EDUCATION SPECIALIST DEGREE

SCHOOL COUNSELING

PROGRAM PROGRESSION, RETENTION, DISMISSAL, AND READMISSION POLICIES

The university faculty has the duty and responsibility to provide the public with ethical and competent practitioners. To achieve these goals, the university adopts selective admissions, retention, and graduation policies. The delivery of psychological and counseling services, especially of a clinical nature, in schools, mental health settings, and organizations requires the practitioner to meet both academic and professional standards of competence. Accordingly, the faculty of the Department of Psychology and Counseling has adopted requirements that candidates must meet in order to graduate for the department’s graduate programs. These requirements include that candidates demonstrate professionally appropriate behavior and may be terminated for academic and non-academic reasons. The complete policy is available at the following website http://valdosta.edu/coe/psychology/retention.shtml.  Academic progress is determined by grades earned in the program of study for which the candidate is currently enrolled, as well as performance on comprehensive examinations as required by the specific program.

  1. Candidates will be dismissed from the program if they accumulate three or more academic deficiency points. A grade of “C,” while credited toward the degree, will result in one deficiency point. A grade of “D” is two deficiency points; a grade of “F” or “WF” or “U” is three deficiency points;
  2. If a candidate wishes to withdraw from a class with a grade of “WP,” it is the candidate’s responsibility to initiate and complete the withdrawal process prior to the midterm deadline. “WP” grades do not affect academic deficiency points or grade point average.
  3. No more than 6 semester hours of academic work may be transferred from another institution into a master’s-level graduate program. This credit must be documented in the form of an official transcript at the time of admission. Transfer credit will be evaluated after admission, by the academic department. To be eligible, credit must be no more than seven years old prior to completion of the degree.
  4. The maximum time allowed for completion of the specialist’s degree is seven calendar years.  No work completed more than seven years prior to degree completion will be accepted toward the degree, except with special permission from the candidate’s advisor, the Dean of the Dewar College of Education and approval from the Dean of the Graduate School.
  5. If dismissed from the program, the student must wait a minimum of two semesters before applying for readmission. The academic program reserves the right to place specific conditions and contingencies on any offer of readmission. Readmission is not guaranteed and prior academic performance and conduct in the program will be considered.

    Remediation Process

    Steps 1-3, below, constitute “due process.”  Student are advised of the areas that need improvement and the actions needed to improve these areas, are given an opportunity to correct the problems they are experiencing, and are made aware of the possible consequences of failure to make improvements in the areas in which they are experiencing difficulty.

    Step 1:   Faculty regularly confer about the progress of each student in the School Counseling Program.  When a student is experiencing difficulties, the student’s advisor gathers relevant documentation identifying any particular problems the student is experiencing. Students are informed that this information is being gathered. The written documentation gathered includes grades, coursework, semester reports, and information from the student's advisor, instructors, site supervisors, and other school personnel who have had contact with the student.

    Step 2:   The faculty advisor then meets with the student, summarizes the documentation gathered, and discusses the problem with the student. 

    Step 3:   When appropriate, a written remediation plan will be approved by the advisor and two other program faculty members. This plan will clearly state:

            a.     specific areas needing improvement

            b.     specific changes that are expected

            c.     the steps needed to make the outlined changes

            d.     the time frame in which the changes must be made

            e.     that failure to remediate may result in termination from the program.

            f.     the appeals process