According to the organization鈥檚 website, the rankings are designed to help prospective students make a choice about where to invest their time and money in earning their graduate degree.
Schools in this ranking were evaluated based on rankings from publically available data, including: student-faculty ratio; percentage of faculty holding terminal degrees in their field; admissions and retention rates; estimated cost; and counseling-specific accreditation.
鈥淭he faculty and staff in the counseling program are honored to receive this recognition,鈥 said Dr. John-Nelson Pope, counseling program director. 鈥淎lthough many programs listed in the rankings are larger in terms of students and faculty, we offer our online students a personalized experience. Students receive instruction and feedback about their course work from their professors the same day they ask. If an out-of-state or distance student needs a suitable practicum or internship site and they are unable to find one, we will assist them.鈥
Best Masters Programs uses information from the National Center for Education Statistics, university and college websites, and rankings from respected organizations like U.S. News and World Report.
The site noted the program鈥檚 100 percent placement rate for its 2013 clinical mental health graduating cohort.
鈥淭he students know we care about them, but we also require from them academic excellence and commitment to the program,鈥 continued Pope. 鈥滻f students living out of state require a specific course for licensure as a Professional Counselor and we do not offer it, we will develop one for them. We did this recently when faculty developed a Human Sexuality course for a student from Florida who needed it for licensure.鈥
All schools included in the ranking are regionally accredited, which is the highest form of accreditation.
四色AV鈥檚 online master鈥檚 in counseling has received numerous national rankings of late. In 2014, the program earned rankings from BestCounselingDegrees.net and OnlineU.org
四色AV鈥檚 counseling programs are accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).
About BestMastersPrograms.org:
Best Masters Programs is an independent online guide to finding the best traditional and online master鈥檚 degree programs offering rankings and reviews of top master鈥檚 programs in all of the most popular fields, career and salary information for the most in-demand jobs, and much more.
To learn more about the ranking, visit
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