2012

An increasing number of counselor education students are completing their academic program through online, distance, and virtual learning environments. More and more programs are exclusively online, and counselor education faculty must find nontraditional ways to deliver both instruction and clinical supervision. According to the Council for the Accreditation and Counseling Related Programs (CACREP), there are currently seven CACREP accredited master’s and doctoral programs that are predominately online (CACREP list of Accredited Programs, 2011). Even through virtual learning, counselor education faculty are responsible for ensuring that students receive instruction and supervision that adequately prepares them to seek licensure and work with clients. Some might argue that there is an increased accountability in online learning, as faculty have fewer opportunities to directly evaluate through traditional face-to-face means the development of necessary clinical skills.