DIGEST - Volume 10, Issue 1

8 TPC Digest I ncreasingly, distance education is being used as a learning and development modality for training counselors. Although some educators and practitioners continue to express skepticism about the effectiveness of training counselors at a distance, increasing numbers of stakeholders have realized that it is possible to deliver high quality counselor education and training programs in a distance learning modality. Those who have participated in distance counselor education and training recognize that, in addition to increasing access and opportunity for those who are unable to pursue their education at traditional institutions, distance learning has resulted in a more diverse professional workforce and increased access to counseling services in traditionally underserved communities. For some of the first counselor educators to venture into the distance modality, there was very little in the way of prescriptive advice about how to do this well. Using the best guidance around quality counselor preparation from the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, the American Counseling Association, a myriad of professional experiences in traditional counseling training programs, training in distance learning best practices, and trial and error, distance counselor educators were able to develop models for providing students with the necessary experiences, evaluations, and developmental activities to be competent entry-level professional counselors. We have learned that quality distance education includes ample opportunity for skill development, student development, and evaluation and feedback. The first task in creating a quality distance education program is creating a selection process that allows program administrators and faculty to identify those students who are ready to engage in the learning and training involved in counselor preparation programs at a distance. Many non-traditional students pursue distance education because it allows them the flexibility needed to manage multiple competing responsibilities. Some counseling programs have established broad access admissions practices that allow for consideration of previous work and service activities in addition to previous academic performance in admission decisions, affording a “second chance” to students whose academic performance or standardized test scores might not afford them access to other programs. Beyond admissions, distance learning counseling programs must create programs in which students are provided with experiences that increase the likelihood that they will remain in the program. Focusing on students’ orientation to program resources and requirements; providing instruction reflective of andragogical principles; supporting students in developing digital competence; and ensuring that students and faculty have adequate resources for skill development, supervision, and evaluation all contribute to student success and retention. There is variability in the ways distance education counseling program faculty and administrators achieve this goal, but the authors of this commentary describe practices that include strong student- and skill-development protocols, a well- trained faculty that builds strong relationships with students and carefully monitors and addresses students’ development as counselors-in-training, and residential laboratories. With over 35 years of collective professional experience, the authors summarize their experiences with distance counselor education and provide recommendations for consideration by other counselor educators. Savitri Dixon-Saxon, PhD, NCC, LPC, is Vice Provost at Walden University. Matthew R. Buckley, EdD, NCC, ACS, BC-TMH, LPC, LCMHC, is Senior Core Faculty at Walden University. Correspondence can be addressed to Savitri Dixon-Saxon, 100 Washington Ave. South, Suite 900, Minneapolis, MN 55401-2511, savitri.dixon-saxon@mail.waldenu.edu. Savitri Dixon-Saxon, Matthew R. Buckley Student Selection, Development, and Retention A Commentary on Supporting Student Success in Distance Counselor Education |