Whereas the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges adopted a paper entitled, "Toward Increased Student Success: Transfer as an Institutional Commitment," (F96) and
Whereas in April 1997 the California Community Colleges Counselor Association (CCCCA) and Transfer Center Directors Association (TCDA) jointly published "Transfer: Recommended Guidelines," and
Whereas counseling is a faculty discipline included in the state approved faculty disciplines list/minimum qualifications, and
Whereas a counseling discipline ensures professional education and training at the Master's level leading to appropriate counseling knowledge. competencies and skills, and
Whereas there is no statewide definition of. or limitations on. the role of the counseling/advising paraprofessional, and
Whereas some districts are blurring the roles of professional counseling faculty and misusing paraprofessionals in the discipline,
This paper asserts that there should be a set of universal standards of practice for all community college counseling programs, regardless of institutional or departmental size or fiscal constraints. Complying with these standards requires both adequate staffing and support. These standards are set out in six areas: A. Core Functions, B. Ethical Standards, C. Organization and Administration, D. Human Resources, E. Physical Facilities, and F. New Technologies.
In December 2000, the Consultation Council reviewed and discussed a Consultation Digest prepared by the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges (FACCC), which recommended that the Chancellor establish a Consultation Task Force to study the counselor-to-student ratio in California community colleges. At the time, the Chancellor declared the issue an academic and professional matter and charged the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges with convening the Task Force.
This paper asserts that there should be a set of universal standards of practice for all community college counseling programs, regardless of institutional or departmental size or fiscal constraints. These standards are set out in six areas:
This paper presents a background on counseling discipline issues, identifies the relationship between the mission of California Community Colleges and the counseling discipline, describes the qualifications, roles, and activities of counseling faculty and states the appropriate uses and limitations of paraprofessionals.