Accreditation Manual

Introduction | Procedures | Standards | Application Form

2003 CCPA Accreditation Procedures And Standards For Counsellor Education Programs At The Master’s Level

This manual was developed by Dr. Sharon E. Robertson and Dr. William A. Borgen, Co-Chairs of the CCPA Council on Accreditation of  Counsellor Education Programs (CACEP) in 2001-2002, the year in which this document was approved. Many members of the Canadian community of professional counsellors, including counsellor educators at universities across Canada, members of the CCPA Counsellor Educators’ Chapter, and the CCPA Board of Directors, provided comments and feedback on drafts of this document. Their contribution and support was greatly appreciated.

The current document was guided by the 1987 CGCA Procedures for Accreditation of Counsellor Education Programs in Canada, the CPA Accreditation Procedures for Doctoral Level Programs in Professional Psychology (1991), and the 2001 CACREP Standards for Accreditation of Counsellor Education Programs. The support of the American Counseling Association and the Council for Accreditation of Counselling and Related Educational Programs in the development of this manual is gratefully acknowledged.

                                                                                            Approved by the CCPA Board of Directors, May 2002

INTRODUCTION

Since the early 1970's the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) has maintained an ongoing concern for the standards and training of counsellors in Canada (Peavy, Robertson, & Westwood, 1982). In 1987, this concern culminated in the establishment of a process for accrediting counsellor education programs. The main purposes of accreditation are:

1. To promote high standards in the pre-service training of professional counsellors.
2. To assist the administration and faculty of counsellor education programs to assess and improve their objectives, resources, and programs.
3. To promote a continuing review and evaluation of existing counsellor education programs.

It is important to distinguish between the accreditation of programs and the certification of individuals, two separate processes that are frequently referred to as if they are one and the same. On the one hand, accreditation implies the setting of minimal standards which training programs must meet. In order to become accredited, a counsellor education program must fulfill certain requirements or standards with regard to institutional settings, program mission and objectives, program content, practicum experiences, student selection and advising, faculty qualifications and workload, program governance, instructional support, and self-evaluation. On the other hand, certification implies recognition that individuals have met minimal professional standards to practice independently as a counsellor. In order to be certified, counsellors must meet certain levels of education and training in counselling, they must follow the code of ethics, and they are held accountable to show competent and ethical performance in practice. The procedures and materials outlined in this manual apply only to accreditation and not to certification.

The Board of Directors of the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association approved the CCPA Procedures and Standards for Counsellor Education Programs at the Master’s Level (Robertson & Borgen, 2002) to be used as a basis for evaluation of graduate programs in counsellor education. These procedures and standards are published in this manual and are embodied in the application forms available from CCPA.

In order to administer its accreditation program, CCPA has established the Council on Accreditation of Counsellor Education Programs (CACEP) referred to simply as the Council on Accreditation. Specifically, the mandate of the Council is as follows:

• To oversee and manage the CCPA accreditation program, which involves providing professional and arms-length evaluation of counsellor education programs.
• To develop policies and procedures pertaining to the operation of the Council and to make recommendations regarding these to the CCPA Board of Directors.
• To periodically review the CCPA Accreditation Procedures and Standards and to make recommendations for change to the CCPA Board of Directors.
• To develop and implement a program for training site visitors.
• To develop documents and instruments needed to administer the accreditation program.
• To provide consultation to counsellor education programs.
• To provide information to the President of the institution applying for accreditation, regarding the outcome of the institution’s application.
• To interact through the CCPA President with other elements of the CCPA governance structure on matters related to accreditation.
• To develop marketing strategies to interest universities in the accreditation of their counsellor education programs.
• To cooperate with provincial and federal institutions and agencies as well as other professional groups in promoting high standards of counsellor education.

The Council on Accreditation is composed of a minimum of a Chair, and three additional members, all of whom are recognized counsellor educators. Each member of the Council on Accreditation is appointed for a period up to four years. Members of the Council are appointed by the Board of Directors of CCPA upon the recommendation of the Council on Accreditation.

The procedures and standards outlined in this manual are intended for universities seeking accreditation, on a voluntary basis, for counsellor education programs at the master’s degree level. The procedures provide the opportunity for self-study prior to application and allow time to initiate needed changes. The process is intended to be constructive rather than punitive and allows an institution to withdraw its application for accreditation at any time. This manual contains the procedures involved in the accreditation process and the minimum standards, which programs seeking accreditation must meet. Application forms may be obtained from CCPA.