Professional
Counselor Program Approval
The Professional Counselor
Section reviewed the application process at their February 25, 2009
meeting and made several changes to the application for licensure,
most notably the Section removed the list of approved programs found
on the application for licensure. All changes were made within regulatory
guidelines and were done with the express purpose of streamlining
the application review process, establishing clearer guidelines for
applicants and as a result decreasing time between application and
licensure.
The previous application process
established two routes for approval of education required for licensure:
-
For applicants who completed
a CORE or CACREP-accredited program or Professional Counselor
Section-approved program, the applicant need only submit the “Certification
of Professional Education” (form
# 1960) for educational approval
-
For applicants who completed
a masters degree without CORE or CACREP accreditation or Section
pre-approval, applicants are required to submit both the “Certification
of Professional Education” (form # 1960), the “Professional Counselor
Curriculum Requirements” grid (form
#2239), course descriptions, and official transcripts from
the university.
In an effort to provide faster
response to applicants, the new process requires applicants to submit
the “Professional Counselor Curriculum Requirements” grid (form #2239),
official transcripts directly from the university, and course descriptions.
The Department is compiling a new database of approved programs, which
we will maintain at the Department and post on our Website in the
near future. An applicant that has graduated from a program, which
is on the roster of approved programs, need not submit course descriptions
with their application materials. Those applicants who completed a
CORE or CACREP-accredited program still need only submit the “Certification
of Professional Education” (form # 1960) for educational approval.
The Department is requesting
that all approved programs submit their approved program coursework
on (form #2239) so that the Department can populate the approved program
database and provide better guidance to applicants as to which courses
on their approved programs meet license requirements. Once the Department
has the coursework grids for each approved program, applicants' curriculum
grids and official transcripts, the Professional Counselor Section
may more easily verify completion of counselor education in the application
process.
For programs that wish to have
their programs reviewed for pre-approval, please send a letter of
request, along with a completed “Professional Counselor Curriculum
Requirement” grid (form # 2239) for your program, and include course
descriptions and syllabi.
Please forward all materials
to:
Professional Counselor Section
Department of Regulation and
Licensing
1400 E. Washington Avenue
PO Box 8935
Madison , WI 53708-8935
