Retention of Students
The program’s faculty reviews the academic progress of all students each year. According to University policy, those students who fail to maintain a 3.00 GPA are subject to dismissal. The faculty desires to help students have a satisfactory academic and professional experience. We may request that students whose GPA falls below a 3.00 consult with their advisor about how to address problem areas. However, at times, it is necessary for the faculty to discontinue students in the program for academic reasons. A student receiving 7 or more credit hours of C grades is subject to dismissal from the program.
Because counseling is a profession, the faculty believes it is important to acculturate students to high standards of professional behavior. As a part of this effort we review students yearly to evaluate their academic performance, professional development, and personal development.
We believe success as a counselor depends upon factors in addition to those measured by typical evaluations in coursework. Thus, we reserve the right as a faculty to separate from the program a student, who, in the opinion of the faculty, is not likely to succeed professionally despite earning acceptable grades.
Students are evaluated along the following dimensions:
- Potential success in forming effective and culturally relevant interpersonal relationships in individual and group contexts;
- Aptitude for graduate-level study;
- Career goals in relationship to the program;
- Openness to self-examination; and
- Openness to personal and professional development.
If the faculty believes a student is experiencing difficulty on any of these dimensions, a meeting will be scheduled with the student and advisor to discuss ways of responding to the concern(s) or to consider the appropriateness of the counseling profession for the student.