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A. The institution in which the academic unit is located is accredited by one of the six regional accrediting bodies or by a national accrediting body recognized by Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)

Marywood University received reaffirmation of accreditation in 2006 from the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Higher Education. During the 2005-2006 academic year, the University completed its ten year review report.

B. The current institutional catalog or bulletin accurately describes the academic unit and each program offered, including admission criteria, minimum program requirements, matriculation requirements (e.g., examinations, academic-standing policies), and financial aid information.

The Marywood University graduate catalog provides information including admission criteria (p. 17), program requirements and matriculation requirements including candidacy (p. 94). Financial aid information is available in the admissions packet sent to prospective students and on the Marywood University home page.

 C. The academic unit is clearly identified as a part of the institution's graduate offerings and has primary responsibility for the preparation of students in the programs. If more than one academic unit has responsibility for the preparation of students in the program (s), the respective areas of responsibility and the relationships among and between them are defined clearly.

The Department of Counseling & Psychology in the Reap College of Education and Human Development of Marywood University has responsibility for both counseling programs. All courses required for the program are offered by this Department under the prefix of COUN or PSY. (See: Schedule of Classes) and no other academic unit has responsibility.

D. Cooperative relationships between the academic unit and other academic units contributing to the professional preparation of students in the program (s);

The Counseling and Psychology Department of Marywood University merged in 1985. Since 1985, the Departments have operated as one unit, with a Counseling and Psychology Department Chair and two Assistant Chairs - one Assistant Chair is from the graduate Counseling program and the second from the undergraduate program. The merger came about in an effort to maximize the resources available for both Counseling and Psychology. Since the Counseling faculty's initial efforts to secure CACREP accreditation, the Psychology faculty has regularly been apprised of these efforts. In addition, since there is often cross teaching, they have been presented with and exposed to CACREP standards so that these standards may be incorporated in their syllabi as needed.

During the process of completing the CACREP document, all faculty in the Counseling and Psychology Department and Graduate Education Department were given a copy of the standards and asked to determine when and where these standards were being addressed in their courses. They are cooperating nicely and helped the Counseling Faculty accomplish this phase of the process.

1. As well as off-campus professional and community resources.

Cooperative arrangements exist between a number of community-based agencies and schools which provide placements for students in practical and internships. Written agreements are prepared for these organizations on a student by student basis (see Field Placement Handbook for routine communications used).

E. The institution is committed to providing the program with sufficient financial support to ensure continuity, quality, and effectiveness in all of the program's learning environments.

The Dean of the College of Education and Human Development (Dr. Mary Anne Fedrick) and the Graduate Psychology and Counseling Chair (Dr. Ed O'Brien) have been most supportive of the program with financial and professional support. The School and Mental Health programs are included in the Psychology and Counseling operating budgets. The Graduate Programs in Counseling typically receive about 39% of the budget for faculty salaries and 10% for other supplies and expenses. 

F. The institution provides encouragement and support for program faculty to participate in professional organization and activities (e.g., professional travel, research, and leadership positions).

Marywood University strongly encourages the involvement of faculty in professional activities. There is a yearly dollar amount per faculty member included in the Department Budget for these activities. In addition, faculty members who are presenting research at conferences are afforded $1200 per year from the University Faculty Development Fund and $125.00 from the Counseling & Psychology Department Travel Budget. Faculty members who are attending professional conferences are afforded $800 per year from the Faculty Development Fund for conference expenses and $125.00 from the Counseling and Psychology Department Travel Budget. When presenting at an international conference, the amount awarded to support such efforts increases to $1700. 

G. The institution makes available personal counseling services for students in the program which are provided by professionals other than program faculty and students.

Marywood University recognizes the value and need for personal counseling for its students. The Counseling and Student Development Center of Marywood University offers a variety of services to assist students with many challenges, changes and choices. The staff of the center meets a broad spectrum of student needs ranging from requests for information to serious psychological concerns.

The center also offers personal counseling to help students identify, clarify and resolve important issues. These may include topics such as reducing anxiety, building self-esteem, improving communication skills and relationship concerns. When severe problems occur, psychiatric consultation is available.

The Counseling/Student Development Center is staffed by experienced professional counselors. Appointments may be scheduled at the center in person (McGowan Center - 1017) or by calling the office. When possible, students also will be seen without scheduled appointments or at times when the center is not normally open. The center's hours are 8:30 A.M. - 4:30 P.M., Monday through Friday. For emergencies, the Counseling/Student Development Center 24 Hour Hotline may be utilized.

The Counseling/Student Development Center staff maintains strict professional standards of privacy and confidentially according to ACA and APA standards. The Director (Dr. Jacklyn Lietzel) assigns the initial intake session wherein information is gathered related to the problem. There is also the case conference wherein the Director assigns the client to a clinician, keeping in mind the issues of confidentiality. In addition, there are weekly individual supervision sessions of the counseling interns in which the issue of confidentiality can again be addressed.

In an effort to additionally protect the confidentiality of graduate counseling students who are interested in services, Dr. Lietzel has initiated certain helpful procedures: First, the student is informed that if they seek services, they will not have the option of doing their practicum or internship hours at the counseling center. Second, clinical files for potential counseling student clients are kept separate from other student files in a locked cabinet in the office of the director. Finally, clients that are students in the graduate programs in counseling are not discussed in general supervisory meetings.

H. Access to library and other learning resources is appropriate for scholarly inquiry, study and research by program faculty and students.

From Marywood University's Graduate Catalog, ( p. 38):

Situated at the heart of the campus is the Learning Resources Center (LRC), which houses Library Services, Instructional Technology Services, Distance Education & E-Learning, Training and User Support Services, and the Academic Excellence Center. In addition to the more than 218,000 books and bound periodicals, the library collection also includes over 800 print periodical subscriptions, access to nearly 13,000 electronic full-text journals, more than 363,000 microforms and over 45,000 non-print items.

The library maintains a dynamic webpage which contains links to over 20 subject specific indexing/abstracting databases including PsycInfo, ERIC, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health, the MLA International Bibliography and Social Work Abstracts, as well as multi-disciplinary full-text databases such as

EBSCOHost’s Academic Search, Wilson Web, JSTOR, and LEXIS-NEXIS. The library is fully integrated into the campus voice and data network and remote access is available for most databases. Other resources available from the webpage include: the library’s graphical online catalog, iLink, discipline-related links, as well as a state and regional virtual union catalogs. Other electronic services available through the webpage include: interlibrary loan, reserves and reference assistance. A list of  of Marywood University's holdings (either in print, or in full-text electronic format) pertaining to the field of Counseling and Psychology, is available here. 

Marywood University is a member PALCI, a Pennsylvania academic library consortium with over 40 members. Through PALCI’s EZBorrow service, the holdings of many Pennsylvania libraries, including large research libraries are easily accessible for borrowing by Marywood students. Reciprocal borrowing privileges at cooperating regional libraries are available through the Northeastern Pennsylvania Library Network.

The library offers numerous introductory workshops to the various databases and the online catalog. Traditional reference assistance is available during regular library hours. In-depth research consultation is available upon request.

Hours for Marywood University's library are Monday through Thursday 8:00am - 11:00pm, Friday 8:00 - 7:00pm, Saturday 8:30am - 5:00pm, anad Sunday 12:00 - 11:00pm. 

I. The institution provides technical and financial support to program faculty and students to ensure access to information systems and data analysis for teaching and research.

Technical equipment and support at Marywood University is more than adequate and up-to-date. Each full-time faculty member is provided with a furnished office, PC, and telephone. A pooled laser printer and fax machine are provided in the Psychology and Counseling office. The university network provides all software needed on a normal basis (Microsoft Office Suite, SPSS, Internet Explorer & Firefox, and Outlook). If individual faculty members require additional software , the Department Chair has been most accommodating (e.g., purchasing AMOS and ACID Pro). Marywood faculty also is provided with generous interest free loans up to the amount of $2000 for the purchase of computers and software for use at home

Students have access to up-to-date computer labs in McGowan Center which are fully integrated with network software and online search capabilities. Marywood's website also allows for library and e-mail access from home, and many students report an ability to secure nearly all needed library resources from their home computers.

The classrooms in McGowan Center are high-tech and also more than adequate for teaching purposes. Each classroom has an 8' screen with a ceiling mounted computer projector, PC, (and laptop input cable), and phone. In addition, VCRs and DVD players are available in every classroom for video playback.

Marywood University also has a comprehensive technical support staff to assist students and faculty with technical questions and additional training. For a comprehensive description of available services from the Marywood Department of Computer Training and User support, click here.

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