The Impact of CACREP Accreditation: A Multiway Frequency Analysis of Ethics Violations and Sanctions

Abstract

The impact of CACREP accreditation on counselor competency has received little empirical investigation. Differences in the frequency and type of ethical misconduct between graduates of CACREP‐accredited and non‐CACREP‐accredited counselor education programs were investigated. Results of a multiway frequency analysis indicated that fully licensed graduates of CACREP‐accredited programs were sanctioned for ethical misconduct significantly less frequently than were graduates of non‐CACREP‐accredited programs. Additionally, the accreditation factor was among the highest‐ranking parameter estimates of expected cell frequencies.

Evidence-based policy and higher education quality assurance: progress, pitfalls and promise

“…CACREP (Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs), a professional association that accredits programmes in counseling and related educational fields in the US, announces on their website confidently, 'research shows CACREP graduates perform better on the National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Certification' (CACREP 2017). Indeed, studies show not only that accreditation is perceived by teachers and coordinators to have positive effects on curriculum and educational quality (Holcomb, Bryan, and Rahill 2002), but also that graduates of CACREP accredited programmes are less likely to be sanctioned for ethical misconduct, which is one of the key focus areas of the accreditation (Even and Robinson 2013), and perform better at the national exam (Adams 2006). Nevertheless, it is difficult to determine the causal effect of the accreditation procedure, apart from self-selection of students to accredited programmes, or self-selection of programmes applying for the accreditation.…”

School Counseling District Supervisors’ Experiences and Perceptions Regarding School Counselor Preparation for Practice

“…Third, the supervisors preferred school counselors from CACREP-accredited programs, perceiving them as better prepared and appreciating the consistent program benchmarks. In past studies, CACREP accreditation has been related to increased school counselor self-efficacy and preparedness (Forte, 2015), lower incidence of ethical violations (Even & Robinson, 2013), and higher scores on the National Certified School Counselor credentialing exam (Milsom & Akos, 2007). Hence, this study adds to the literature that supervisors have also experienced benefits to CACREP accreditation, based on school counselors’ transition into the field.…”

Ethical Beliefs of Counseling Students in Turkey

“…As related to one possible risk related to these findings, Erdur-Baker and Çetinkaya (2007) wrote that school staff do not respect confidentiality in counseling. Significantly, most Turkish counselors work in school settings (Poyrazli et al, 2013).…”