iacs
IACS STATEMENT REGARDING RECOMMENDED
STAFF TO STUDENT RATIOS
The roots
of IACS go back to the 1950's when accreditation was first extended to counseling
services. Representatives of the counseling settings comprising IACS worked for
more than two years to establish an accrediting program relevant to the
Association's diverse constituency. The result of this effort was adoption, by
the Board of Directors in April, 1973, of common principles and procedures to
govern accreditation and separate criteria and standards for the evaluation of
each counseling setting. The standards are periodically reviewed by the IACS
Board of Accreditation and any changes must be approved by the Board of
Directors. The latest update was in 2000.The Board of Accreditation and Board
of Directors are comprised of directors of counseling centers who are very
experienced and are among the most prominent experts in the area of university
and college counseling center administration and service. They represent the
170 counseling centers worldwide that are accredited by IACS.
In addition
to the IACS standards, there is another set of standards that have been
published with application to university counseling centers. The Council for
the Advancement of Standards (CAS) has published standards for all student
services areas, including counseling centers. However, some counseling centers
find them too marginal for their purposes. The
The
standard that addresses level of staffing is E.3.a., states, “Every
effort should be made to maintain minimum staffing ratios in the range of one
F.T.E. professional staff member (excluding trainees) to every 1,000 to 1,500
students, depending on services offered and other campus mental health
agencies”. This ratio is aspirational by nature, encouraging counseling
centers to approximate the range in order to ensure that there are an adequate
number of professional staff members to meet the clinical needs of the
students, as well as the other service needs of the campus community.
The ratio
was originally established through the combination of empirical analysis and
judgment of experienced counseling center directors who were leading experts in
their field. It is very difficult to come up with a specific ratio that ensures
adequate staffing at all university counseling centers, hence there is a range
and not a specific number. Counseling centers at larger educational
institutions tend to have slightly higher ratios than those at smaller colleges
or universities. The average ratio of mental health professionals to students
as reported in the National Survey of Counseling Center Directors (2006) is 1
to 1,698.
Below are
some of the likely consequences when the ratio increases beyond the upper
limits recommended by IACS:
1. The
waiting list will increase.
This
diminishes a counseling center’s capacity to serve all students. Students
in crisis tend to get the greater share of limited resources resulting in less
assistance to other students who are not so acute, but who are dealing with
more “traditional” adjustment and developmental disorders. These
students may fall through the cracks. Due to the wait list, students may choose
to not seek counseling at the counseling center. Also, students who are put on
a wait list are more likely to leave the university. A study by
2. Difficulty
providing services to students experiencing increasingly more severe
psychological issues.
Of
the 367 universities and colleges that filled out the National Survey of
Counseling Center Directors (2006), 92% reported that the number of students
with severe psychological problems has increased in recent years. As the severity increases, so does the time that’s required
by the mental health professional to adequately manage the case. Thus, the
ratio of counselors to students should actually decrease as severity of issues
increase. This will probably be a factor
that will be considered the next time that the IACS standards are reviewed.
3.
Liability
risks to the counseling center and university increases.
Not
all disturbed students who seek counseling present themselves in crisis. In fact, some are quite guarded and may not
divulge all of their issues in an intake.
When counseling resources are stretched, these students may be triaged
at a lower level and put on a wait list.
Imagine the liability that the counseling center and university would
have if it was discovered that a student who went on a shooting spree had gone
to the counseling center for help only to be put on a wait list. In addition, according to the National Survey
of Counseling Center Directors (2006), 83% of counseling center directors
reported an increased level of concern about liability risks regarding student
suicides. The legal litmus test when an entity is being sued is did that person
or agency adhere to the “standards of the profession”. Since the standard ratio of mental health
professionals to students is 1 to 1,000-1,500, a counseling center with a
higher ratio is legally vulnerable. That vulnerability increases as the
center’s ratio increases.
4.
The
support for the academic success of students is decreased.
The
Association of University and College Counseling Center Director Survey (2006)
indicates that nationally, 61.5% of students who filled out satisfaction
surveys said that counseling helped their academic performance. As resources get stretched, fewer students
experience this benefit.
5.
Counseling
centers are less available to help support the campus community.
As
the ratio of mental health professionals to students increase, less time is
available for staff to train faculty and staff, provide preventive outreaches to
student groups, serve on university committees, and provide consultations for
faculty, staff, and administrators who are trying to handle difficult student
situations. In the aftermath of the
Virginia Tech tragedy, many counseling centers around the country have been
asked to provide training to faculty and staff to help them detect warning
signs of students who might be a risk to themselves or others. It would be very difficult to find the time
to do this when the counselors are hardly able to keep up with the growing
clinical demand.
International Association of
Counseling Services (IACS)
703-823-9849 Fax: 703-823-9843
iacsinc@earthlink.net www.iacsinc.org