Changes in Counselor Education Admissions Criteria

Abstract

This study summarizes recent changes in admissions requirements and procedures obtained in a survey of 61 counselor education programs in the western states region.

The Gatekeeping Imperative in Counselor Education Admission Protocols: The Criticality of Personal Qualities

“…For participating programs, Markert and Monke (1990) found that undergraduate grade point average (UGPA) minimums ranged from 2.5 to 3.5, with the majority (14) of schools requiring a minimum UGPA of 3.0. Thirty-one of the 32 schools indicated that the minimum GPA during graduate training was 3.0.…”

“…Of the 32 participating programs in Markert and Monke's (1990) study, the majority of schools (25) required a personal statement, and 29 programs required letters of recommendation, with an average of 3 letters required. Roughly two-thirds of participating programs used personal interviews, some utilizing an individual format and others requiring group interviews.…”

“…Over 20 years ago, Markert and Monke (1990) conducted a survey of admissions criteria in 32 counselor education master's programs in an effort to determine the extent to which U.S. counselor education programs were relying on common admissions criteria, such as GPA and GRE. The researchers identified concerns about the continued use of academic aptitude criteria as a screening procedure in counselor education programs, because such methods have been found to be relatively inadequate in predicting counselor trainee effectiveness and, therefore, success.…”

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision Volume 2, Number 1

“…Because faculty members do not believe that grade point average is an effective predictor of a candidate"s ability to help others (Markert & Monke, 1990), the department has no undergraduate or graduate grade point requirement. While undergraduate grade point averages below a 2.75 raise some concern in terms of the candidate"s ability to do the didactic, academic work required at the graduate level, a low grade point average does not automatically eliminate a candidate who demonstrates strength in some of the nonintellectual areas the department deems are important to becoming an effective professional counselor.…”

“…The qualitative data from the responses to the question "If there is anything else about the issue of integrative counseling that you want to share, please do so below" were analyzed following the guidelines of Bogdan and Biklen (1998) and Creswell and Plano Clark (2007 (Hosford, Johnson & Atkinson, 1984;Hurst & Shatkin, 1974;Jones, 1974;Kuncel, Hezlett, & Ones, 2001;Markert & Monke, 1990;Morrison, & Morrison, 1995;Rothstein, 1988;Sampson & Boyer, 2001).…”