University News
WIU Counselor Education Programs Receive Accreditation
August 11, 2008
MOLINE, IL -- Two Western Illinois University counselor education programs recently received accreditation from the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).
The Master's of Science in Education Community Counseling degree program and the Master's of Science in Education School Counseling degree program each received accreditation through October 2016. CACREP is an independent agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education to accredit master's degree counseling programs.
According to CACREP, the accreditation decisions were based on the board's extensive review of the programs' self-study documents, the visiting team's report, and the University's response to the visiting team's report.
Western's department of counselor education, which has been accredited since 1987, was the first counselor education program in the state to receive CACREP accreditation. According to Frank Main, counselor education chair, WIU counselor education department graduates and interns are automatically eligible to sit for the National Board for Certified Counselors exam. In addition, as graduates of the WIU CACREP accredited program they will meet many state licensures and certifications requirements.
"We are pleased to receive accreditation for the community counseling and school counseling programs at Western," said College of Education and Human Services Dean Bonnie Smith-Skripps. "The accreditation of the two programs reaffirms that Western's counselor education program is among the best in the nation and provides our students with an excellent education and outstanding opportunities. The program will be up for reaccreditation in 2016, making it the longest continuing CACREP accredited program in the state of Illinois and one of the longest continuingly accredited programs in the country."
The school counseling track is also accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education and by the Illinois and Iowa State Boards of Education (ISBE) and the Iowa Educational Examiners Board.
For more information on Western's counselor education program, which is housed at the WIU-Quad Cities campus, visit wiu.edu/counselored or call (309) 762-1876.
Posted By: Darcie Shinberger (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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