Master of Arts in Counseling
Comprehensive Examination

Community Counseling/Mental Health
Marriage and Family Therapy
Evaluation

While a certain number of hours are required for graduation, one of the major areas of emphasis is professional competence. Mere accumulation of credit hours does not entitle a student to receive a graduate degree. Students are required to demonstrate a breadth of knowledge in the counseling field as well as depth in specific areas with the ability to integrate what has been learned.
Comprehensive examinations are offered three times a year during the fall, spring and summer semesters. A mandatory pre-comp orientation is scheduledat the beginning of each semester.

Each semester our department offers a preparatory course for the National Counselor Exam offered through the NBCC. This course is available to all our students in the Department of Counseling and Human Services, and is particularly helpful for Community and Mental Health Counseling students who are preparing for the master's comprehensive exam, which is a variation of the NCE. This course of provided by Wellspring Review. Please see the Calendar of Events for the exact dates for which it is offered.

Community Counseling/Mental Health

The Community/Mental comprehensive examination is comprised of an objective, multiple choice examination called the “Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination and a Clinical Practice Position Paper. The objective test examines the students’ knowledge in eight areas. The examination takes place on a Wednesday morning from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Students should consult the departmental calendar for the exact dates. The Clinical Practice Position Paper must be turned in at the beginning of the objective examination. Students must have regular status and be admitted to candidacy prior to taking the examination.

CLINICAL PRACTICE POSITION PAPER

The comprehensive examination is completed by the student submitting a Clinical Practice Position Paper on the day of the examination. This Position Paper should be 15-20 pages written in accordance with APA Publication Manual standards. Students should be prepared to provide the who, what, where, when, why, and how of what s/he does in therapy. This practical description of what s/he does should be linked with appropriate theory(s) which underlie the praxis of therapy. Appropriate references should be cited. Students should use case material from their practicum and internship experiences to illustrate how they do therapy and why. Care should be taken to protect the identity of clients.
What the faculty are looking for in this paper is a clear description of how the student DOES therapy; what theory(s) you use; how you relate what you do to the theories you have learned; how you see your therapeutic work as being effective and why; and, the areas of growth and development that the student sees as being important for her/himself in the future. In addition, the faculty will be looking for how the student integrates knowledge and material from other disciplines. For example, gender, ethnicity, psycho-biological, physical, and sociological insights that may be seen as important to the overall treatment of clients. It is anticipated that the position paper will provide the student with the opportunity to demonstrate how they have integrated knowledge and insight from academics, clinical practice and life experience into a cogent and integrative whole.
What the faculty does NOT expect is a research paper that tells us how one of the masters in the field would do therapy. It is the faculty’s hope that not only will the paper serve to meet the student’s requirements for graduation but that it might also serve as the student’s opportunity to begin the process of reflectively and intentionally integrating theory andpractice in their daily work.

To be eligible to take the Community/Mental Health exam the student must:

1. Be maintaining matriculation or be enrolled in their last semester of course work;
2. Not be on probation or suspension;
3. Have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher;
4. Have completed all prerequisites; and
5. Have completed all course work, or be enrolled in last semester, exclusive of internships.

***Recent changes to comprehensive examination guidelines***

April 26, 2006 
To:   All Community Counseling and Mental Health Students 
From: Dr. Robert B. Babcock, Chair 
Reference:  Evaluation of the COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION  

Effective April 24, 2006 the following change is made to The Department Of Counseling & Human Services Graduate Student Handbook: 

OLD Evaluation Community/Mental Health 
A passing mark on the comprehensive exam is given to students that score within one standard deviation below the national mean.  If students score more that 1 standard deviation below the national mean the Department Chair and the Graduate Program Director will examine the scores in the various areas.  If, it is determined that a student had difficulty in a particular area, they may do remedial work to demonstrate competence in that particular area.  If, students score one standard deviation below the national mean and shows difficulty in more than 2 areas the student is assigned a failing mark and will be required to take the exam again.  The Department Chair and Graduate Program Director will work with the student in making plans for the retake.  

NEW Evaluation Community/Mental Health 
A passing mark on the comprehensive exam is given to students that score within one-half standard deviation below the national mean.  If students score more that 1/2 standard deviation below the national mean the student fails the comprehensive examination. If a student receives an evaluation of fail on the clinical position paper the student fails the comprehensive examination. Students who fail the comprehensive exam are allowed one retake. A student may be allowed to retake the comprehensive examination at the next regularly scheduled administration with the recommendation of the Graduate Program Director and the Department Chair. The Department Chair and Graduate Program Director will work with the student in making plans for the retake.  

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Marriage and Family Therapy

The Marriage and Family Therapy comprehensive examination is divided into five areas and a Clinical Practice Position Paper. The five areas are scheduled for two consecutive days (Wednesday & Thursday) in the semester in which they are given. Students are allowed three hours for day one of the examination and two hours for day two. The Clinical Practice Position Paper is turned in at the beginning of day two of the examination. Students must have regular status and be admitted to candidacy prior to taking the examination.

To be eligible to take the MFT exam the student must:

1. Be maintaining matriculation or be enrolled in their last semester of course work;
2. Not be on probation or suspension;
3. Have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher;
4. Have completed all prerequisites;

The Marriage and Family Therapy comprehensive examination covers the following six areas:

Day One (3 hours 9:00 a.m. to 12.00)

Area I Foundations of Martial & Family Therapy
Area II Professional and Ethical Issues
Area III Research and Evaluation

Day Two (2 hours 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.)

Area IV Assessment and Treatment in Marriage and Family Therapy
Area V Human Development and Family Studies
Area VI Clinical Practice Position Paper

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EVALUATION COMMUNITY/MENTAL HEALTH

A passing mark on the comprehensive exam is given to students that score within one standard deviation below the national mean. If students score more that 1 standard deviation below the national mean the Department Chair and the Graduate Program Director will examine the scores in the various areas. If, it is determined that a student had difficulty in a particular area, they may do remedial work to demonstrate competence in that particular area. If, students score one standard deviation below the national mean and shows difficulty in more than 2 areas the student is assigned a failing mark and will be required to take the exam again. The Department Chair and Graduate Program Director will work with the student in making plans for the retake.

EVALUATION MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPY

Each section of the comprehensive examination is evaluated as Exceptional, Adequate, Deficient, or Fail, using the following criteria:

Exceptional: Answer is clearly organized and concisely presented, demonstrates a thorough integration of knowledge and understanding of issues, in-depth analysis of question, is well documented with appropriate references.
Adequate: Answer is organized and presented in an understandable manner, demonstrates an adequate integration of knowledge and understanding of issues, portions of answer may be superficial in nature without in-depth analysis, some documentation of answer but further references are desirable.
Deficient: Answer is lacking in clarity, organization and presentation, demonstrate minimal integration of knowledge and understanding of issues, general response of answer is superficial and lacks an understanding or analysis of question, a lack of documentation.
Fail: Answer is poorly organized and presented, does not demonstrate integration of knowledge or understanding of the issues, answer is poor in all areas, little if any documentation.
A student fails the comprehensive examination if he or she receives the following evaluations:

1. Receiving an evaluation of Fail in two areas of the examination
2. Receiving evaluations lower than Adequate (any combination of Deficient or Fail) in three areas of the examination
3. Receiving an evaluation of Fail on the Clinical Practice Position Paper. Students who fail the comprehensive exam are allowed one retake. A student may be allowed to retake the comprehensive examination at the next regularly scheduled administration with the recommendation of the students adviser, the Program Director, and the Department Chair.

A student who has a grade of Fail or Deficient on some area, but not enough areas to fail the exam, may be asked to do remedial work. This remedial work may include:
1. A research paper on a relevant topic area as decided by the department;
2. Rewrite the exam area;
3. Take an additional course(s).

The application for the comprehensive examination can be obtained from thedepartmental secretary.

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