CACREP Annual Report
Summary of Program Evaluation Results
- 100% of the graduating class of 2023 passed their Comprehensive Examination
- 100% of our graduates were hired into professional counseling positions within three months of graduation
- Both the Clinical Mental Health and School Counseling Programs are now CACREP re-accredited through 2031.
For the Spring 2023 testing cycle, WWU had 11 students (out of 12) take the National Counseling Exam (NCE), including 6 Clinical Mental Health Counseling students and 5 School Counseling students. The National Board for Certified Counselors administered the NCE for our students and 90 percent passed the exam (See table below). Of note, 100% of our CMHC cohort passed and scored above the national average across all 8 CACREP Core areas, as well as all 6 sections covering 'Work Behaviors and Domains'.
Cohort | Number of Test-Takers | Passing Number (Percentage) |
School Counseling | 6 | 5 (100%) |
Clinical Mental Health Counseling | 6 | 6 (100%) |
Passing Rate for the Comprehensive Exam
We created comprehensive exam questions in the following CACREP content areas: Research Methods/Program Evaluation; Career Counseling; Development & Psychopathology; Professional Identity/Professional Practice (by Specialty area). Multicultural considerations were included in several questions. The exam was blinded for review and each question was graded by two counseling faculty members. If the evaluators did not initially agree on a score, a third reader was brought in to read the exam question. Once all the scores were reported to our Comp Exam coordinator, Dr. Brent Mallinckrodt, the whole counseling faculty met to discuss the results and determine pass/fail rates.
Cohort | Number of Test-Takers | Passing Number (Percentage) |
School Counseling | 6 | 6 (100%) |
Clinical Mental Health Counseling | 6 | 6 (100%) |
Our program had a 100% graduation rate for the students admitted in Fall 2021.
Program | Number of Graduates (Spring 2021) |
Clinical Mental Health Counseling (n=6) | 6 (out of 6) |
School Counseling (n=6) | 6 (out of 6) |
The following table shows a summary of job placement statistics for the 2021 graduating class (see ‘Job Placement’ documents in annual report evidence folder).
Program | Number of Graduates (Spring 2021) |
Clinical Mental Health Counseling (n=6) | 6 (out of 6) |
School Counseling (n=6) | 6 (out of 6) |
Demographic Category |
Cohort | Overall Percentage |
Race/Ethnicity | SC |
|
CMHC |
|
|
Gender | SC |
• 25 Female (76%) • 8 Male (24%) |
CMHC |
• 128 Female (74%) • 44 Male (25%) |
Demographic Category |
Cohort | Overall Percentage |
Race/Ethnicity | SC |
|
CMHC |
|
|
Gender | SC |
2 (%) = Male 4 (%) = Female |
CMHC |
5 (83%) = Male 1 (17%) = Female |
The overall acceptance rate of applicants into the CMHC program was 3.4% (6/174). Among students of color the acceptance rate was 9.1 % (4/45), whereas for White applicants the acceptance rate was 1.6% (2/125) into the CMHC program. The overall acceptance rate of applicants into the SC program was 18.2% (6/33). Among students of color the acceptance rate was 45.5% (5/11), whereas for White applicants the acceptance rate was 4.8% (1/21) into the SC program.
Thus, for both programs combined, the acceptance rate for students of color was 7.8 times greater than for White students (16.07% vs 2.05%, respectively).
Demographic Category |
Program |
Overall Percentage |
---|---|---|
Gender |
SC |
2 (~ 33%) = Male 4 (~ 66%) = Female |
|
CMHC |
5 (~ 83%) = Female 1 (~ 17%) = Male |
Race/Ethnicity |
SC |
1 (~ 16%) = Filipino 2 (~ 33%) = Caucasian 2 (~ 33%) = Mexican/Chicano 1 (~ 16%) = Multiracial |
|
CMHC |
1 (~ 16%) = Japanese 2 (~ 33%) = White 1 (~ 16%) = International 1 (~ 16%) = Filipino 1 (~ 16%) = Asian/ Pacific Islander |
English as 2nd Language |
SC CMHC |
1 (~ 16%) (no data) |
Demographic Category |
Program |
Overall Percentage |
Gender |
CMHC & SC |
3 (25%) = Male 9 (75%) = Female |
Race/Ethnicity |
CMHC & SC |
9 (~ 75%) = Caucasian 1 (~8.3%) = Native American 1 (~8.3%) = Korean 1 (~8.3%) = Asian/Pacific Islander |
Systematic follow-up studies of graduates:
The Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) and School Counseling (SC) graduate programs at Western Washington University (WWU) are committed to both gathering and being reflexive to program evaluation data. In addition to the comprehensive data review that occurs every four years (using 8 surveys to 8 different stakeholders [exiting SC and CMHC students, SC/CMHC alumni, SC/CMHC Employers, and SC/CMHC Site Supervisors), for our annual reports, we distribute exit surveys to our departing students every year. After three communications requesting participation in the exit survey, we had the following participation rates (broken down by cohort):
- CMHC Exit Survey (n = 2/6)
- SC Exit Survey (n = 5/6)
To review this data – along with other key indicators of student success (e.g., dispositions data, key assessment outcome data, etc.) – the faculty meets during the Fall quarter counseling program faculty retreat. Faculty are sent the raw data and a summary of the data in advance of the counseling faculty retreat to help enrich the comprehensive data review and program/curriculum modification process.
SCHOOL COUNSELING PROGRAM EXIT SURVEY RESULTS:
Student Feedback on Program Objectives and Training (n=5):
Student Feedback on Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) (n=5):
Student Feedback on School Counseling Specialty Content (n=5):
General Program Characteristics as Rated by SC Students (n=5):
Student Feedback on Strengths of the School Counseling Program (n=5):
Overall Student Recommendations for the School Counseling Program (n=5):
CLINICAL MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING PROGRAM:
Student Feedback on Satisfaction with the Program Objectives (n=2):
Student Feedback on Satisfaction with our 9 Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) (n=2):
Student Feedback on the Two CMHC Specialty Content Areas (n=2):
Student Feedback on the General Strengths of the Program (n=2):
Student Feedback on General Programmatic Improvements (n=2):
Subsequent and General Programmatic Modifications
Subsequent program modifications:
General Programmatic Modifications:
Comprehensive Exam
We created comprehensive exam questions in the following CACREP content areas: Research Methods/Program Evaluation; Career Counseling; Development & Psychopathology; Professional Identity/Professional Practice (by Specialty area). Multicultural considerations were included in several questions. The exam was blinded for review and each question was graded by two counseling faculty members. If the evaluators did not initially agree on a score, a third reader was brought in to read the exam question. Once all the scores were reported to our Comp Exam coordinator, Dr. Brent Mallinckrodt, the whole counseling faculty met to discuss the results and determine pass/fail rates. This year two students needed to rewrite and resubmit an exam question due to inadequate responses in one sub-section. After required re-writes, all 12 students eventually received passing scores, thus qualifying them for graduation.
Student Dispositions
The WWU Counseling faculty has selected six essential dispositions (Ethical Behavior, Emotional Stability, Self-Awareness and Flexibility, Self-Care, Interpersonal Skills, & Conscientiousness), drawn from established counseling student evaluation tools (e.g. PDCA-RA; CCS-R), to guide the development of work habits, behaviors and personal characteristics leading to effective professional practice. These dispositions are expected of counseling students at the university and in their placements. According to CACREP (2015), dispositions are defined as, “commitments, characteristics, values, beliefs, interpersonal functioning, and behaviors that influence the counselor’s professional growth and interactions with clients and colleagues.”
We believe that dispositions and behaviors, like skills and knowledge, can be strengthened when students are given regular feedback and support. Our goal is to have every student who is recommended for graduation demonstrate these dispositions on a consistent basis. At the end of each quarter, faculty meet to review the progress of all students in the program and provide feedback in the form of a progress letter. Students who demonstrate consistent evidence of the dispositions will receive a letter to indicate they are in good standing. Students who receive an inconsistent in one or more areas will receive a letter to indicate how to improve their behavior or habits to remain in good standing. The student will then arrange a meeting with the program director to develop a plan for improvement for the next quarter. Students who receive an unsatisfactory in any area will be asked to schedule a performance review meeting with the program director and two faculty members before proceeding to the next quarter. The expected outcome of the performance review meeting will be development of a remediation plan or dismissal from the program. If a student is demonstrating unsatisfactory performance, a performance review meeting may be initiated at any point in the quarter.
The Clinical Mental Health Counseling program had one student fill out a remediation plan for improvement at the end of May of 2021 with a planned follow-up improvement plan at the end of Fall 2022. This student successfully graduated in Spring of 2022. The SC program had one student fill out an improvement plan at the end of Fall quarter 2021. This student successfully graduated in Spring of 2022. The School Counseling program had one student (admitted during the 2019 academic year) that was removed from the program following a failure to comply with their remediation plan at the end of the 2021 academic school year who did not graduate in Spring 2022 as a result. All 6 students admitted to the SC program in Fall 2020 successfully graduated in Spring 2022.