Master's Program
Program Outcomes
2020-2021 Academic Year
View 2020-2021 Outcomes Report (pdf)
The Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling (CRMHC) program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), until 2022. The Program offers a master's degree in rehabilitation and mental health counseling and two graduate certificates. The two certificates offered are:
- Addictions and Substance Abuse Counseling
- Marriage and Family Therapy
The mission of the Program is to promote quality services for individuals with differences in abilities and to help the state meet its human service needs in the areas of rehabilitation and mental health through teaching, research and service. The Program offers both a non-thesis and thesis program. Successful completion of a comprehensive examination to assess student learning across all CACREP knowledge domains covered in the standards is required of all students before the degree is awarded.
In keeping with CACREP standards, the program fosters continuing public awareness and confidence about academic quality. Information below addresses these standards:
| YEAR | 2018- 2019 | 2019 - 2020 | 2020-2021 | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENROLLMENT | 129 | 120 | 132 | |||||||||||||||||
| GRADUATED | 43 | 32 | 36 | |||||||||||||||||
| EMPLOYED | 39 | 32 | 36 | |||||||||||||||||
| EMPLOYMENT RATE | 100%* | 100% | 100% | |||||||||||||||||
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*Based on survey response and follow-up: those eligible and seeking employment in the field, employed within one year of graduation.
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Where Do Our Graduates Work?
Employment settings where graduates work include state vocational rehabilitation agencies, not-for-profit rehabilitation facilities or community-based rehabilitation programs, federal agencies (e.g., Veterans Administration), for-profit or non-profit agencies providing mental health counseling, private practice-rehabilitation, private practice-counseling, substance abuse treatment, and community based settings (e.g., clinics, schools, workplace).
Licensure and Certification
- Licensed Mental Health Counselor
All graduates of the Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling Program are eligible to apply for licensure to become a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in the State of Florida. Approved applicants for the credential are designated as a Registered LMHC Intern. A Registered LMHC Intern will be required to fulfill direct service hours along with approved LMHC supervision before full licensure is granted. In addition, a Registered LMHC Intern will be required to pass a state license examination. For more information contact: Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling. - Marriage and Family Therapy
The Graduate Certificate in Marriage and Family Therapy enables students and licensed professionals to start developing a clinical specialization in working with couples and families. The Certificate provides education and training around viewing presenting problems from a systemic lens and learning the skills of working with multiple people in the therapy room. By completing the Graduate Certificate in Marriage and Family Therapy students will have the foundations of MFT to start expanding future clientele from just individuals to relationship work. This will enhance the student’s attractiveness to future clients in private practice and help make them more marketable for employment in clinical agency work. - Masters-level Certified Addiction Professional (MCAP)Graduates who complete the Graduate Certificate in Addictions and Substance Abuse
Counseling are eligible to apply for certification with the Certification Board for
Addictions Professionals of Florida (CBAPF approved provider #179A). This graduate
certificate program is approved for education and training by the Board and is designed
to satisfy the addiction-specific training required. This includes the transdisciplinary
foundations of Understanding Addiction/Treatment Knowledge, Application to Practice/Professional
Readiness. Additional hours in several performance domains and The Florida Certified
Addiction Professional Exam are required. A specified number of hours of direct experience
performing addiction-related services hours and a specified number of hours of direct
supervision of the applicant's performance of addiction-related services required
as well.
- Certified Rehabilitation Counselor
All graduates are eligible to apply for certification with the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC). Applicants must pass a national examination to become a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC). According to CRCC, certification indicates a higher level of specialized education and training, a thorough understanding of key competency standards based on current practices in the field, adherence to the Code of Professional Ethics for Rehabilitation Counselors, and an ongoing commitment to continuing education. For more information contact: Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification.
Length of Time, Cost of Program, & Scholarship Availability
The average time to complete the degree is usually 2.3 years for full-time students. The maximum amount of time to complete is 5 years. The average cost to complete the 60 credit hour program is $25,886 for residents and $52,630 for non-residents. The RMHC program offer the following scholarships: Calvin M. Pinkard Scholarship Fund, Susan D Kelley Textbook Scholarship, Lynn Bartolotta Scholarship, and the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) Scholarship. In addition, there are USF Graduate Scholarships and National Scholarships available to our students accessible from our website.
Additional Student Outcome Data
Additional student outcome data is required by CACREP, the University, and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Data are evaluated on two metrics that are part of the overall program evaluation. They are: (1) a comprehensive examination that is administered in fall and spring semesters; and (2) employment status one year following graduation. In addition to the required courses and a total of 60 semester hours, all students must pass a final written comprehensive examination to measure student competency prior to receiving the master's degree. The comprehensive examination is comprised of questions across fifteen knowledge domains underlying rehabilitation and mental health counseling. The knowledge domains are based on the standards set by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).
| Criterion: 90% of students will achieve a score of 80% or higher | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Number of Students that took exam | Number of students that passed | Percentage of students that passed |
| April 2019 | 10 | 10 | 100% |
| November 2019 | 30 | 30 | 100% |
| April 2020 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| November 2020 | 28 | 28 | 100% |
| April 2021 | 7 | 7 | 100% |
| All RMHC program graduates are eligible for certification as a rehabilitation counselor (CRC) by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification and licensure by the State of Florida as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC). | |||
| Report Period | Rate | |
|---|---|---|
| CRC |
10/2020 - 7/2021 |
79% (14 sat, 11 passed) 81% (21 sat, 17 passed) Well above the national average of 67% |
| LMHC and/or LMFT | Spring 2015 – Fall 20178 |
60% Licensed / 32% Registered Intern /8% other (unable to verify or not seeking license) |
FACULTY
The RMHC program has a highly qualified and faculty who are active locally, nationally and internationally. Their research and creative activity rank among the highest in academic literature, funding and awards annually. Faculty maintain a very active teaching portfolio and work closely with students as mentors and researchers. Currently, the program has four full-time tenure-track faculty, four clinical faculty, and 9 part-time adjunct faculty. The faculty to student ratio is 1 to 10. Tenure-track and clinical faculty serve as advisors to full-time and part-time students. Faculty teaching effectiveness is based on, among other measures, the Student Assessment of Instruction, an instrument that is required by the University. The average rating of overall teaching effectiveness for Fall 2020 was approximately 4.67 / 5.0 (compared to USF average for Fall 2020 was 4.23 / 5.0).
NATIONAL RANKING
U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Graduate Schools rankings released in March 2019, listed our Department at 27th in the nation in Best Health Schools, Rehabilitation Counseling, which is a significant accomplishment compared to the 2010 listings where the Department was ranked 39th of 166 programs in the nation.
PROGRAM MODIFICATIONS AND CHANGES
- Provided COMPS exam virtually during the pandemic
- Provided flexible online and hybrid options during pandemic
- Moved student support group to virtual platform during pandemic
- Field Placement hours reduced from 1000 to 900 (due to FL licensure changes)