» Ed.S. in School Psychology/Master of Arts in Educational Psychology and Pupil Personnel Services Credential in School Psychology Program Review

Executive Summary

The program, which includes a MA in Educational Psychology, an Educational Specialist Degree in School Psychology and the PPS Credential in School Psychology, consists of 69 semester units that is typically completed over the course of three years although a four year sequence is allowed upon request.  A maximum of 20 students start the program in the fall their first year and complete all coursework, 600 hours of practica, and 1,200 hours of final fieldwork in May of their third or fourth years.  The program is committed to developing School Psychologists who can provide a wide range of direct and indirect services to pupils, other educators and families. 

1.1  Program Summary

The program consists of 69 credits and is to be completed in three years.  A few students complete the program in four years.  The program accepts a maximum of 20 students each year and each cohort takes the majority of classes together.  Both the 3-year-plan and the 4-year-plan follow a set sequence of classes.  Exceptions to this sequence are only allowed with individual consultation with the Program Coordinator and the creation of an alternative plan of study.

In their second year, students enroll in three credits of practicum fieldwork each semester.  These courses, CSP 534 and CSP 535, provide both group supervision and significant content.  The emphasis in the fall (CSP 534) is on assessment and the emphasis in the spring (CSP 535) is on mental health.  Students are required to complete a total of 600 hours of practicum fieldwork over the course of their second year.  All fieldwork sites are required to provide access to a diverse population of students and opportunities to gain experience in all domains of the NASP Model.  In their third year, students enroll in 3 credits of final fieldwork each smester (CSP 622 and CSP 623) and are required to complete 1,200 hours of final fieldwork.  These courses meet regularly for group supervision and seminar.  The program has placed students in 29 different districts during the 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 school years.

A full-faculty member, who is credentialed as a School Psychology, coordinates the Program.  Although not formally designated as a department, the FT faculty in School Counseling and School Psychology programs meet monthly to make collective decisions about curriculum and student concerns.  The Program Coordinator attends monthly program coordinator meetings, which include the Dean and Associate Dean for Graduate studies.  

Stakeholder input is obtained through: 1) twice yearly meetings with part time faculty, 2) end of semester surveys of students, 3) exit surveys of graduating students,  and 4) alumni outcome data.  In the fall of 2016, the program was part of a Community Engagement Summit, which included people from local school districts.  The purpose of the summit was to gather input from community members. 

The program uses several methods of assessment. These include:

a) Key assignments:

1. Resilience (CSP 500) Fall Year 1      
2. Exam (CSP 510) Fall Year 1 
3. 1st Year Research Paper (CSP 512) Fall Year 1       
4. Interview Project (CSP 512, Fall year 1 – moved to CSP 535 for 2019, Spring year 2) Fall Year 1
5. Program Evaluation Project (CSP 616) Spring Year 3         
6. Consultation Case Study (CSP 640) Spring Year 3  
7. RTI Case Studies (CSP 641) Spring Year 3

b) Self and supervisor evaluations during practicum and final fieldwork

c) Praxis Exam in School Psychology – in student handbook, page 15

d) Exit interview/Portfolio presentation

Key assignments are described in Assignment Protocols that are given to students in the corresponding courses. Information regarding the Praxis Exam and Exit Interview are explained in CSP 510: Introduction to the Ethical Practice of School Psychology in the fall of the first year and again in CSP 641: Best Practices in School Psychology in the Spring of the third year. Information is also contained in the Program Student Handbook. 

2. Organizational Structure

Provide an organizational chart or graphic to show how the program leadership and instructional personnel/staff are organized within the program and how the program fits into the education unit, including personnel serving in non-teaching roles, including the roles and responsibilities of those involved in assigning and placing mentors/coaches. The graphic should depict the chain of authority and include individuals up to the dean or superintendent level. If the program operates as a consortium with shared leadership, the graphic should include also include individuals serving in induction administrative roles in entities within the consortium.

Exhibit 2.1 Attallah College Education Program Organizational Chart

3. Faculty Qualifications (Instructional Personnel)

Three exhibits are required. One additional exhibit is only required if there are vacancies.

a. Submit a faculty distribution table that provides an overview of faculty. The table should include numbers of full time, part time, and adjunct faculty. Vacancies should also be noted. 

Although 11 FT faculty have taught in the program in 2016-2018, there are currently five FT faculty members who are associated with the CSP Faculty Cluster. In addition, there are four other FT faculty members, who have other primary responsibilities, who also teach in the program. 

b. Programs must also submit a current annotated faculty list denoting which courses are taught by which faculty, including part time faculty members. It is not necessary to include intermittent adjunct faculty unless they are the only instructor for a particular course. The annotated list should include the faulty member’s name, degree, status (fulltime, part time, adjunct), and list of the courses he/she teaches. 

The faculty member’s name should link to his/her vita. The courses should link to his/her most recent syllabus for the courses noted. See example that follows:

Exhibit 3.2. School Psychology Annotated Faculty List with links to Faculty Vitae and Syllabi

c. Provide links to published documentation (e.g. job descriptions, online advertisements, contract language) regarding the experience and qualifications used to select adjunct faculty.

Required exhibits and links:

Exhibit 3.3  Published Adjunct Experience and Qualifications Requirements

Exhibit 3.4 Faculty Recruitment Documents (Not applicable)

4. Course Sequence

Clear information about the sequence in which candidates take courses should be submitted. This should be a link to website, course catalog or other document that is readily available to candidates and prospective candidates. If the program is offered via more than one pathway or model, link to course sequence should be provided for each pathway or model, a link to course sequence should be provided for each pathway or model.

Exhibit 4.1 Pupil Personnel Services Credential School Psychology Course Sequence

Exhibit 4.1.1 Student Handbook (pp. 10-13)

5. Course Matrix

Each program must provide a matrix denoting the candidates’ opportunity to learn and master the competencies for that credential. Required course matrix templates for each program can be found on the Commission’s Program Review webpage.

These templates provide the candidate competencies for each program and must be used. The required courses for the program (course names not just course numbers) should go across the top of the matrix; the candidate competencies are listed in the first column.

Programs may add additional competencies specific to the institution’s program if needed. For each competency it should be noted when the candidate is introduced (I), practices (P), and is assessed for (A) the competency. These notations may occur under more than one course heading. Each notation should link to a specific place in the syllabus within that course that demonstrates that this is occurring. A partial sample follows.

Exhibit 5.1  Course Matrix

6. Fieldwork and Clinical Practice Seven exhibits are required.

Programs must provide specific evidence of meeting the requirements of clinical practice as described in the Commission standards for that program. The required documentation is:

a)  A Table that denotes the number of hours that each candidate is required to participate in early fieldwork and supervised clinical practice and how those hours are broken out across fieldwork/clinical experiences. It is appropriate for programs to label fieldwork experiences using your institution’s nomenclature. 

b) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Partnership Agreement, or link to published supporting document that clearly delineates the requirements of each candidate placement in alignment with the requirements of the Commission program standards for that program; expectations and criteria for veteran practitioner selection, training and evaluation; and support and assessment roles and responsibilities for the program and the district.

Exhibit 6.2  Signed MOU for each placement

c) Training Materials used to train Veteran Practitioners (for example, master teachers) serving in support and/or supervisory roles.

Exhibit 6.3  Veteran Training Materials

Although we obtain input from veteran practitioners and provide them information regarding fieldwork expectations, we do not have a formal training program. This is a goal for the upcoming year.  Although the program does not have these materials, program faculty are very active in providing in-service education and conference presentations for practitioners.

d) Documentation such as a spreadsheet or table verifying appropriate placements for all candidates (first name, last initial is fine) that aligns with the particular program standards (refer to program standards for additional information). For example, in a Preliminary Multiple or Single Subject credential program the spreadsheet would verify that placements reflect socioeconomic and cultural diversity, support English learners, provide opportunities to work with students with disabilities, and have a fully qualified administrator (see MS/SS Program Standard 3 for additional criteria); whereas in a Preliminary Administrative Services credential program, the spreadsheet would verify that field experiences include a variety of diverse and realistic settings both in day to day functions… and in long-term policy design… (see ASC Program Standard 7 for additional criteria)

Exhibit 6.4  Appropriate Placement Table

e) Published Manuals or Handbooks or Advising Materials (links) that provide information to the district and candidates about expectations within the clinical experience including appropriate placements, veteran practitioner support, and information about clinical practice assessment.

Exhibit 6.5  Manuals/Advising Materials

f) Syllabi for supervised clinical experiences. The syllabi should include information regarding how the candidate is assessed during clinical practice. Copies of blank assessment instruments should be included.

Exhibit 6.6  Fieldwork/Clinical Practice Syllabi CSP 534/535 & 622/623

Exhibit 6.6.1  Clinical Practice Assessment Instruments

7. Credential Recommendation

Two exhibits are required. Provide a brief description (200 words or less) of the program’s process to ensure that only qualified candidates are recommended for the credential. The description should include a link to the program’s candidate progress monitoring document or other tracking tool used to verify that candidate has met all requirements for the program prior to recommendation.

Exhibit 7.1  Description of process ensuring appropriate recommendation

As illustrated in Exhibit 2.1, duties regarding credential recommendations are provided solely by persons who are current employees of Attallah College at Chapman University. All Attallah College school counseling and school psychology credential recommendations to the Commission are submitted by a program support staff who is an employee of Chapman University and approved to submit recommendations (see School Counseling Handbook, p. 2 and School Psychology Handbook, p. 14).

Exhibit 7.1.1 Candidate Progress Monitoring

The Attallah College, Credential Specialist tracks candidate progress during their enrollment in the program and verifies that candidates have all requirements prior to being admitted (see Candidate Progress Tracking example, requirements section).