Accreditation involves evaluating the quality of a program to make sure it is in compliance with CACREP standards. It is an indication a program has become accepted and is fulfilling its commitment to a high-quality education that prepares a student for a career in mental and human services agencies, educational institutions, private practice and private and government sectors. Because of the quality of credentials from an accredited program, graduates will have an edge when looking for employment. Accredited programs are recognized as having met or exceeded national standards.
The coursework focuses on professional ethics, human development, counseling theories and multicultural counseling. Multicultural counseling is important in a diverse country such as the United States. What students derive from these courses are skills necessary to excel in the field of professional counseling. In addition to course work, a student from an accredited program must do a 100-hour practicum and 600 hours of internship under the supervision of a school counseling faculty member and a certified school counselor site supervisor. Such programs are designed to prepare students for a successful career.
The other advantage of attending an accredited program is that CACREP makes sure a student and members of the faculty are provided with access to learning resources crucial for scholarly inquiry, study and research. The school must provide technical support to students and faculty to ensure access to to that information. It is because of that, that research shows CACREP graduates perform better on the National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Certification (NCE), according to CACREP.
CACREP and the the American Counseling Association (ACA) require counselor educators to comply with gatekeeping policies. This is a process of monitoring and evaluating a counselor trainee's competence before joining the profession. Educators must intervene when a student is not prepared with knowledge, skills and values crucial to the practice of counseling. Because of that, a counselor from an accredited program is thoroughly trained and evaluated before being released to practice.