by: Dr. George T. Williams, Coordinator

The proposed "Student Affairs and College Counseling" specialization is an exciting addition to the School of Education.

The Division of Counselor Education continues to be energized! The updated Division of School Counseling Handbook (August 2008) is now available online and includes information for all currently enrolled Counselor Education candidates, prospective students, field site supervisors, faculty, administrators, and the professional community. Additional information is also available on the Counselor Education website at:

http://www.citadel.edu/education/academic_programs/counseling.html.

The School Counseling Community Advisory Board convened on Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at the Lowcountry Graduate Center to review and discuss such program changes as adding a Specialization in "Student Affairs and College Counseling" to our master of education in counselor education degree. The proposed Specialization has been approved by the appropriate governance committees at The Citadel and is currently awaiting approval by the South Carolina Commission of Higher Education (CHE). A companion four course certificate program in student affairs counseling-began as a pilot program this semester-has also been approved by The Citadel governance process. Dr. Barbara Griffin is leading the effort to develop this specialization and related certificate program in student affairs. Our goal is to initiate this specialization in the fall of 2009. Other changes approved this semester include changing the course title for EDUC 624 to "Basic Counseling Skills" (effective Spring 2009) to more accurately reflect the content of the course. In addition two special topics courses: DSM-IV-TR3 and Assessment of Abnormal Behavior-taken by candidates in preparation for a South Carolina Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) -- were approved as regular course offerings.

The South Carolina School Counselor Association's (SCSCA) 25th Silver Anniversary Fall Conference took place on Sunday, November 9th through Tuesday, November 11th at the Marriott Hotel, Charleston, SC. The Citadel sponsored and Dr. George Williams hosted the SCSCA Executive Board dinner on Sunday evening at the Riverview Room on campus. The agenda for this event included Dr. Mark Bebensee's summary of The Citadel's educational philosophy followed by five brief presentations from each of the school deans highlighting the graduate and undergraduate offerings at The Citadel.

During the SCSCA Conference, Drs. Aaron Oberman and Cynthia Crawford presented the "1, 2, and 3's of School Counselor Accountability" and Dr. George Williams and Counselor Education candidates: Meghan M. Gilsenan, Denise Shaw, and Kathryn H. Warfuel presented "Creative Group Leadership Strategies for Professional School Counselors. Drs. Williams, Oberman and Crawford also served as panelists on the topic "Changes, Challenges, and Choices for South Carolina School Counselor Educators" with colleagues from Winthrop University, South Carolina State University, and the University of South Carolina.

Also, during the SCSCA Conference, The Alpha Tau Chi chapter of Chi Sigma Iota Counseling Academic and Professional Honor Society International sponsored The Citadel Color Guard on Veteran's Day (Tuesday, November 11th) as part of the SCSCA Presidential Breakfast Meeting.

Other recent Division of Counselor Education activities include: administering of the Oral Comprehensive Exams to internship students beginning on Tuesday, October 30th and concluding on Friday, November 3, 2008; and conducting personal group interviews of applicants to the Counselor Education programs on Thursday, November 13th from 6:00 - 9:30 p.m. Assessments included: (a) a 30-minute writing sample done on the computer; (b) brief (4 to 5 minute) videotaped presentations by each applicant to assess public speaking ability; and (c) an assessment of interpersonal communication skills in a group context.