Review of Standards

September
2006
Chair, Counseling and Library Faculty Issues Committee

The Standards of Practice for California Community College Counseling Programs was published in spring 1997 by a committee of outstanding counselor educators who were representative of the high level of accomplished professionals in their field of college counseling. while the majority of the committee members were counselors, other members included student services administrators, teaching faculty and students. The standards paper recommended that "the Academic Senate's Counseling and Library Faculty Issues Committee (CLFIC) should review these standards at least every six years." with that recommendation in mind, the CLFIC will review the standards paper during the Fall 2006 using the following process:

The Revising Process
1. The CLFIC will establish small writing groups throughout the state from members of the counseling community.
2. Each writing group will review one or two of the universal standards for all community college counselors, which include:
Core Functions
Ethical Standards
Organization and Administration
Human Resources
Physical Facilities
New Technologies
3. Each writing group will review the core functions of counseling:
Academic counseling, in which the student is assisted in assessing, planning and implementing his or her immediate and long-range academic goals.

Career counseling, in which the student is assisted in assessing his or her aptitudes, abilities, and interests, and is advised concerning current and future employment trends.

Personal counseling, in which the student is assisted with personal, family or other social concerns, when that assistance is related to the student's education.

Crisis intervention, either directly or through cooperative arrangements with other resources on campus or in the community.

Multicultural counseling, in which students are counseled with a respect for their origins and cultural values.

Outreach to students and community to encourage them to avail themselves of services, focused on maximizing all students' potential to benefit from the academic experience.

Consultation to the college governance process and liaison to the college community to make the environment as beneficial to the intellectual, emotional, and physical development of students as possible.

Research and review of counseling programs and services with the goal of improving their effectiveness.

Training and professional development for counseling staff, interns, and others in the college community.

4. Each writing group will submit working drafts to the CLFIC and later the Academic Senate's Executive Committee for final approval prior to being circulated to the delegates for adoption.

5. The final draft of the revised standards paper will be widely distributed to the area meetings for discussion. when a final draft is approved, the CLFIC will bring forth a resolution for passage at the 2007 Spring Plenary Session.