DIGEST-Volume10.4-FULL

4 TPC Digest | TPC Digest T he hiring of new faculty members in counselor education programs can be complicated by the available pool of qualified graduates with doctoral degrees in counselor education and supervision, as required by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) for core faculty status. A pipeline problem for faculty hiring may exist in regions with fewer doctoral programs. In this study, the researchers used an ex post facto design to examine whether the number of CACREP-accredited doctoral programs is currently regionally imbalanced among the five regions commonly defined by national counselor education associations and organizations. T his study revealed that a large and significant difference exists for the number of CACREP-accredited doctoral programs by region, even when population size was statistically controlled. The Western region has by far the fewest number of doctoral programs—despite the number of CACREP-accredited master’s programs in the Western region doubling from 16 to 35 programs between 2009 to 2019, the number of CACREP-accredited doctoral programs (two) remained the same during that time period. CACREP-accredited programs in the Western region may struggle to recruit qualified core faculty from in-region doctoral programs and may need to recruit from outside of their region. This may be challenging, as geographical location appears to be a factor influencing why prospective faculty candidates take a faculty position. Furthermore, this potential pipeline problem may make it increasingly difficult for CACREP-accredited programs in the Western region, which are known to already have existing pipeline problems, to hire faculty for open positions. For example, authors have previously articulated that CACREP-accredited counseling programs have been experiencing particular difficulties with filling faculty positions in school counseling. T he researchers also examined predictors for the number of CACREP-accredited doctoral programs in a state. The number of CACREP-accredited master’s programs in a state was a large and significant predictor for the number of CACREP-accredited doctoral programs in a state. State population size, state population density, the number of universities per state, and the number of American Psychological Association–accredited counseling psychology programs were not predictors. Even though the number of CACREP-accredited master’s programs within a state appears to be a strong independent predictor of CACREP-accredited doctoral programs, new doctoral programs may be difficult to establish in certain states because of regulatory issues, the existence of competing doctoral programs (e.g., counseling psychology), or the lack of research support infrastructure (e.g., funding for doctoral students). Demand may surpass supply of doctoral counselor educators in certain regions, resulting in difficulties with hiring new faculty for some CACREP-accredited programs. An analysis of programs currently in the process of applying for CACREP accreditation suggests that this pipeline problem looks likely to continue or even worsen in the near future. Implications for counselor education and supervision are discussed. Thomas A. Field, PhD, NCC, CCMHC, ACS, LPC, LMHC, is an assistant professor at the Boston University School of Medicine. William H. Snow, PhD, is an associate professor at Palo Alto University. J. Scott Hinkle, PhD, ACS, BCC, HS- BCP, is a core faculty member at Palo Alto University. Correspondence may be addressed to Thomas Field, 72 E Concord St., Suite B-210, Boston, MA 02118, tfield@bu.edu . Thomas A. Field, William H. Snow, J. Scott Hinkle The Pipeline Problem in Doctoral Counselor Education and Supervision