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MEMORANDUM 
DATE:  
April 8, 2015 
TO:  
The Graduate Council 
FROM:  
Dr. Linda Thomas, Dean 
Dr. Denis Griffith, Chair 
School of Education 
REQUEST: 
The School of Education seeks the Graduate Council’s approval of its 
“Master of Arts in School Counseling and Guidance.” 
DIVISIONAL APPROVAL: 
This program was unanimously approved by the School of 
Education during its March 31, 2015, meeting.  
PROGRAM JUSTIFICATION (RATIONALE):  
Becoming an effective counselor in the 21st Century requires that 
counselors work collaboratively with counseling profession colleagues, related 
helping professionals, administrators, and policymakers to bring resources, 
personnel, programs, and expertise together to solve problems in all areas of 
practice. Counseling changes over the past few decades, inclusive of reform 
initiatives, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, have created the need 
for leaders who understand the challenges of improving counseling outcomes 
for all practitioners. 
Currently, The School of Education (SOE) offers a Master of Arts degree 
with three concentrations, one of which is in Counseling and Guidance. This 
degree consists of 36 credits, 15 of which are directly related to the area of 
counseling. This degree is pursued by individuals who wish to become school 
counselors. For many years, this degree has met the needs of only those 
students living in the Virgin Islands.  This, however, has changed at both the 
level of the Virgin Islands Board of Education (VIBE) and the Virgin Islands 
Department of Education (VIDE). For a candidate to become certified as a 
counselor in the Virgin Islands, and in the United States for that matter, the 
candidate needs to earn at least a total of 48 credits.  Therefore, the time has 
come for the SOE to offer a program in school counseling that will not only 
provide students with the necessary content and professional skills and 
dispositions required to become certified in the Virgin Islands, but 
throughout the United States and abroad.   
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At this time, the School of Education is in a very good position to meet 
this mandate. Over the years, the SOE has developed and offered four 
additional courses in school counseling and guidance to assist graduates in 
their quest for certification. However, these courses were not required for 
graduation. Thus, students could graduate with their degree in School 
Counseling without having taken these courses. Given that all but one of the 
additional courses are already approved by the Graduate Council, and the 
other which was offered as a selected topic is brought forward for the 
Graduate Council's approval, and that the SOE has the necessary resources 
for the delivery thereof, this change can be accommodated without any need 
for additional resources by the university.  
Adding the needed courses to the program will increase the number of 
credits required in the program and at the same time raise it to the level of a 
degree, thus making it necessary to eliminate the concentration and replace it 
with a degree, which will be called a Master of Arts in School Counseling and 
Guidance. The SOE is requesting the change of the degree from Master of Arts 
in Education/Concentration in School Counseling and Guidance to Master of 
Arts in School Counseling and Guidance. The additional four courses listed 
below will be added to the current listing in School Counseling and Guidance. 
They are: 1) EDU 566 Ethics and Professional Issues in Counseling; EDU 586 
Pre-Practicum in Interpersonal Skills; EDU-587 Cross-Cultural Counseling; EDU 
588 Advanced Human Development;  
PROGRAM OVERVIEW: 
The proposed Master of Arts in School Counseling and Guidance will 
consist of 15 credits of core requirements and 27 credits in the concentration 
as outlined below. Additionally, candidates in this program will have an option 
of selecting as a final project, a 3-credit Independent Study (EDU 530) or a 6-
credit Thesis (EDU 600).  Candidates selecting the Independent Study as a final 
project will be required to take a 3-credit elective and a comprehensive 
examination. The required number of credits for the degree in School 
Counseling and Guidance will be 48 credits.  
Additionally, nearing the completion of the program, students will be 
encouraged to take the National Counselor Exam (NCE), which qualifies all 
graduates to be automatically granted status as Licensed Professional 
Counselors (LPC’s). 
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: 
The Master of Arts in School Counseling and Guidance is a rigorous 
program designed to prepare aspiring school counselors to become strong and 
effective leaders that are capable of facing the challenges of a changing 
territory, Caribbean 
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and world.  The program provides students with professional and pedagogical 
knowledge and skills in core requirements and solid content knowledge in the 
area of school counseling and guidance.  Individual courses are aligned with 
the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs 
(CACREP) standards, thus ensuring that the program represents a synthesis 
of content and experiences that result in the students’ demonstration of the 
professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions articulated in those standards 
needed for successful practice.  
COURSE DESCRIPTION: 
Core Requirements 
Credits 
EDU 500 Basic Research Techniques 
3 
EDU 501 Tests and Measurements  
3 
EDU 504 Educational Psychology 
3 
EDU 505 Anthropological and Sociological Foundations of 
American Education with Reference to the Virgin Islands 
3 
EDU 506 Foundations of Guidance  
3 
Subtotal     
15 
EDU 600 Thesis 
6 
or 
EDU 530 Independent Study- plus one additional course 
    3 + 3 
Subtotal 
 6 
Total 
21 
No-Thesis Option 
Students majoring in education who do not write a thesis must enroll in EDU 
530, Independent Study, and must pass a comprehensive examination.  School 
Counseling Courses 
Credits 
EDU 542 Theories, Strategies and Techniques of Counseling  
3 
EDU 543 Group/Family Counseling and Consultation  
3 
EDU 544 Career Development Counseling  
3 
EDU 545 Seminar in Current Trends and Problems in  
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Counseling and Guidance  
3 
EDU 546 Practicum in Counseling 
 
3 
EDU 566 Ethical and Legal Issues in School Counseling 
3 
EDU 586 Pre-Practicum in Interpersonal Skills 
3 
EDU 587 Multicultural Counseling  
3 
EDU 588 Advanced Human Development  
3 
Subtotal 
27 
Total 
48 credits 
School Counseling and Guidance Courses: The description of the 
additional courses as found in the Bulletin are: 
EDU 566: (EDU 5XX). ETHICS and PROFESSIONAL ISSUES IN 
COUNSELING. This course delineates the ethical foundation, which guides 
the profession of counseling and includes a study of the history, philosophy, 
ethical and legal considerations, and professional organizations related to the 
delivery of counseling, consultation, and advocacy. Students will learn about 
the ethics, credentialing practices and standards of the counseling profession, 
the suggested disposition and self-care practices of counselors, and the 
administrative procedures of counseling, consulting, and referral services in 
multiple settings. Students will also receive an introduction to the supervision 
processes and practices in the role of the professional development of 
counselors.                                                                     
 3 credits  
EDU 586. PRE-PRACTICUM IN INTERPERSONAL SKILLS. This course is an 
introduction and application of basic counseling skills including: interviewing, 
clinical observation, and a general orientation to counseling settings. 
Counselors and other helping professionals will benefit from this action-
learning course. Evaluation will be based on strengths and deficits in intra and 
interpersonal skills and on demonstration of counseling skills in checkout role-
play and/or written situation.  
 
 
 
 
3 credits 
EDU 587. MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING. This course provides a 
theoretical, research-based understanding of the cultural contexts of 
relationships, issues and trends in a multicultural and diverse society related 
to factors such as culture, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, sexual 
orientation, mental and physical characteristics, values, customs, belief 
systems, socio-economic status, relation, language, and lifestyle. It covers the 
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influence of views, multicultural counseling theories, and professional 
competencies for counselors and practical examinations of cultural groups 
represented in the Virgin Islands.  
 
 
 
 
3 credits 
EDU 588. ADVANCED HUMAN DEVELOPMENT. This course covers the bases 
of human development across the life span and the many layers of contexts 
that influence development. Students will receive advanced coverage of recent 
empirical evidence, current theoretical perspectives on human development as 
well as emerging approaches, and learn how to keep abreast of empirical 
research in this field. Traditional as well as authentic forms of assessments 
will be used to evaluate student’s learning.  
Prerequisites: EDU 500, EDU 542.                                       3 credits 
PROGRAM PREREQUISITES: Students who possess a BA degree from an 
accredited institution with a GPA of 2.50 are eligible to enroll in this program. 
COREQUISITE(S):   NA 
CHANGES TO GRADUATE BULLETIN: 
1.
On page iv, delete Counseling and Guidance Concentration.
2.
On page iv, Insert Masters of Arts in School Counseling and Guidance
before Education Leadership Concentration.  Insert lines for core
requirements, Thesis and No Thesis Option, and School Counseling
Courses.
3.
On page xii, insert Masters of Arts in School Counseling and Guidance
before Masters of Arts in Educational Leadership.
4.
On Pg. 1 under the heading ‘School of Education’, for both campuses,
add ‘Master of Arts in School Counseling and Guidance’ before  Master of
Arts in Educational Leadership’;
5.
On page 2 under the heading ‘Education’ add ‘C. as Master of Arts in
School Counseling and Guidance’.
6.
On page 16, modify the Overview to include the MA in School Counseling
and Guidance and its components, including credit hours. Rework parts
that make reference to 'three areas of concentration".
7.
Remove all reference to Counseling and Guidance concentration.
8.
On page 17, remove reference to Counseling and Guidance
concentration.
9.
On page 18, under the heading "Other Courses" delete all counseling
courses.
10.
On page 19, insert the description of the Master of Arts School 
Counseling and Guidance.
3/8/2015