Program Purpose
Built on Malone’s Foundational Principles, the graduate programs in Counseling and Human Development provide knowledge, practice, and skills through educational and clinical experiences developing professional counselors as intentional practitioners who advocate for client/student growth and development.
The following outcomes describe the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that the Malone University Counseling and Human Development Programs expect students to achieve.
Malone strives to prepare professionals who:
- As advocates, practice with multicultural competence, with an holistic understanding of human nature, and as problem solvers in collaboration and consultation with others;
- With intentionality, are proactive and reflective practitioners, grounded in sound theory and techniques, with an ability to utilize technology;
- Understand that one’s faith informs one’s practice and that each person has a spiritual dimension that needs to be valued, nurtured, and accessed for growth and development; and
- Exhibit professional competencies including modeling a professional manner in all settings, demonstrating honed intrapersonal and interpersonal skills, practicing with integrity in an ethical and legal manner, and meeting standards for State licensure and certifications.
Assessment
The Graduate Program in Counseling and Human Development employs a comprehensive assessment model that includes multiple methods.
Admission Requirements
Regular Admission
- Hold a Baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution with at least a minimum cumulative g.p.a. of 3.00.
- Complete the counseling application supplement.
- Submit two personal reference forms.
As a part of the application process, applicants may be requested to attend an on-campus interview with program faculty. The purpose of the interview is to determine if the applicant evidences a readiness for graduate study and possesses the attributes that will contribute to the successful completion of the degree program and eventual professional/clinical licensure.
Conditional Admission
Applicants with a minimum cumulative g.p.a. of 2.99 or less may be considered for admission once they submit all items listed under the Regular Admission requirements for the counseling programs, as well as submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores yielding a 900 composite (verbal and quantitative combined) or the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) with a raw score of 33 (scaled score of 388). Such applicants have the option to request that only the last 60 credit hours of their undergraduate degree programs be considered in the g.p.a. calculation. If the minimum abridged cumulative g.p.a. is 3.00, the applicant will not be required (unless otherwise determined by the faculty) to take the additional entrance examination mentioned above. All materials will be reviewed by the Director of Counseling and Human Development, along with the faculty, who will make a determination on granting Conditional Admission status based upon review of all required materials. Students assigned this status will be granted Regular Admission upon successful completion of 12 semester hours of coursework with a minimum required g.p.a. of 3.00.
Non-Degree Admission
Post master’s degree students seeking to take courses in the Counseling and Human Development Programs to meet the requirements for licensure through the State of Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, and Marriage and Family Therapist Board or licensure through the Ohio Department of Education as a School Counselor must complete the Regular Admissions Process outlined in the Graduate Counseling and Human Development Program Admission Requirements. Furthermore, students must complete at least 75% of post-degree academic requirements for licensure at Malone University. (A lesser percentage may be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.) All applicable coursework must have been completed within seven years. Older courses may be approved on a case-by-case basis.
Dismissal from a Program
There are three areas that could lead to the dismissal of a student from a program in the Counseling and Human Development Department. Disciplinary action may include any of the following: verbal correction, remediation plans implemented, retaking a course, taking additional coursework deemed necessary for remediation, suspension from the program, placing the student on probation for a defined period of time with specific criteria regarding steps for correction, and possible termination from the program. They areas of potential concern are as follows:
Academic Concerns
Consistent with the University’s policy for “Dismissal from a Graduate Program,” the programs in Counseling and Human Development will place on probation any student falling below a 3.0 g.p.a. in any academic term. If the g.p.a. is not increased above a 3.0 in the next term, the student can be dismissed from the program.
Moral/Legal/Ethical Concerns
Behaviors, actions, dispositions, and/or attitudes that are deemed as inconsistent or directly counter to the practice of professional counseling and/or Malone University’s programs in Counseling and Human Development, will be given attention by the faculty in an attempt to correct the student’s issues. Depending on the severity of the issue and the response of the student, dismissal from the program is possible.
Professional Competency
In addition to the knowledge and skills necessary to become a professional counselor, it is also desired that each Counseling and Human Development student becomes aware of and improves in specific, non-academic skills and dispositions that are part of the development of a counseling professional. Therefore, students enrolled in courses designated as “Review and Retention” courses will be evaluated by the instructor in the following Developmental Domains: clinical astuteness, intrapersonal insight/dispositions, interpersonal skills, and professional dispositions through the use of the Review and Retention Rubric. (See Student Handbook for a copy of this Rubric.) On the same rubric, each student will also be evaluated by the instructor in the following Education Candidate Dispositions: providing service, practicing fairness, promoting stewardship and believing all students can learn and grow.
The results of the evaluation will be provided to each student in writing along with final papers returned at the end of the course. The domains listed in this rubric are meant to examine the performance and readiness of the student in areas beyond purely academic ability. A copy of the rubric for each student will be retained in the student’s advising file for review by the program faculty. Any student evaluated to have less than a 3 (on a six-point scale) in the first four Developmental Domains or evaluated to have less than a 2 (on a three-point scale) in the Education Candidate Dispositions, will be sent a letter to meet with his/her advisor to discuss this area and any potential need for remediation. Consistent demonstration of less than satisfactory performance of these competencies may result in dismissal from the program.
Graduation Checklist
Students admitted to the Counseling and Human Development program may use the following checklist as a guide:
- Application for admission to the M.A.Ed. Counseling and Human Development Programs
- A possible interview with the Program Director or faculty in the Counseling and Human Development Program
- Written notification of acceptance for admission
- Completion of all course work and requirements for the program
- Application for Graduation
- Complete the Application for Graduation.
- Return the completed forms to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies by January 30 for candidates who plan to complete degree requirements by the end of a spring semester or a summer session, or September 30 for candidates who plan to complete degree requirements by the end of a fall semester.
Review and Retention Policy
The Counseling and Human Development Department specifies courses in which students are evaluated by the instructor in the following domains: clinical astuteness, intrapersonal insight/dispositions, interpersonal skills, and professional dispositions in the Review and Retention Rubric (available through this department). These domains are meant to examine the performance and readiness of the student in areas beyond purely academic ability typically addressed by graded assignments. The desired outcome is to increase the student’s awareness that specific non-academic skills are expected as part of the development of a counseling professional. The results of the evaluation will be provided to each student in writing along with final papers returned at the end of the respective course. A copy of the rubric for each student will also be retained in the student’s advising file for review by the program faculty. Any student evaluated to have less than a 3.0 mean in any one domain by the course instructor will be sent a letter to meet with his/her adviser to discuss this area and any potential need for remediation.
Programs of Study
