Liberty University; Karen Parker; Dean of Education Ms. Parker has done immense damage to my career by not following protocol, showing poor judgement, poor communications, and destructive actions timed to do the most harm. Lynchburg, Virginia
I am a music teacher that invested over $30,000 into a Masters of Education in School Counseling degree from Liberty University that is worthless. Teaching and counseling degrees are of no use without licensure and institutions that offer them must take steps to insure that all participants are supported in their endeavors toward this goal. The problems that I have encountered with the Dean of Education are so severe and legion that I have been forced to report them. Her communication skills are abysmal. Most classes are online and serious, possibly crippling errors have resulted.
1. A class of 20 of us on an on-line 8-week course never received any course feedback from the instructor until the seventh week. Why? Because the Dean had not clearly communicated to him that he had one. Clearly this is unacceptable and reflective of poor communication.
2. Internships for Education and School Counseling are not like other internships with regard to their timing. There is a short window of application and acceptance for fall internships of about 8 weeks that occurs 6 months before the start of the internship. If this is missed, there is another full year that has to pass (here in the Northeast) before one can resume education. I chose a school that seemed like a good fit but had never had an intern and was later to learn that they didnt want one. I had a 3.9 GPA and was well respected by my peers and found myself in a bad situation from which my reputation and ability to earn future income should have been protected. Dean Karen Parker never bothered to consult with American School Counselor Association (ASCA) protocol. ASCA officials told me explicitly, If there is a problem with the internship, get the student out immediately!
3. Instead of following protocol I was advised to continue to the internship where the situation continued to deteriorate and later get an additional 100 hours at an accredited suitable institution. Further, Dean Karen Parker told me to finish the internship without telling the supervisor at the small school that the (school) supervisor and the course had been dropped. That is, she advised me to be deceitful for the remaining two thirds of the internship. A Dean of Education advising anyone to be deceptive is blatantly unprofessional and placed me in the middle of a no-win situation.
4. When I had finally tired of the charade and consulted with the school's principal, Dean Parker pulled me out of sponsorship for licensure. When? Exactly during the time when I might apply for a position at a notable school near Boston and losing another year. Why? I believe this was the deans revenge for my not continuing in her method of deception. Dean Parker later insisted that I could get licensure only if I was supervised by an employer. This was a demand not required of other students. Additionally, demands made by the dean were accompanied by long tracts of poor or non-existent communication.
I am now approaching two years of potential income lost. I have tried to take the high road and get a teaching job but there are few if any music teaching job openings and my old position was cut because of the economy. There is no guarantee that a school that might hire me would have the personnel or program to train me for licensure. I would never have quit my teaching job if I had known how inept the program was at Liberty. I have been hospitalized because of stress and I no longer want to pursue this profession-ironically called the helping profession. (This would require thousands of dollars more in time and money.) Dean Parker has been deceitful, unprofessional, and destructive to the point that the damage done to my family and me is incalculable. I want my money back!
2 Updates & Rebuttals
rjs
Virginia,USA
Response
#3UPDATE EX-employee responds
Fri, January 08, 2010
Jimmy,
Thanks for your post and expressing your concerns. I would like to reply by stating that I am also an alumnus of Liberty and, more specifically, the School of Education with a School Counseling degree. I have been through the same 48 credit hours that you completed. We may have even had class together. I would like to offer my approach and opinions to your post:
1) Based the 9 years that I have taken classes at Liberty (Bachelors and Masters degree), I would conclude that the one class that you enrolled in and did not receive feedback until week 7 was an isolated incident. I would also state that this was probably handled appropriately. There were many growing pains that took place during my time at Liberty. With the explosion of distance education across the nation I would believe that many colleges face challenges. I can assure you that Libertys goal is to minimize the affects of growth on teaching and students learning.
2) The intership deadlines are clearly posted, reiterated online, and stated during orientations and classes that lead up to the internship portion of the program. I would also state that through my experience the faculty and staff of the School of Education will work with students to ensure that they are properly placed. Each student must understand the rules and guidelines set forth. For example, if you are looking for a placement outside of Virginia you will obtain contact information on the person in the school district who is responsible for making student teaching/internship placements. (www.liberty.edu/education) Second, many school systems require much notice (up to 6 months sometimes) regarding student teaching and internship placements. So, prepare and submit your application as early as you possibly can. (www.liberty.edu/education) Third, Liberty can only make a placement request for yousuch a request does not guarantee the school will allow you to complete a placement there. (www.liberty.edu/education) Keep in mind that ASCA is not an accrediting or licensing agency. The Department of Education sets the rules. Here is what the Massachusetts Department of Education website states about licensure:
MASSACHUSETTES
Educational Requirements: Masters degree with a major in counseling, a practicum of 450 hours in an educational setting.
Required Coursework: Subject mater in the following courses: (1) Familiarity with the Curriculum Frameworks and their use in the advising responsibilities of the guidance counselor; (2) Understanding and interpretation of Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) and other academic test results to students, teachers, and parents; (3) Psychology of learning; (4) Understanding of the diagnosis and treatment of learning and behavior disorders; (5) Theories of normal and abnormal intellectual, social, and emotional development; (6) Knowledge of strategies used for the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, physical and sexual abuse, the spectrum of mental illnesses, and violence in PreK-12 students; (7) Philosophy, principles and practices in school guidance counseling; (8) Federal, state, municipal, and school laws and regulations; (9) Career counseling; (10) Resources within the school system or the community for referral; (11) Knowledge of statistics, research design, and research in guidance counseling; (12) Group counseling and group leadership; (13) Development of skills for consultation with parents, teachers, and administrators (14) College counseling and use of college and other post-secondary resource materials
Experience Requirements: A practicum of 450 hours in an educational setting
Examination: Passing score on Massachusetts Communication and Literacy Skills Test
Institution Recommendation Required?: Yes, must recommend for certification
Certification: (1) Elementary - Grades PK-8, (2) Secondary - Grades 5-12
Reciprocity: Yes
Background Check: No
http://www.doe.mass.edu/lawsregs/603cmr7.html?section=11
It would be your responsibility to know the guidelines for your state.
3) See answer #2, especially the requirements from the Massachusetts Department of Education.
4) I would like to respond to your comment, Dean Parker later insisted that I could get licensure only if I was supervised by an employer. This was a demand not required of other students. An intership and/or practicum requires supervision. This is how I received my license as a School Counselor in Virginia: I completed a practicum to complete my course work at Liberty. I then applied for school counseling positions and was hired under a provisional license. I must counsel for 2 years to gain full licensure. The only way that I am going to gain a full license is through my employer.
I would recommend that you contact the Massachusetts Department of Education and ask them, What is the best way for me to gain licensure?
sjs
Lynchburg,Virginia,
USA
Inaccurate
#3UPDATE Employee
Tue, October 06, 2009
There are 23 pages of documentation, much of it communication with Jimmy, as evidence to show that nearly all of what Jimmy reported is inaccurate. Because of FERPA laws protecting the privacy rights of students, I cannot share the details of the situation here. Those details would involve evaluations of him by the site supervisor of his internship, etc.
Jimmy incorrectly names Dr. Karen Parker regarding his internship. She, however, was not his internship advisor. I was. The records I hold refute nearly all of what Jimmy claims here.
Every semester, Liberty University graduates and recommends for licensure successful candidates to be school counselors, principals, program specialists, teachers, etc. LU's School of Education licensure programs are approved by the Virginia Department of Education and nationally accredited by NCATE.
To learn more about our programs, visit www.liberty.edu, www.luonline.com, www.libertyonlinedegrees.com, or www.onlineatliberty.com.