University of Redlands

Program Guidance for School Counseling Candidates during COVID-19

Please find guidance below for candidates in the School Counseling program during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Note, the references made to the impact of COVID-19 on program requirements specifically refers to the time period from March 19, 2020 through August 31, 2021. Guidance included herein is received from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC), which grants the PPS School Counseling credential and to which the Department of Counseling and Human Services’ (DCHS) School Counseling program is aligned.

This webpage is reflective of the most recent CTC guidelines (as of June 18, 2021). SC candidates are subject to requirements based on the program emphasis they pursue – Pre-K-12, College, or Combo (Pre-K-12/College), and candidates are reminded that the application of these policies and guidelines will vary by which specific academic ‘track’ they are pursuing. Updates to this page will be made as new information becomes available from the CTC.

The flexibilities provided by the CTC (utilizing the standards and recommendations based on the CACREP) are applicable to SC candidates whose program requirements will be impacted from March 19, 2020 through August 31, 2021.

Should the health and safety restrictions related to COVID-19 continue past the described dates above, the CTC would most likely communicate additional information to program sponsors (such as University of Redlands School of Education).

SC candidates with questions that are not addressed below should contact the designated Office of Student Success (OSS) Assistant Director of Academic Advising. The OSS Assistant Director of Academic Advising aligned to School Counseling students is Kristin Grammer (909-748-8817 / kristin_grammer@redlands.edu).

 

Fieldwork through August 31, 2021

Format
Per the CTC, School Counseling fieldwork may take place in online, remote, or alternate settings, as part of an extended school day, or school year. School Counseling candidates may utilize telemental health services (video and phone). 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, while schools are in remote learning, any synchronous communication between a candidate and students counts as direct contact hours.

Activities such as leading webinars and/or consultation with teachers, counselors, administrators, and parents/guardians related to students’ social/emotional, academic, and/or college/career needs may also count as direct contact hours.

For candidates not seeking a PPS School Counseling Credential
SC candidates not seeking a PPS School Counseling credential (the college track program) must provide direct services for 40% (160 hours) of the 400 total fieldwork hours.

For candidates seeking a PPS School Counseling Credential
CTC requires SC candidates seeking a PPS School Counseling credential (e.g. the Pre-K-12 and combo track programs) to provide direct services for 50% (300 hours) of the 600 total fieldwork hours. Fieldwork experiences must occur in two* separate Pre-K-12 levels (elementary, middle, high school) with a minimum of 200** hours at each of the two* levels. 

Candidates pursuing the Pre-K-12 or Combo track are still responsible to devote one hundred fifty (150) clock hours of their Pre-K-12 hours to issues of diversity. Hours may be satisfied by working with students of diverse backgrounds including socioeconomic disadvantagedlinguistically diverse, students who are housing insecurestudents who are current/former foster youth; students with disabilities (e.g., IEP and Section 504 plans), students experiencing issuerelated to academics or misconduct (e.g., suspension or expulsion from school)students who identify as LGBTQ+, students who hold historically minoritized racial and ethnic identities; and understand the impact of institutional, localstate, and federal policies for students of diverse backgrounds. Candidates track their diversity hour requirement via Time2Track.  

*As announced by the CTC on 7/3/2020, AB77 resulted in a reduction in the number of Pre-K-12 school settings for candidates pursuing a PPS SC Credential from two settings to one setting from March 19, 2020 to June 30, 2021, inclusive. 

**For candidates seeking a PPS SC Credential AND on track to complete between March 19, 2020 and August 31, 2021
In addition to the flexibilities outlined above, SC candidates who are/were making appropriate progress towards a PPS SC credential AND on track to complete program requirements between March 19, 2020 and August 31, 2021 but are/were unable to due health and safety restrictions related to COVID-19 are subject to a lower minimum number of hours in each Pre-K-12 level (min. 100 hours instead of 200), as illustrated below: 

SC PPS requirements COVID-19

School Counselor Trainings and Webinars
SC candidates placed in the field between March 19, 2020 and August 31, 2021 and enrolled in EDUC 677 are permitted to count virtual trainings and webinars on social/emotional, academic and college/career towards fieldwork hours, up to a maximum of 100 hours (50 indirect/50 direct). Various professional and school organizations offer trainings including but are not limited to the American Counseling Association (ACA), the American School Counseling Association (ASCA), school districts, and County Departments of Education. These resources are shared and communicated via the School Counseling Moodle Resource site. Additional such resources may be also provided by the candidate’s site supervisor or EDUC 677 instructor.

Tracking Fieldwork Flexibilities via Time2Track
Counseling-related trainings and webinars completed at the direction of the OSS advisor, SC Program Coordinator, or 677 instructors are logged as indirect activities under the Time2Track site entitled, ‘Virtual Completion Module’.

SC candidates need to utilize Time2Track's tag feature when logging activities in order to track the various training topics/domains and/or counselee needs/accommodations.  Information regarding the tag features in Time2Track are available at: https://support.time2track.com/article/221-using-client-tags

 

Options to complete Fieldwork hours

For SC students on track to complete by 8/31/2021:

The maximum number of fieldwork hours SC students may earn per term has been increased from 250 to 300 for any students who are on track to complete all program requirements by August 31, 2021.

All other SC students are subject to a maximum of 250 hours per term.

Any questions, contact Assistant Director of Academic Advising (kristin_grammer@redlands.edu / 909-748-8817).

CPCE Exams during COVID

Due to the impacts of COVID-19, all on-campus CPCE testing dates at the University of Redlands remain canceled. Candidates who wish to take the CPCE exam may do so at a Pearson VUE Center or via the OnVUE web-based testing.

Registration for the CPCE
Students must complete the Request form for CPCE Exam Authorization to initiate the registration process for the CPCE exam. Requests for testing authorization are due by the last day of the month in order to be included in the list that is sent monthly (on the 1st of the month) to Center for Credentialing Education (CCE), the testing agency. Students will be notified once their authorization has been sent to CCE. Testing authorizations are valid for six months. Once confirmed authorized by CCE, students will be sent instructions on how to request their Pearson candidate ID. Once the candidate ID is received, the student can proceed with registration for their exam in the desired format.

Any questions, contact OSS Assistant Director of Academic Advising Kristin Grammer.

*Note, the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination (CPCE) remains a program completion requirement for all DCHS counseling students. Candidates must pass the CPCE in order to be eligible for degree conferral from the University of Redlands and/or recommendation to the CTC for the PPS SC credential.