Western Illinois University’s Specialist of Psychology Schools anounced it had renewed their nationally accredited program on Feb. 2.

 Ruth Kelly, a psychology professor and coordinator of the Specialist in School Psychology Program shared that accreditation is renewed every
seven years.

 “I think that there are over 200 schools around the country with accreditation,” Kelly said. “Within the state of Illinois, there are eight programs right now that are accredited, so we’re one of eight.”

 Professor and Interim Psychology Chairperson Karen Sears described how she feels rewarded by the psychology program’s renewal.

 “The Department of Psychology supports graduate-level education with three strong advanced programs, including the Specialist in School Psychology degree,” Sears said. “We are very proud of the extension of accreditation for the school psychology program as it reinforces the quality of education available to our students.”

 Kelly explained some of the qualifications and advantages of having a national accreditation. She named a few of the ten different standards schools are required to meet for accreditation eligibility, including intervention, system-wide academic support, diversity, family school collaboration, research program evaluation and others.

 “We have to make sure that we meet those (10) standards and have some data to show that we’ve done that,” Kelly said. “(There is) assessment data, and some exams, a state credential. We have to provide the grade scale and practicum records. And then during their internship, they intern with supervisors who are field-based school psychologists.”

In addition to students, faculty must also be appraised.

“(The faculty) get case studies that we have to evaluate,” Kelly specified, “four case studies that are evaluated (with) evidence that they can proficiently meet each of the standards of those case studies.”

She also explained why it is important for Western’s Specialty of Psychology program to have National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) and Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) recognition.

“Well, that’s kind of an interesting process,” Kelly said. “CAEP is the overriding organization that provides accreditation. It’s for people who are going on to become teachers or what they call now professional educators. And then within each of those areas, you have the NASP and they provide accreditation under that umbrella.”

Current psychology program freshman Rose Speidel acknowledged that Western’s full accreditation status made it moreappealing to attend.

“The first thing I looked for when I was going to school is that I actually looked on the NASP website, and they have a list of accredited schools,” Speidel said. “I noticed that Western was one of them. We talk to the interns all the time and the interns come back and tell us how impressed (their fellow interns) were with our program because of how structured we are and how we basically get every aspect of the school
psychology field.”

Kelly also went on to describe students’ lives after they graduate from an accredited program. A common step is to apply for a national certificate.

“Most of our students apply right after they graduate,” Kelly said. “They have to pass a national exam and provide evidence that they could pass that. (They also need) forms filled out with evidence that they have practicum experience, internship experience, and that they were supervised during their internship. And then there is a fee they have to pay to get national accreditation.”

The majority of students who graduate from Western’s psychology program find work in schools.

“I think at Western, when I look at all of our graduates, well over 90 percent are in schools,” Kelly said. “If you were looking at people being trained at a doctorate level in school psychology, they might be more likely to go into private practice. I mean, our students actually could,  but most of them don’t. Most of them are interested in working with the schools.”

Speidel agreed, the students and graduates are provided with several opportunities for real world experience to ensure that school psychology is the route they want to take.

“(We) feel that we’re more prepared when we go out into the field,” Speidel said. “Because within the first (semester) of our program, we’re thrown into elementary schools. (We) get a feel for what it’s like to be in the school. So, it’s a great experience and right now, in the second semester, we’re working with the Title I intervention teachers, progress monitoring units, and working with different interventions with students.”

Kelly’s next project is working to have the national accreditation accepted in all 50 states to ensure that all school psychologists are qualified across the country.

“That’s the goal, is that all 50 states would accept this credential for school psychology,” Kelly said.“They’re getting there slowly. Right now it’s only accepted in 30 states, so it (is) a little bit easier to get employed as a school psychologist.”

Kelly ended on a note reiterating how important it is to have school psychologists in the education field.

“We have a lot of needs in school. We have mental health needs, psychological needs, learning needs. (School psychologists) help both directly with students, yet then they also help teachers and administrators pro