Thinking about going back to school without quitting your job?
You’re not alone. Enrollment in online graduate programs has surged over the past decade, providing working adults more opportunity than ever to pivot careers. The problem is there’s a catch…
Not every online program is worth the money.
Others send students into massive debt and a degree that no board will accept. Researching which schools will work for you ahead of time is the best decision you can make.
Here is how to spot the good ones.
Why Accreditation Comes First
Accreditation is dull. It’s also the one thing that determines if your degree will “count” for anything in the real world.
There are two types, and they do very different jobs.
Institutional accreditation applies to the entire school. This is what qualifies a college to provide federal financial aid, and allows your credits to transfer if you change your plans later. If a school is not accredited, run.
Programmatic accreditation only covers one degree. In counseling, that will typically be CACREP (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs). State licensure boards know the name. So should employers.
Here’s why this is timely. Substance abuse counselor positions are projected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to grow 17% through 2034, compared to about 3% for all occupations. There will be approximately 48,300 openings EACH YEAR. Rapid growth fields attract fly-by-night programs.
Prospective students should ensure that not only the university they are interested in attending is accredited, but also that the specific degree itself is accredited. For example, an institution may have good institutional accreditation, but the clinical mental health counseling program may not be programmatically accredited. Anyone comparing an online Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling should confirm that the clinical mental health counseling coursework and accreditation line up with the licensure they want after graduation.
Visit the accreditor’s website. It’s a two-minute task that can save you two years.
Matching The Curriculum To Your State
Each state writes their own licensure requirements. That is what most applicants don’t seem to understand at all.
Clinical mental health counseling degrees are typically offered at 60 credit hours because that is what most state boards have come to expect. Programs offering 48 credits may seem less expensive and quicker, but keep in mind graduates will likely pay extra after for additional coursework.
Get out the licensure requirements for the state you want to practice in. Hold your course list next to it and match them up.
Look for core coursework in:
- Counseling theories and techniques
- Human growth and development
- Psychopathology and diagnosis
- Assessment and testing
- Group counseling
- Ethics and professional practice
- Research methods
If you can’t see a side-by-side map of their courses to your state board’s requirements… RUN! Programs that care will have this information posted. Exceptional ones will walk you through it before you even fork over a deposit.
Ask if they have specialisations as well. Trauma treatment, addiction, and child therapy all open up different doors and the best programs allow students to cultivate one.
How Online Programs Handle Clinical Training
Coursework can happen anywhere. Clinical hours cannot.
This is the number one thing that separates a good online graduate program from a bad one. Counseling students complete about 100 hours of practicum and then about 600 hours of internship, each with actual clients and each under supervision.
So the question is simple…
Who is responsible for finding that placement?
Some schools give their students a checklist and wish them luck. Others have placement teams, developed site partnerships, and staff who handle paperwork, contracts and supervisor approvals. That difference can mean one semester for a student.
Before enrolling, ask:
- Does the school help secure practicum and internship sites?
- Are there existing partnerships in your area?
- Who supervises the hours, and what are their credentials?
- What happens if a placement falls through halfway?
Inquire about residencies as well. Many great programs have short on-campus intensives in which students practice their counseling skills in person. That’s not a drawback. It means the program values skills.
Faculty, Support And The Stuff Behind The Brochure
Look past the marketing pages and check who is actually teaching.
Top notch Clinical Mental Health Counseling faculty are masters-level clinicians who see clients in practice. They carry live caseloads to share with the online classroom instead of reading theory from a PowerPoint slide. Profile pages for faculty are typically public. Take 10 minutes to read them.
Class size is bigger deal than you think. Small cohorts allow instructors to review recorded counseling sessions and identify struggling students. Large sections = rubric and nothing more.
Distance education at this stage is now fully mature. NCES reported that enrollment for students taking 100% of their classes at a distance at graduate levels increased by over 23,000 JUST last year. As the nation grapples with an ever-increasing shortage of mental health workers, distance learning enrollments continue to rise. The Health Resources and Services Administration estimates that there are about 137 million Americans who reside in a mental health professional shortage area.
That’s good news for growth. But it also means schools are fighting hard for enrolments, so look closely at support services.
Strong programs offer:
- A dedicated academic advisor, not a call centre
- Technical support outside business hours
- Full digital library and research database access
- Career services and licensure guidance after graduation
Cost, Format And The Fine Print
Now for the practical part.
Look at cost per credit hour instead of sticker price tuition. Factor in technology fees, travel for residency, background checks, liability insurance for placements. Those little goodies aren’t included in the marketing materials.
Format matters too. Async courses allow students to learn on their own schedules around shift work and families. Sync provides live discussion as well as practice with skills counseling students really do need. Most good programs will offer a hybrid of both. Inquire about what a typical week looks like before you decide.
A few final questions worth asking:
- How many credits transfer in?
- What is the completion rate?
- How long do most students take to finish?
- Where do graduates end up working?
Any school that dodges those questions is telling you something.
Bringing It All Together
Selecting an accredited online graduate school can be simple, but research is required. That’s how students wind up with a degree that won’t qualify them for their desired license.
To quickly recap:
- Confirm both institutional and programmatic accreditation
- Match the curriculum to your state licensure rules
- Find out exactly how clinical placements are supported
- Check the faculty are licensed and still practising
- Add up the real cost, not the advertised one
Demand for skilled counselors will continue to grow. Graduates who succeed are those who chose a program designed correctly from the ground up.
Do the homework now, and the rest gets a whole lot easier.
