Counseling and Student Affairs
Assessment Report, 1999

Students who graduate from Moorhead State University with a degree in Counseling and Student Affairs should be able to demonstrate three desired outcomes as discussed below.

DESIRED OUTCOME 1: Demonstrate specified counseling skills. The criteria by which the skills are defined are given in Attachment A in the Assessment Plan. Every student must demonstrate all skills. The minimum level of acceptable performance is to deliver the skills once with a fellow graduate student and second with a real client. The skills required are given in the chart in the Assessment Plan called Required Counseling Skills.

Assessment methods: The skills are demonstrated on audiotapes and videotapes in CNSA 620, 621, and 691 (two semesters). The criteria defining each skill are given under each skill in the Assessment Plan. The performance of each skill is assessed by determining if the skill is present, as defined by the criteria, on the tapes. The instructors of the four courses as well as, sometimes, the students in the classes, after they have trained to recognize an appropriate demonstration of the skill, make the determination of a skill being present.

DESIRED OUTCOME 1 Data: The data collected for Desired Outcome 1 for the 1998-1999 school year are given in Chart 1. The percentages given are for those students enrolled in each class that achieved each skill.

DESIRED OUTCOME 1 Analysis: The program is a competency-based program. Any student who does not demonstrate the required skills must repeat the course or leave the program. This year all students demonstrated all the skills required. This means that our skills are clearly defined, our expectations are clear, and our teaching is appropriate to produce successful results. Two skills were dropped this year because the current faculty did not agree on their appropriateness. No additional changes are currently needed in this area. However, next year the faculty will review the skills that are required to affirm that the ones we currently require are the ones we want to require and are the ones that are most important.

DESIRED OUTCOME 2: Demonstrate the ability to contribute to the professional literature.

Assessment method: The contribution is demonstrated by the completion of the master's thesis. Also, students are encouraged to make professional association convention presentations and to publish their thesis findings.

DESIRED OUTCOME 2 Data: The data collected for Desired Outcome 2 for the 19981999 school year are: There were seven students who planned to complete their thesis this year. Of those, five or 71% completed their thesis. Those who did not complete their thesis did not because they ran Out of time.

DESIRED OUTCOME 2 Analysis: The program requires a thesis of all students and the thesis is considered one of the strengths of the program. We plan to continue the thesis as a requirement. We have made an extensive number of changes in the program to provide support for our students completing their theses. It is not immediately clear what else we can do. Nevertheless, a 71% completion rate is not bad. However, we would like all students to complete their thesis. Even one student losing his or her degree because of not completing the thesis is one student too many. We continue to seek to identify new ways to increase support for our students' research efforts and to increase their thesis completion rates.

DESIRED OUTCOME 3: Demonstrate knowledge of the major eight content areas in the profession. The major eight content areas identified by the profession are: appraisal, career and lifestyle planning, group work, helping relationships, human growth and development, professional orientation, research and program evaluation, and social and cultural foundations.

Assessment methods: Students must demonstrate their content mastery in two ways. The first is that they must take and pass the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination (CPCE) which is a nationally administered exam that is offered by the professional organization and composed of 160 multiple choice items. Scores are reported for each of the eight content areas and for the total exam.

The second way students must demonstrate their content mastery is the locally given eight-hour, essay comprehensive exam. The subject matter areas or topics, criteria, and evaluation form used for this examination are given in Attachment B of the Assessment Plan. The eight topics correspond to the eight questions on the evaluation form. The three program faculty evaluate each student's exam.

DESIRED OUTCOME 3 Data: The CPCE data collected for Desired Outcome 3 for the past three years are given below in Charts 2 (1997), 3 (1998), and 4(1999). These charts give the CPCE scores of our students as well as the national scores. The national data for 1999 are not available yet. In all cases our student's average is better that the national average. In at least one case in 1998, one of our students had the top score in the nation.

In regards to the comprehensive exams given locally, all seven students who took the exams, passed them. Their average score for the entire exam is computed and compared to similar scores of all the students who have taken the comprehensive exams since we adopted the current method of scoring. As can be seen in Chart 5, the average scores of this year's group of students are quite high in comparison to all the others.

DESIRED OUTCOME 3 Analysis: It would seem clear from the CPCE data that our students are being prepared academically better than the national average and, in least one case, best in the nation. These data would seem to indicate that the program is a strong one academically and is a strong one when compared nationally. We are quite pleased with these results and do not plan to make changes. Of course, we hope that all our students will do better and we will constantly seek ways to improve the quality of our teaching. The program does not seem weak in any specific area, but strong across all eight content areas.

We are pleased that all of our students passed the comps. This, again, means that we are doing a strong job academically. Even more to the point, it shows that our courses are good preparation for and good indications of the standards required on the comps. If our courses have done their job, no student should fail the comps. Apparently our students are given clear indications how much they must study early in the program and they either master their study habits or go elsewhere.

Other Assessment Methods: Once every six years in conjunction with our six-year review, we send a questionnaire to our alumni, and if funds are available, to their employers also. We ask the alumni and employers how well prepared the alumni were in regards to the eight content areas. See Attachment C in the Assessment Plan. Also in conjunction with our six-year review, we have an outside evaluator assess our program. If we become accredited there will be self-studies, evaluative studies, and evaluation teams that visit the campus every seven years.

[The survey and outside evaluation were conducted in 1997 and are not reported this year. The summaries of those two evaluations, however, are available. A considerable number of changes were made as a result of both studies.)

NOTE: Copies of data can be obtained from the Assessment Coordinator or the Counseling or Students Affairs Program.

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