COLLEGE of EDUCATION
Department of Individual, Family & Community Education
Counselor Education
Early Childhood Multicultural Education
Educational Psychology
Family Studies
Nutrition/Dietetics
The Counselor Education program at the University of New Mexico participates in a
variety of program evaluation processes to improve the overall quality of the program
(CACREP I. AA. 3, 5, & 6). The purpose of this official report is to describe results from
the various aspects of the most recent program evaluation and describe any relevant
program modifications.
Program Evaluation: 2011 - 13
Student Performance
Didactic Classroom Performance. Student classroom performance is assessed at the
individual class-level, as performed by each faculty of record for that course. In
accordance with masters student policy VI.D.1. and doctoral student policy
requirements, a student who receives a grade of a C+ or lower in a COUN designated
course will be dismissed from the program. For non-COUN designated courses, a
masters student cannot receive a final grade of C- or lower (or multiple C+ or lower for
doctoral students). With these policies in mind, no masters or doctoral student was
dismissed from the program in the 2011-2012 or 2012-2013 academic years, therefore
indicating successful classroom performance by program students.
In addition to grade-based assessments, the counseling faculty assesses student
fitness for the field. No student was removed from the program or given a remediation
plan as a consequence of ruinous classroom behavior during the 2011-2012 or 20122013 academic years.
Clinical Performance. Masters and doctoral students are assessed by universityand/or site-supervisors on a variety of counseling performance measures. For
academic years 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, all but one student received a passing
grade for all clinical courses (i.e., Practicum, Advanced Practicum, or Internship). The
student who did not pass self-selected out of the masters program and matriculated into
another program in the college.
Standardized Measure Performance. At the masters student level, the program uses
the on the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination (CPCE) as the
comprehensive exam. To pass, a masters student must score higher than at least one
standard deviation below the national mean for that CPCE administration period. All
students who took the CPCE during the 2011-2012 or 2012-2013 academic years
passed using the required score.
A second measure of masters student performance tracked by the counseling
faculty is the scores of recent graduates on the National Counselor Exam (NCE). In the
most recent testing, UNM counseling students average exceeded the national average
in all areas.
Program Performance
Academic Program Review. As a requirement of UNM policy, the counselor education
program successfully completed a university Academic Program Review (APR ) during
Fall 2012. The APR included an evaluation of curriculum, student experiences, and
faculty productivity. The APR of the counselor education program included internal and
external reviewers.
Alumni Survey. Program faculty collected feedback from alumni of the program who
graduated after 2006. Selected results included the following: 1) 4.45/4 (SD = .76)
satisfaction with the education received; 2) 4.0/4 (SD = 1.17) satisfaction with
comprehensiveness of advising; 3) 3.78/5 (SD = 3.78) satisfaction with courses taken
outside of program; 4) 4.75/5 (SD = .44) satisfaction with the educational value of the
Manzanita Counseling Clinic; 5) 4.85/5 (SD = 0.37) satisfaction with the educational
value of practicum/internship; and 6) 4.15/5 (SD = 0.88) extent comprehensive exam
represented one’s learning. Additionally, alumni offered suggestions that were captured
by means of a series of open-ended questions in the instrument.
Program Self-Evaluation. On a program level, assessment and evaluation is a
continuous process. The faculty reviews the degree programs on a regular basis and
discusses changes such as addition/deletion of courses, effectiveness of midpoint
reviews, evaluation of the comprehensive examinations, sequence of courses, policy
revision, and so forth. Extended time is devoted to larger programmatic concerns at
both the fall and spring faculty retreats. Discussion also occurs during minimally twicemonthly faculty meetings as issues arise.
Program Modifications
Advising
First, to improve the advising experience for students, the faculty created a series of
advisor expectations which follow this document.
Second, faculty created a policy for advisors and advisees that requires that advisee to
sign a tentative POS document meeting each time she or he meets with her or his
advisor. The tentative POS document is stored in the student’s file in the program
office.
Comprehensive Examinations
For the masters program, counseling faculty considered student and alumni feedback
related to the usefulness of the comprehensive examination. As such, the program
reverted to the CPCE as the comprehensive examination from an oral case
conceptualization format that was used before.
At the doctoral level, the written comprehensive examination was changed from a tailormade group of three questions posed by the individual student’s committee members to
six standard questions asked of all students during any testing period. The new
approach includes each of the CACREP competency areas for doctoral students and,
therefore, assesses the total learning and competence expected of a doctoral-level
graduate.
Coursework
First, faculty performed a systematic review of student expectations for all clinical
courses. This was done in response to the aforementioned student who did not pass a
clinical course. For the particular student who did not pass this course, the faculty and
student collaborated together to create a remediation plan (i.e., additional supervision,
additional skills training).
Second, as a consequence of the results from the alumni survey, the faculty added two
new courses to the curriculum - COUN 581 Sexuality in Counseling and Psychotherapy
and COUN 560 Family Counseling.
Third, to enhance the scholastic focus of the document program, doctoral students are
now required to construct and submit a manuscript to a journal and/or professional
conference during their COUN 621 Advanced Theories course. Also, COUN 620
Seminar in Counseling was infused with coursework on program evaluation and
counseling research topics. The faculty anticipates that these foci will also add to
doctoral scholastic productivity and improve the quality of their performances on their
comprehensive exams and dissertation product.
Counselor Education
Advisor Expectations and Commitments
Adopted: Feb. 5, 2013
The Faculty of Counselor Education is committed to and expects the following from faculty
advisors:
Be available each semester to advise students. Provide students with accurate and up-todate information.
Meet with students in their first semester of studies to complete and have the student sign
their tentative program of studies/advisement form. The student will sign and date the
form during all advisement meetings. The form is stored in the student’s official file in the
department administrator’s office at all times other than during the advisement meeting.
Master’s Students: Guide students through their Mid-Point review while they are enrolled
in Communication Skills.
Whenever meetings are scheduled with a student, an advisor is expected to meet with that
student. The advisor is expected to be consistent and committed to all students whom they
advise.
If a faculty advisor has to miss a meeting, they should contact the student within a
reasonable period of time to reschedule.
Respond to student messages, e-mails or phone contacts within one week during the school
year.
Faculty attend and maintain their established office hours.
Office hours are posted in a timely fashion and comply with university policy.
The Counselor Education Faculty are expected to attend program and faculty meetings to
ensure they are up-to-date in all program college and university policies in order to
provide students with accurate information and are able to inform other faculty as issues
arise concerning students.