Una Counselor Education Program Achieves Cacrep Accreditation

Oct. 13, 2009

Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at media@una.edu, 256.765.4392 or 256.606.2033

FLORENCE, Ala. - The University of North Alabama's graduate program in counselor education achieved a national mark of distinction recently when it received accreditation from CACREP (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs). CACREP is an independent agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation to accredit graduate programs in several counseling specialties.

The UNA program in counselor education offers master's degrees in school counseling and community counseling. "This recognition from CACREP is important to UNA's counselor education program on several fronts," said Dr. Paul Baird, chair of the UNA Department of Counselor Education. "Most importantly, it reflects that the program is superior, meeting criteria of excellence. CACREP accreditation is also highly recognized by doctoral programs. That means that students graduating from UNA with their master's in counselor education will have a distinct advantage over other students when they go for their doctorate." Dr. Quinn Pearson, a counselor education professor and UNA's CACREP liaison, added that students graduating from a CACREP-accredited program "have the advantage of a much smoother, streamlined process as they apply to become National Certified Counselors and Licensed Professional Counselors." Pearson helped lead the UNA counselor education program through the CACREP accreditation process. UNA had actively worked toward CACREP accreditation for three years, although it had been careful to follow as many CACREP standards as possible even before pursuing accreditation. To fully meet CACREP standards, the counselor education department made several additions to its program, including one new faculty member, a clinical instruction center, manuals for students and site supervisors, an advisory council, and orientation for new students and site supervisors every semester. The UNA counselor education programs in school counseling and community counseling are accredited by CACREP through October 2017. The program currently enrolls 80 students.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more information on UNA's new CACREP accreditation, contact Baird at 256-765-4667 or jpbaird@una.edu, or Pearson at 256-765-4643 or qmpearson@una.edu.

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: una.edu and una.edu/unaworks/.