A National Survey of the Program and Enrollment Characteristics of Counselor Education Programs

Abstract

ACES sponsored a national survey of state supervisors of guidance and counselor education institutions and of nontraditional institutions offering graduate degrees in guidance and counseling in order to secure information regarding (a) the licensure of guidance counselors, (b) the use of a competency‐based approach to the certification of counselors, (c) the manpower needs for persons in guidance and personnel work, and (d) the program characteristics of counselor education institutions. Only a relatively small number of states anticipate becoming involved in the licensure of conselors in the foreseeable future; 53.6 percent of the states expect their certification of counselors to be competency‐based within 2 to 5 years, and 76.1 percent of counselor education institutions have decided to make their programs competency‐based but progress is slow. There is an oversupply of BA‐level guidance persons, school counselors, and doctoral‐level persons seeking faculty positions; there is a strong preference for ethnic minorities and women to fill counselor education positions; and abnormally high faculty/graduate ratios were reported for many institutions.