Department Mission & Program Objectives

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Mission of the Department of Counseling and Student Affairs (CSA)

The mission of the Department of Counseling and Student Affairs is to provide graduate education, conduct research, and offer services in the fields of Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling; Clinical Mental Health Counseling; and Student Affairs. Faculty members are committed to social action and advocacy, preparing graduates to provide highly competent and culturally aware services, providing clinical and educational experiences that meet or exceed national accreditation standards, ensuring that graduates have credentials necessary to qualify for certification and licensure, and promoting the continued education of counselors and student affairs personnel. The major goals of graduate education in the Department of Counseling and Student Affairs at WKU are to instill in each student an understanding of and a capacity for scholarship, critical thinking, academic rigor, and intellectual integrity. Faculty and graduate students have a shared obligation to work together to foster these goals through relationships that advance judicious inquiry, demonstrate individual and professional integrity, and encourage common respect. The mission of the counseling programs includes the aforementioned and those aligned with CACREP accreditation.

CSA Objectives

1. Counseling and Student Affairs Programs will provide relevant, practice-oriented programs designed to build an applied, theoretical knowledge base while assisting students in the development of professional/clinical competence in a culturally diverse society.
2. As part of their programs of study, students will obtain academic course work and supervised clinical experiences necessary to seek appropriate state or national credentialing in their chosen profession.
3. Academic and clinical education will prepare graduates with the skills desired by prospective employers.
4. The Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Marriage, Couple and Family Counseling programs will maintain accreditation from CACREP.