Forbid from working with students of certain states???????

In my planning of choosing where to get my Masters in Counseling from I made some phone calls today. One of those places was Grand Canyon University (Private University | Online University | Grand Canyon University).

The lady informed me that they have an exclusionary list of states and she starts telling me these states, a few of them are MO, AL, TN, WI etc. I proceeded to ask her how TN was on their list because I had checked with the state licensing board for professional counselors and even called them and they said I was fine as far as licensing was concerned if I earned my degree from a RA school.

I email the enrollment person and she just called me back. Apparently legally they are not allowed to work with students who reside in certain states because of the Higher education commission? They are basically forbid to work with students who live in their list of states. One of them being MO (where I currently live but will not stay) and the other TN which is where I "MIGHT END UP". We move with my husbands work and have no clue where we will chose to call home in 3-4 years. I just have a list of possible places...

Anywho anyone know about this? I am not sure what to do now because according to the licensing board I could still get my MPC with a degree from there...

I should add that we have a permanent address in Arizona which is where GCU is based from. So technially I could still attend there using that address if I wanted.
Anyone?

 

Well, I guess I just have to start off by asking why you'd want to get a degree from a school that was not accepted in a whole bunch of states. Doesn't that send up some big red flags for you? Then I guess I'd suggest that you begin to ask people to put stuff in writing (with signatures at the bottom). It's funny how people are willing to say all kinds of things on the phone but then when it comes down to putting it in writing (with signatures) they get all kinda shy-like.

My basic advice? Find another school.

 

GCU is probably not authorized to offer degrees in those states. One has to get approval from accreditors and from state agencies. Sometimes it takes time to get the state agencies on board.

 

Well when I started looking into schools I had no clue that GCU was not allowed to work with students from other states. I have never heard of such a thing. Not sure about the red flags when they are only excluded from 8 or 9 states she said. They must have something right if the rest of them allow them.

Do you know something about GCU that I do not?

 

That is odd, but I would not see it as a red flag. There has to be a reason for it though. I think GCU is a great school, one of the few that have been bought out and are better off for it. They have one heck of a campus and they do have a good baseball team...lol

 

Something sounds very off here. I don't see how they would be forbidden from enrolling anyone from any state but the issue may be this: Most people will reside in the same state for the duration of their life, certain states have very specific criteria about counseling programs due to the way the law was written and the board within that state. For example, Oregon requires the program be CACREP approved. Other states require that a certain portion of the courses be in residence some require between 15 and 30 credits be in residence at the institution.

They probably have had issues with people enrolling in the program and then being infuriated to realize that their money and time was wasted and now they can't even get licensed in their home state. No matter how much time and effort colleges put forth in telling people that they need to verify their state's requirements I am sure some people still enroll even though they will not be eligible to get licensed. Maybe TN has recently changed their requirements and now this program meets the requirements and the college hasn't changed their policy yet.

Along this note, I recently chose Liberty's MA in Professional Counseling because it meets the licensing requirements for every state I would ever consider living.

 

States must approve programs, and if the program does not have approval, it can't be offered. It's not that anything is "very off."

Liberty has a similar list of states on their website.

 

Guessing: The program in question is a counseling program, so the GCU rep may have been referring to their particular counseling program being eligible for licensure in particular states? Ex, maybe the GCU program meets the requirements for most states to become a licensed counselor, but not all? So in order to avoid conflict they just have chosen not to enroll people from those states in that particular program?

???

 

You're wrong my friend. Have you looked at the laws as specifically written for various states? The state has a list of "required courses" and any college (RA usually) who offers a program that meets that criteria is accepted. Liberty designed their program for the state of VA because that is where they are located. The list of states that Liberty list as their program not working isn't because they haven't been "approved" but specifically because their program doesn't meet the state licensing requirements. They aren't actively going to every state and offering their program and waiting on the state to come back with a yes or no. Maybe some states do this but NC or any of the other states I have looked into doesn't, they list specific courses and approve the individual on an individual basis.

 

No--- its not that I will not be able to get licensed if I get the degree from GCU because I called the TN board of licensing and they said I could. The lady basically explained it to me that Tennessee for example wants to keep people from attending a school outside the state-meaning they want the college money in their state not another.

It has nothing to do with be able to get licensed because if I went to GCU I would still be able to except in states that require you to have certain credits in a home college.

It has something to do with the Higher Learning Commission not the state licensing board. Im trying to figure out why they have not approved GCU and the good thing is I have at least 4 months to decide on a school.

 

I have two problems with Liberty but they are not taken off my list yet as I have a friend who attends there.
1. They are very christian based from what I have been told by a few people
2. They require intensives (me to visit campus) which would not be an issue except I have no clue where I will be when the time comes for me to go there. I really do not want to spend another 5000 or more just for the 3 intensives required. But its still a possibility!

How are you liking the program if you have started?

 

They are very Christian based but it wasn't a turn off for me. If anything, since you will be practicing in a majority Christian society being able to relate to those who use faith as a coping mechanism the program will definitely help. The intensives allow them to meet the requirements for different states.

I haven't started yet but will next month.

 

Counseling Program at Ottawa University

Hi Ellia05,

Have you explored the counseling program at your current institution?
Ottawa University has a Master of Arts in Professional Counseling program that is based out of their Arizona campus. You can check out some information about the program here: http://www.ottawa.edu/AZ_Masters/MasterofArtsinProfessionalCounseling_AZ.aspx
If you are interested in that program, I would recommend speaking with your CAPS advisor about the admission requirements. My understanding of the program is that it must completed at the AZ campus but as you have a permanent address there already and you stated you don't want to stay in MO, if might be the right time for you to head to Phoenix, Chandler, or Surprise and complete your MAPC right at your alma mater.
Plus as an OU student you'll most likely be eligible for the streamlined admissions process.
If you have more questions about the Ottawa University program I'd be more than happy to answer them or direct you to an enrollment advisor in Arizona!
Cordially,
Jeff
EA with Ottawa University-Online

 

Did you call the counseling board or the Tennessee Higher Education Commission?

 

Yes I called the counseling board in Tennessee and the person there told me that as long as the degree was from a regionally accreidited school there was no problem. I specifially asked her if they excluded any universities and she said no.

I am going to call the Higher Education Commission tomorrow and ask them for nothing else than I really want to know why they have excluded GCU from working with students who live in TN for instace.

On another note I called Walden University today just to inquire and I really like what I read online and was told. I am considering them again even though the cost is more than I wanted to spend.

 

GCU is also a christian school.

 

True but i have heard less about it being as christian based as Liberty.

 

It's for-profit; that's why, IMO. LU has a more pronounced, non-profit Christian mission.

 

Good point. I was just trying to point out that I wouldn't exclude Liberty based just on that fact alone. If it wasn't an issue for the OP at GCU then it shouldn't be at Liberty.

 

Excelsior doesn't forbid anyone from Florida taking their nursing courses
but if you graduate from Excelsior you can not be licensed in Florida