School Counseling, M.Ed.

Standards

School Counseling Accreditation Standards

National – Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)

The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) is nearly thirty (30) years old. CACREP was created in 1981 to be the independent accrediting arm for the American Counseling Association, a membership organization for over 50,000 practicing counselors. From its inception, CACREP has provided an effective measure of quality assurance for counselor preparation programs. CACREP also provides leadership to programs interested in furthering their own capacity for self-evaluation. CACREP is an independent agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation to accredit master's degree programs in:

  • Addictions Counseling
  • Career Counseling
  • Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  • Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling
  • School Counseling
  • Student Affairs and College Counseling
  • Doctoral-Level programs in Counselor Education and Supervision

Generally, there are 3 core areas for accreditation (the learning environment, professional identity, professional practice). Within curriculum, the 8 core areas include:

  • Professional Orientation and Ethical Practice
  • Social and Cultural Diversity
  • Human Growth and Development
  • Career Development
  • Helping Relationships
  • Group Work
  • Assessment
  • Research and Program Evaluation

Students at UNC-Chapel Hill, who are preparing to work as school counselors must demonstrate the professional knowledge, skills, and practices necessary to promote the academic, career, and personal/social development of all K–12 students. In addition to the common core curricular experiences outlined above, programs must provide evidence that student learning has occurred in the following domains:

  • Foundations
  • Counseling, Prevention, and Intervention
  • Diversity and Advocacy
  • Assessment
  • Research and Evaluation
  • Academic Development
  • Collaboration and Consultation
  • Leadership
State – Department of Public Instruction (DPI)

The North Carolina DPI guidelines for school counseling programs largely mirror CACREP standards and include 16 standards (each with several indicators) that include:

  • Professional behavior
  • Developmental awareness
  • Diversity
  • Helping relationships
  • Counseling theories
  • Career development
  • Assessment
  • Research design
  • Group work
  • Consultation
  • Clinical practice
  • Clinical supervision
  • School climate
  • Program planning, implementation, and evaluation
  • Use of technology
  • Leadership and advocacy
Standards - Effective Fall 2010