Information for Faculty
The National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) strongly supports counselor educators and commends you for helping to prepare future professionals. Here are a few of the ways counselor educators can strengthen counselor professional identity with NBCC:
- Offer your students the chance to apply for the National Certified Counselor (NCC) certification before graduation;
- Demonstrate your dedication to the profession and enjoy the other benefits of national certification as an NCC;
- Inform your students about scholarship opportunities from the NBCC Foundation;
- Offer a new resource to students or submit your own research to The Professional Counselor, recognized by the APEX Awards for Publication Excellence in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016;
- Receive grant funds to assist in obtaining accreditation by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP)
- Utilize opportunities provided by the NBCC Foundation, including symposia, webinars, and volunteer opportunities.
- Provide an exit exam grounded in academic knowledge and professional practice with the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination (CPCE), from NBCC’s affiliate the Center for Credentialing & Education (CCE).
Faculty Information Questions:
Offer the NCC Application to Your Students
With the National Certified Counselor (NCC) application options for participating universities, you can give your students the opportunity to apply for the NCC and sit for the National Counselor Examination (NCE) or the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) while still enrolled.
Learn more about your department’s roles and responsibilities for facilitating the student application process.
Apply to participate and join the more than 350 campuses nationwide offering this unique opportunity to their students.
Benefits for Your Program
In addition to the benefits your students will receive from certification and taking exam before graduation, your program will receive aggregate score information on students’ exam performance, including comparisons to national data. Many students look for programs that participate in the NCC application, making it an effective recruitment tool.
New NCC Application Procedures
Eligibility Criteria
To participate in the NCC application, your program must be at an institutionally accredited university or college. For complete eligibility requirements, download the application to participate.
Please note that your program cannot use the NCC application process or NCE or NCMHCE examination as a program exit requirement. If your program is looking for a psychometrically sound exit examination for counseling students, you want the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination (CPCE), from the Center for Credentialing & Education (CCE).
Program Expectations
In addition to nominating a campus coordinator to communicate with NBCC and submit a list of eligible students, participating programs must ensure that students understand the NCC application process and what it means.
You or one of your colleagues should explain:
- That if students opt to apply for national certification, that this is different than applying for state licensure.
- That applying for the NCC is voluntary and is not a requirement for graduation.
- That the examination is only one of the requirements for national certification.
- That they must complete their degree and submit a sealed official transcript before NBCC can release their NCE or NCMHCE scores to state licensure boards.
- That if they do not complete the required certification steps, their exam scores will be invalidated.
Grant Opportunities for Initial CACREP Accreditation
NBCC is offering a unique grant program for institutionally accredited institutions seeking first-time accreditation from the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) for master’s-level counseling programs of 48 or more semester hours in addictions counseling; career counseling; clinical mental health counseling; marriage, couples, and family counseling; school counseling; and student affairs/college counseling. Institutions with currently approved CACREP tracks are not eligible to apply.
"Our program would not have been able to apply for this accreditation without the NBCC Grant Award. The funding was extremely helpful and the award also sparked additional investment by my university, particularly from administrators who had previously been reluctant to authorize pursuit of the accreditation. Thank you and NBCC for your continued support!"
Grant Phases
Funds will be awarded to university programs in three phases: $2,500 for the preapplication phase, $2,500 for the application phase, and $4,000 for the site visit phase.
2024 - 2025 Application Period
The application for the 2024 - 2025 grant is available until May 23, 2024. Funds will be awarded in fall 2024.
Questions About the Grant
If you have questions about the process, your program’s eligibility, or the materials you need to submit, please email campusinquiry@nbcc.org.
How to Apply
The application process is simple and straightforward. To apply, please complete and submit this application.
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