THE SCHOOL COUNSELING PROGRAM MISSION STATEMENT:
The mission of the School Counseling program at Kent State University is to prepare research-informed, ethically sound, and multiculturally responsive licensed professional school counselors in K - 12 institutions who are responsible for implementing comprehensive school counseling programs and delivering individual and group counseling within diverse school systems. We seek to deliver the high-quality education required by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP) and to prepare students/graduates to meet the requirements of the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) to become Licensed School Counselors in K - 12 settings.
THE SCHOOL COUNSELING PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the School Counseling program at Kent State University are to prepare students/graduates to:
- Demonstrate knowledge in assessment, group work, career development, helping relationships, human growth and development, social and cultural diversity, research and program evaluation, and professional orientation and ethical practice.
- Meet the academic components required by the Ohio Department of Education to be eligible to sit for the current licensure assessments.
- Understand legal and ethical standards and practice in a legal and ethical manner (KPI 1).
- Understand and demonstrate multicultural responsiveness (KPI 2).
- Demonstrate a strong counselor identity (KPI 3).
- Demonstrate strong skills in identifying affect, behavior and cognition that contributes to mental health issues (KPI 4).
- Understand and demonstrate sound counseling skills and techniques within a theoretical framework in both individual and group counseling (KPI 5, KPI 6, KPI 7).
- Demonstrate valuable skills in conceptualizing student success and growth (KPI 8).
- Understand the importance of research in advancing the counseling profession including how to critique research to inform counseling practice (KPI 9).
- Work with crisis, trauma, suicide and at-risk students (KPI 10).
- Design and evaluate school counseling programming (KPI SC 1).