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School Counseling Program

Annual Report

The University of Tennessee School Counseling Program
The 2008-2009 Year in Review

The school counseling faculty continue to provide a quality education to our students, and as the educational landscape changes in our rapidly evolving world, we strive to keep our students attentive to these changes so that they will be well equipped for the profession of school counseling.

About our Students
We are proud of our graduates and the contributions they are making to our profession. Our graduates have served as officers in the Smoky Mountain Counseling Association
(SMCA) and the Tennessee Counseling Association (TCA), have presented at conferences, and are respected as professional resources. Two of our 2006 graduates were honored at the May, 2009 SMCA meeting. Jen Beckler, was awarded by the SMCA as middle school counselor of the year, and Kat Coy was honored by SMCA as secondary school counselor of the year. 

About Our Faculty
Our faculty has a significant presence as leaders in the counseling profession. The UT faculty members serve on national and state committees, conduct extensive research on current professional issues, publish articles in professional journals, author chapters and texts, serve as editors of professional journals and editorial board members, and speak at conferences throughout the state, nation, and the world.

About Our Program
We continue to address curricular issues that influence the education of our students.
Some of the most recent changes include:

  • revisions to the Educational Specialist degree that includes more advanced skills in supervising and conducting research
  • developing a greater awareness of a counseling identity
  • community building

In fall 2009, our graduates, supervisors, and employers will be receiving an evaluation survey. Feedback from these surveys will be carefully considered to assist us in continuing the tradition of graduating well-qualified, competent professional school counselors.   

Posted 07/06/2009


2007-2008 Year in Review

The University of Tennessee school counseling faculty strives to train our students meet the demands of the school counseling profession. With teen pregnancy, drug abuse, suicide, and other issues that influence school-aged youth, and professional guidelines that influence the profession of counseling, professional school counselors are needed more than ever. Several programmatic changes that will further increase the standards and expectations we have for our school counselor trainees have occurred which will be in effect beginning with the 2008-2009 academic year. These revisions include:

  • The addition of COUN 535 Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues in Counseling.

This course is required for all counseling students to better understand the counseling profession and the issues that impact all counselors. The final five weeks of this class will be devoted to specific issues that pertain to counselors in the school.

  • The elimination of COUN 431. Personality and Mental Health has been eliminated from the curriculum with the objectives from this class integrated in other curricular areas.

 

  • Personal dispositions have been identified for personal and professional success, and trainees are expected to demonstrate these traits from program entry to matriculation. These dispositions include:

Self-awareness

  • Integrity
  • Humility
  • Self-reflection/exploration
  • Place in History
  • Personal maturity
  • Honesty

Integrity

  • Personal responsibility
  • Personal integrity
  • Courage
  • Congruence

Commitment

  • Investment
  • Counselor identity
  • Advocacy
  • Professional excellence
  • Civic engagement
  • Scholar/practitioner
  • Collaboration
  • Interpersonal competence

Openness

  • Openness to ideas, learning, and change
  • Openness to give and receive feedback
  • Openness to growth
  • Self-development
  • Openness to others
  • Understand micro/macro perspective
  • Interpersonal communication

Respect

  • Perceives and honors diversity
  • Self-care
  • Wellness

The 2nd annual Smoky Mountain Counselor Association Conference was held at the UT University Center and was so-sponsored by the Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling and the counseling programs.

  • The UT counseling faculty have made a national presence through presentations at the American Counselor and Supervision (ACES) conference in Columbus, Ohio, the American Counseling Association (ACA) in Honolulu, Hawaii, the Tennessee Counseling Association (TCA) conference in Franklin, TN, and the School Counselor Institute in Nashville, TN.

The 2006-2007 Year in Review

The school counseling faculty at the University of Tennessee continue to provide leadership, advocacy, and strive to train our students to meet the demands of the school counseling profession. This academic year reflects many changes that were made to prepare our students for the trends the school counseling profession is currently experiencing.

Three individuals joined our faculty, and their combined expertise served as a catalyst for curricular changes and policy modifications. Dr. Shawn Spurgeon, an assistant professor of mental health counseling, joined Dr. Jeff Cochran, associate professor and mental health program coordinator. In addition, Dr. Melinda Gibbons joined us as an assistant professor of school counseling.

Curriculum and policy changes include the admission of students once a year, and students are now admitted to the program in February for the following fall semester. After much discussion, COUN 480 Interviewing and Counseling Techniques, is now a required course in the curriculum. In addition, a fieldwork experience that requires school counseling students to perform a number of activities in the schools has been incorporated into one of the core curricular offerings. This change provides students with a greater understanding of the school environment, and to allow school counseling students to interact with K-12 students prior to entering their clinical experiences. The Tennessee State Department of Education adopted this mandate in response to legislation that stated a teaching background prior to becoming certified as a school counselor was no longer necessary.

Professional development activities have been conducted for students and other counseling professionals in the Knoxville area. The Smoky Mountain Counseling Association held the 1 st annual counselor’s conference at the University Center in conjunction with the Educational Psychology and Counseling Department as a co-sponsor. The conference was held again on Sept. 29, 2007. In addition, the counseling programs held a suicide awareness workshop required for all counseling students. Interested community members were invited to attend. This workshop served as a fund- raiser for our counseling honorary society, the Upsilon Theta Chapter of Chi Sigma Iota.

We continually evaluate our program and students to ensure a quality curriculum while meeting the standards of CACREP, our accrediting agency, and the standards established by the Tennessee Department of Education. If you would like information about our program, please contact Dr. Jeannine Studer at 865-974-0693 or by e-mail: jstuder@utk.edu

 

Posted 10/03/2007

Contact EPC

525 Jane & David Bailey Education Complex
1122 Volunteer Boulevard
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-3452

Phone: 865-974-8145
Fax: 865-974-0135