The Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program is designed to meet the 60-credit hour educational requirements for licensure as a Mental Health Counselor in New York State. The graduate program is designed to build a deep understanding and practice of the counseling profession through its foundational and advanced courses in counseling theories, individual/group/family counseling, research and assessment, diagnosis, professional and ethical issues, diversity and multicultural issues, crisis and trauma interventions, and nine-credits of supervised clinical training in the field.  The program will prepare students for careers in private and public mental health agencies.  Students are required to take a fixed sequence of courses to complete the program in two years.  The program has two delivery modalities: a fully distance learning format with courses delivered online (a combination of synchronous and asynchronous courses), and a hybrid format (a combination of select courses delivered online and others delivered in person via a weekend in-person classroom format).

All courses are required by the program since it is required by CACREP and for licensure eligibility as a Mental Health Counselor in New York State.

Good Academic Standing
A student’s academic standing is determined by the cumulative quality point average (G.P.A.). Graduate students are expected to maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.0 or above. A student who has less than a 3.0 cumulative G.P.A. at any time is placed on academic probation for one semester. At the end of the probation semester, the student’s file is reviewed by the program. If the student’s cumulative G.P.A. is a minimum of 3.0, the student is automatically removed from probation. If a student does not achieve the 3.0 G.P.A., the program will either dismiss the student from the program immediately or continue the student on probation for one more semester. If a minimum of 3.0 is not achieved, dismissal is automatic.

Grades Below B Policy
All grades of B or higher are applicable to the program. Grades of B- or lower are not applicable to the program, and those courses must be retaken for a B or higher grade. Students may not receive more than two grades of B- or lower during the entire two-year program in order to remain in the program.

Provisional Admission
Applicants who do not meet the above criteria but have an undergraduate grade point average of at least 3.0 and show promise, will be reviewed on an individual basis by the admissions committee and may be admitted provisionally. While on provisional status, students must meet all academic requirements of the program and must either receive grades of B or better or earn a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 in the first four courses in the program. Failure to do so will result in dismissal from the program.

Academic Probation
Students who receive two grades of B- or below in the program will be notified in writing that they have been placed on academic probation. Academic probation will then apply to the next semester of their enrollment, including summer semesters. Students who have been placed on academic probation must successfully complete all coursework with grades of B or higher in the next semester of their enrollment in order to be removed from academic probation. Students who have been placed on academic probation, and receive a grade of B- or below for any course taken in the next semester of their enrollment, are at risk for dismissal from the program. Students who are taking coursework and are carrying an I (Incomplete) grade from any previous graduate coursework and who have a grade of B- or below submitted to replace any I grade will immediately be placed on academic probation for the current semester of their enrollment.

A student who maintains a minimum of a 3.0 average but receives more than two grades of B- or lower will be reviewed by the program before they may continue in the program, based on the program's decision. An appeal to any of the above may be made by following the grievance procedures found in the D’Youville University calendar and resource guide.

Appeals
To appeal a decision rendered by the program that has academic consequences, you must follow the appeal procedures which are available in the CDSR Policy Handbook.