The mission of the Department of Counselor Education is to educate all students including those from diverse academic, geographic, religious/spiritual, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, preparing them to accept their professional responsibilities with distinction.  Students learn to behave ethically, become aware of their professional responsibilities, and their own personal strengths and resiliency so that they apply their training and self-knowledge with a culturally diverse clientele. 

Based on the mission of the Department, the following goals were developed:

1. To provide students with the most comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge and skills in the field of counseling.
2. To prepare students by exposing them to practical experiences in counseling settings.
3. To expose students to a variety of different developmental, ethnic, and cultural groups and to prepare them to work with culturally diverse populations.
4. To develop an awareness of ethical, legal and spiritual factors in counseling.
5. To provide opportunities which impress students with the needs for continuing personal and professional growth.

The objectives of the Department of Counselor Education are accessed through the following experiences:

    1.     An ethically informed professional identity

    2.     Awareness of personal strengths and resiliency 

    3.     Appreciation of diverse cultures

    4.     Critical thinking and creative expression

    5.     Efficacious commitment to professional and community service

The following list identifies the eight CACREP "core curricula" areas and the courses in the department which serve, in the main, to fulfill those respective standards:

Core Curricula Area Course

Professional Identity
Social and Cultural Diversity
Human Growth and Development
Career Development
Helping Relationships
Group Dynamics
Assessment
Research and Program Evaluation