UAB School of Education receives CACREP accreditation extension

The UAB School of Education has received accreditation for its school counseling and clinical mental health concentrations for eight years, recognizing the financial and professional quality of the program.The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Education has received an extension in its accreditation from the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs. First awarded in 2018 to the school’s counseling and mental health concentrations for a two-year period, the programs now have the accreditation status for an additional six years.

The CACREP accreditation is vital for counseling programs because it is nationally recognized, can ensure a simpler licensure application for students, and is often preferred by doctoral programs and for academic employment. 

Accreditation is given to programs that provide students with the appropriate knowledge and skill set and meet strict national standards for required, up-to-date content and high-quality courses and program offerings.

Sean Hall, Ph.D., former director of the UAB Community Counseling Clinic, led the effort for the accreditation, which certifies that the program has been evaluated and meets the professional and financial standards set by the profession. The accreditation will ensure continued quality education for students. 

“Multiple years of work have gone into achieving this re-accreditation, and Sean Hall worked tirelessly to organize this effort,” said Shannon McCarthy, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Education’s Department of Human Studies. “As new standards have been put into place since our last accreditation, every faculty member’s efforts and contributions were needed. 

Shannon McCarthy, Ph.D.“Multiple tasks were required of faculty, such as reviewing and aligning every syllabus to the new standards, setting up a comprehensive assessment system and hosting a site review team, for which faculty arranged multiple interviews with administrators, students and community partners,” McCarthy said.  

In addition to Hall and McCarthy, faculty members from the UAB School of Education supporting the accreditation process include Kristi Menear, Ph.D., director of the School of Education’s Research, Grants and Faculty Development, Eric Plaisance, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Human Studies, Dayna Watson, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Human Studies and Larry Tyson, Ph.D., associate professor in the Counselor Education Program.

The current accredited status will last through March 31, 2026.