs are interconnected with regard to curriculum, faculty and resources. As a result we observed a Department that functions as a model of mutually beneficial interdisciplinary professionalism and collegiality. Beneficiaries of this model include CPS students and faculty as well as COE and GSU learning communities. CPS is a large and highly productive department that produces over 9,000 credit hours per academic year. By all indications from the multiple resources available to us as External Reviewers (self study documents, Departmental website, CACREP and APA accreditation reports, and administration, faculty and student input), the CPS Department faculty members and chair are guided by the Department’s Strategic Plan, appropriate specialty accreditation standards, alumni evaluative feedback and feedback from the CPS Community Advisory Committee.

We find significant evidence that the programs offered through the Department are appropriate from a disciplinary perspective. First of all there is considerable demand for trained professionals in all of the program areas represented (professional counseling, rehabilitation counseling, school counseling, counseling psychology and school psychology). For the doctoral programs in Counseling Psychology, School Psychology, and Counselor Education and Practice there is a significant demand for persons who are trained broadly, consistent with the research-practitioner training model employed at Georgia State University, in universities, public and private educational systems, mental health agencies, university counseling centers, hospitals, and independent practice.

Further evidence of the demand within all three doctoral programs is found in the data on applications and enrollment. In all three programs, the numbers of students enrolled is consistent with the number of faculty and with the demand in these fields. The numbers of applications in counseling psychology and counselor education suggest competitive programs that have produced strong cohorts of students and graduates. For the school psychology doctoral program, the number of applications is increasing and is expected to increase further now that there is a full complement of faculty and that the program is accepting students directly from the Bachelor’s degree.

There is also considerable demand for the professionals trained in the master’s and Ed.S. programs. The programs in school psychology prepare students for careers in school-based practice as certified school psychologists, positions which currently enjoy a very strong job market in this region and throughout the country. There is also high demand for school counselors, particularly those who are trained to meet the new leadership demands of this profession within both public and private educational settings. The availability of both a master’s and specialist degree in school counseling allows students to “rollover” into a specialized and advanced curriculum upon completion of their certification requirements.

Rehabilitation counseling provides a critically important value additive dimension to CPS. The additional focus on disability and rehabilitation offers all students a much-needed perspective for application in the schools and in counseling practice. In addition to the specialty curriculum in rehabilitation counseling, the interdisciplinary collaboration among faculty and students in rehabilitation, counseling, and psychology provides an atmosphere for a broader professional perspective. The inclusion of rehabilitation counseling in this department is appropriate as the primary Federal affiliation is the Rehabilitation Services Administration, US Department of Education. All public schools have an assigned rehabilitation counselor to assist students and teachers in the transition of students with a disability from school to appropriate training alternatives and/or employment. This related vocational emphasis provides an additional dimension to the career development emphasis included in the curriculum for all graduate students. The rehabilitation counseling program at GSU is one of a select group of programs providing students with the consultation and private practice parameters for rehabilitation counselors. The emphasis on long term care issues for catastrophic disabilities, rehabilitation consultation in the litigation arena, life care planning, and case management of individuals with disabilities in this program is outstanding. An additional dimension for consideration relates to the expanding professional job opportunities for rehabilitation counselors, not only in the Atlanta area, but also within the state and nationally.

The numbers of applicants and enrolled students are appropriate for all of the Master’s/Specialist programs, with the possible exception of the M.S. program in professional counseling. From our perspective this program may be admitting too many students given the currently available fiscal and faculty resources. As students accepted from the Bachelor’s degree to the doctorate are included in the Master’s/Ed.S program in school psychology head count, the numbers of applications and enrolled students for this program is also appropriate.

From a national perspective, all three of the doctoral programs as well as the Master’s and Ed.S programs are highly competitive. We anticipate that these programs will be maintained at this high level and may even grow in demand and quality, given appropriate support.

·  Are the faculty number, composition, and research productivity sufficient to support the programs offered by the Department?

The current core faculty in all ten programs seems appropriate to meet quality program needs. This diverse faculty has excellent research skills that are balanced by a wide array of clinical interests, thereby creating a vibrant and intellectually rigorous community. The research productivity of the tenured faculty is very strong and the potential for published and externally funded scholarship from junior faculty is clearly evident. In addition, junior faculty members are being given appropriate support and mentoring from more established faculty, thereby suggesting that the visibility and productivity of the department will continue to flourish in the coming years.

One of the notable aspects of the faculty is their strong interdisciplinary focus, both within the department and across departments and colleges at GSU. It is important to note that this sort of interdisciplinary collaboration is unique in a university setting and is focused on meeting the needs of an urban setting. In fact, the interdisciplinary focus of the faculty has already yielded important benefits in external funding, teaching, training, and scholarship. This is a unique and mutually beneficial attribute of the department and reflects very favorably on the climate created by the faculty, the College, and the University leadership.

·  Comment on the relevance of the programs, and the degree to which the Department’s programs serve various needs (community, student, professional).

In the view of the site team, all current counseling (professional, school, and rehabilitation), counseling psychology, and school psychology programs are integral to an effective, responsive, and community-oriented College of Education. For teachers and other educators to achieve success in enhancing the skills and opportunity of the next generation of children, the psychosocial support and expertise related to learning and development from these helping professions is essential and consistent with recent legislative initiatives such as No Child Left Behind. The programs that the Department of CPS offers are state-of-the-art in their pedagogy, clinical training, and scholarship. As such, Georgia State University and the Atlanta area have an enormous wealth of talent that will help to prepare students and their families for the challenges of the 21st century. All ten programs are clearly relevant in meeting the needs of their various constituency groups. For example, the faculty is very committed to infusing a multicultural orientation into the training program and to meeting the needs of the racially and ethnically diverse community of Atlanta. Moreover, several faculty members are national and international leaders in the multicultural field, offering leadership in the department, university, and the broader community. Students also report that the programs are highly responsive to their needs and that the faculty responds favorably and non-defensively to input regarding program improvement. Another important attribute of these programs is that they include professionals in counseling and school psychology as part of the teaching and supervisory faculty, underscoring the responsiveness and relevance of the department. Furthermore, professionals within the Atlanta community can access degree programs for their advanced training.

Finally, the Department’s undergraduate offerings in Career Development and Life Planning and Multicultural Issues are providing critical leadership that is relevant to the mission of the COE and GSU. These courses will be invaluable in enhancing the undergraduate program and may prove useful in enhancing undergraduate retention. The site team recommends that the Department explore further contributions to the undergraduate program, providing that such efforts will enhance resource allocations.

·  Evaluate the appropriateness of the peer institutions selected by the Department for comparison.

We recognize that it was a challenge to identify peer institutions that reflect the diversity of the graduate programs within CPS. With this limitation in mind, the selection of the University of Maryland represents an aspiration that, we believe, can be achieved in a few years with strategic, instrumental support from the institution. The quality of the faculty is already analogous to Maryland, but the availability of resources (such as reduced teaching loads, smaller class sizes, sabbaticals) at Maryland has allowed them to become a benchmark institution. The choice of University of North Texas and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville were appropriately selected peer institutions. The criteria outlined in the Department’s self-study rationale were appropriate given the focus by each of these universities on serving multicultural populations and through their recognition for exemplary preparation in counseling and education.

2. Progress Toward Goals and Objectives

·  Taking a disciplinary perspective, evaluate the ways in which the unit has succeeded in meeting its goals and objectives since its last academic program review (Section C).

The site team reviewed the documentation on the programs’ progress since the last academic program review in 1995. The data provided by the faculty in their self-study coupled with our observations strongly support the faculty’s contention that they have indeed met their goals. Our impressions are detailed below.

In the teaching realm, the faculty has made significant curricular changes to better meet the professional training needs of students in the counselor education (professional, school & rehabilitation), counseling psychology and school psychology programs. In addition, the faculty has revised introductory courses at the master’s, specialist, and doctoral degree levels to better reflect changing trends in the disciplines.

In the research and scholarly activity area, the Department has effectively attained the goals outlined in the last report. The addition of new faculty, including the hiring of senior faculty, has in fact resulted in greater research productivity, visibility, and external funding. In addition, the Department’s excellent reputation has resulted in a national student body for all of its programs and the opportunity to recruit high quality junior faculty. The faculty has also moved forward in soliciting and successfully obtaining external funding. However, the Department recognizes that there is a need to continue to move forward with these research and scholarly objectives. In our view, this forward movement would be facilitated by the implementation of a 2/2 teaching load. Furthermore, the faculty would strongly benefit from a regular sabbatical policy that was systematic and predictable. We believe that these factors, if not addressed, create a risk for other institutions to recruit GSU’s increasingly visible faculty and could prevent the Department from meeting its future goals in these areas. We believe that the faculty is poised to move to the next level of national stature and leadership in counselor education, counseling psychology and school psychology. Continuing the forward movement in meeting the notable goals in the scholarly area would require that the University administration provide the resources that we have noted above.

The faculty has increasingly become active in College and University-wide committees. A number of faculty are involved in the Faculty Senate, University Institutional Review Board, and all of the College-wide standing committees. In addition, the school counseling faculty has become highly engaged in the establishment of professional development schools, which has provided important service to the community while enhanced their teaching and scholarly activity.