Liberty U MA in counseling

[KTS]

I would like feedback from anyone who has experiences with Liberty
University and their distance education offerings, especially ones
dealing with the Master of Arts in Counseling. Has anyone graduated
from this program? Have they been able to become a Licensed
Professional Counselor in their states? Any feedback on this program
would be helpful.

[Mthebby]

Yes, people have graduated from this program and become licensed professional
counselors in their states. Liberty does a good job of monitoring lpc
requirements in the fifty states, and making available the courses people need.

I'm in the program ( non-licensure track). It requires a LOT of
self-discipline to complete the work independently, and the material is fairly
rigorous, but I'd recommend it, particularly if you don't have opposition to
the religious overtones.

[Steve Levicoff]

mth...@aol.com (Mthebby) writes:

A few years ago, Liberty was rumored to be in trouble with the National
Board of Certified Counselors, whose examination is used in 33 states
for licensure purposes. While I am not aware of the current status of
their relationship with NBCC, you should check directly with the state
in which you will be seeking licensure to ensure that Liberty's
external program will qualify you to sit for the licensure exam used in
your state. You might also call NBCC itself (in Greensboro, NC) to
inquire about the current status of Liberty's external program with
them.

The following is a bit dated, but here's what I wrote about Liberty's
external program (then called the Liberty University School of Lifelong
Learning) in the last edition of my book "Name It & Frame It"
(available on the web at http://training.loyola.edu/cdld/nifi.html):

Affiliated with the Thomas Road Baptist Church (of
which Jerry Falwell is pastor), Liberty offers
associate's, bachelor's and master's degrees in a
variety of secular and religious subjects including
business, church ministries, counseling, general
studies, interdisciplinary studies, and religion.
Depending on the degree, between six and twelve
semester hours are required in residence, but these
can be earned in week-long modular courses offered
during the Winter and Summer sessions. They are a
pioneer in using videotaped lessons, which often
help students who have difficulty absorbing
material from traditional correspondence courses.
The LUSLL program is one of the largest external
programs in the nation, and had a rocky start which
resulted in the entire university being placed on
probation by the Southern Association in January
1991 due to program deficiencies. However, the
probation was retroactively lifted in December 1991
after the university made improvements in the
program. Liberty has also maintained accredited
status in the Transnational Association of
Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS), an
accreditor discussed in Chapters 3. (It's pure
speculation on my part, but their TRACS membership
could act as a hedge against any future loss of
their regional accreditation.) Liberty University
also had severe financial problems due to
investment and bond failures following a sharp drop
in contributions as a result of the PTL, Bakker,
and Swaggart scandals in the late 1980's, resulting
in an investigation by the United States Department
of Education and legal action by both banks and
individual investors and bond holders. These
problems extended to the Thomas Road Baptist
Church, which was placed in the hands of the
Resolution Trust Company (a federal agency charged
with salvaging the assets of failed savings and
loan associations). In late 1992, however, a civil
court approved a bondholders agreement which
resulted in the successful completion of a debt
restructuring plan for the university. As a
regionally accredited university, they have high
quality programs (including one of the best low-
residential graduate programs available today), but
prospective students should inquire about their
current financial and accreditation status.
Accreditation: Southern Association and TRACS.

An addendum note: When my book "When the TRACS Stop Short: An Analysis
and Critique of the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and
Schools" was released in 1993 (now out of print), Jerry Falwell himself
called me to request that I pull the book because it was critical of
TRACS, one of their accreditors. The book ended up hanging TRACS'
reapproval by the U.S. Department of Education up for almost two years
(which I like to think of as the price of Jerry's call getting me out
of the shower), although the organization has straightened out its act
somewhat.

Bottom line: Liberty has not always been anchored in rock (no
theological puns intended); before enrolling, you should make
absolutely sure that it will meet your needs.