TPC_Digest_Volume_2_Issue_2

TPC Digest The counseling profession has been following this trend in technology development. Many counseling features and services have embraced the Internet. Career counseling, supervision and counselor education all have found their way to the Internet to deliver services to clients and students. Web counseling also is on the rise and has generated excitement and discussion in the counseling profession. These developments mark the acceptance of this technology trend in counseling. This study investigated how counseling programs have embraced the Internet on their webpages. When universities utilize their webpages for public relations and student recruitment, are CACREP accredited counseling programs participating? Can significant deficiencies in CACREP webpages be detected? This study visited all the webpages of CACREP counseling programs to measure if improvements or new developments are needed. It reviewed 220 departmental webpages hosting 528 CACREP accredited counseling programs. There were 66 CACREP programs not accessible during our review process. The results showed many improvements of information displayed on program webpages, but there was shortage of information regarding faculty’s scholarship and publication. Under current online technology development, counseling programs should take the advantage of the Internet to showcase their professionalism and connect to prospective students. Counseling programs need to utilize this new technology and continue to improve their online presence. In this article, we provide the current image of counseling program webpages and potential deficiencies which need special attention. We also suggest several steps for future development of counseling program webpages. “The results showed many improvements of information displayed on program webpages, but there was shortage of information...” TPC Digest