Mission

Vision

• Offer the highest quality care in the provision of services to students experiencing personal, developmental, and psychological difficulties;
• Provide preventive, intervention, developmental, and remedial services to restore healthy functioning;
• Facilitate students in learning skills that assist them in achieving educational and life goals;
• Assist students with values clarification and knowledge acquisition by proactively addressing issues of importance to the university population;
• Facilitate students in learning about self, the world of work, and develop the retention skills necessary to aid them in becoming productive members of society; and
• Foster a campus and community environment where students maximize potential through encouragement, reassurance, and support vital to academic and ultimately, lifelong success.

Core Values

Excellence - We seek excellence in all our endeavors and we are committed to continuous improvement.

Integrity – We are committed to the principles of truth and honesty and we will be equitable, ethical, and professional.

Service – We believe that serving others is a noble and worthy endeavor.

Intellectual Freedom – We believe in ethical and scholarly questioning in an environment that respects the rights of all to freely pursue knowledge.

Diversity – We respect others and value diversity of opinion, freedom of expression, and other ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

Stewardship of Resources – We are dedicated to the efficient and effective use of resources. We accept the responsibility of the public’s trust and are accountable for our actions.

Goals, Critical Success Factors, Objectives, and Strategies

Goal 1. Academic Excellence: Support the academic mission of the university and the academic success of students by providing high quality counseling and mental health services to students and consultative services to faculty and staff.

Critical Success Factors:

• 10 % increase in staff participation in student orientation experiences
• 10 % increase in outreach programming to Freshman Orientation and World of Work classes
• 10% increase in staff presentation of in-service programming to faculty and staff
• Encourage and support professional licensure for all clinical staff
• Provide financial support for ongoing training and education for clinical staff
• Re-accreditation by the International Association of Counseling Services, Inc.
• Ensure adequate staff and resources to meet demands for services

Objectives:

• Provide a variety of affordable mental health services to assist students in addressing psychological and adjustment issues (i.e., depression, anxiety, and relationship issues).
• Provide a service delivery system that is easily accessed and responds in a timely manner.
• Act as a referral source linking students to other university and community services as appropriate.
• Provide 24-hour crisis intervention services to students.
• Maintain 2 separate office sites to increase ease of access for students.
• Maintain office site in the University Health Services to preserve the collaborative relationship with medical staff.
• Maintain and maximize excellent working partnerships with Residential Life, Stillwater Police Department, and OSU Police Department.

• Develop pamphlets and flyers to increase students' awareness of available services.
• Establish good lines of formal and informal communication with faculty and staff members.
• Increase campus awareness of services available through Web page, outreach programming, high degree of staff involvement, and visibility in the university community.
• Participate in Freshman Browse sessions as well as Freshmen Enrollment presentations to the parents of students.
• Ensure that there is an on-call counselor available during regular office hours to consult with students, faculty, and parents.

• Provide in-service training programs for faculty and staff.
• Presentation of outreach programs in Freshman Orientation and World of Work classes.
• Increase staff participation in first year programs such as ALPHA and Camp Cowboy.
• Establish and maintain collaborative working relationships and lines of communication with faculty and staff.

• Provide supervised clinical training for 3 to 5 masters and doctoral level practicum students per semester.
• Maintain a collaborative relationship with faculty in the Counseling and Psychological graduate programs.
• Ensure adequate performance of graduate intern and practicum students through clinical supervision and ongoing evaluation.
• Evaluate clinical supervisor performance.

Goal 2. Provide counseling, psycho-educational programming, and consultation services which emphasize the developmental needs and issues of students.

Critical Success Factors:

• Provide a minimum of 5 in-service training programs per year dealing with college student development issues
• Obtain 90% approval ratings on audience evaluations of all outreach programming
• 10% increase in Student Counseling Center professional staff participation in campus activities (campus committees, ALPHA, and Residential Life Outreach programming)
• Establish weekly meetings of counseling liaisons with Residential Life staff

Objectives:

• Recruit and retain professional counseling staff members who are familiar with, and have experience dealing with, college student development issues.
• Provide continuing education opportunities specifically related to student development for Student Counseling Center staff.

• Enhance high degree of collaboration with the Residential Life staff and other departments on campus to coordinate programming and develop effective programs.
• Continue counseling liaison program with Residential Life staff and maintain high degree of staff involvement on campus committees and other proactive activities specifically related to student development.
• Increase staff visibility and involvement on campus and in the Stillwater community.
• Increase staff involvement in Freshman Orientation programming, including planning and implementing ALPHA and Camp Cowboy.

Goal 3. Increase services to diverse student populations.

Critical Success Factors:

• Increased utilization of services by minority students
• Present a minimum of 1 outreach program to all diverse student organizations or participate in orientation programs to increase student awareness of available services
• Provide a minimum of 3 in-service training programs per year that specifically address diversity issues in higher education

Objectives:

• Increase collaboration with International Students and Scholars, Multicultural Student Center, and other university departments providing services specifically to diverse student groups.
• Increase staff participation in the activities and organizations of diverse student groups.
• Increase psycho-educational outreach programming to diverse student organizations (i.e., Japanese Student organization and Sexual Orientation Diversity Association).
• Increase staff diversity.

• Increased training and continued education in multicultural counseling.
• Increase the number of programs and services designed specifically to address diversity issues.
• Complete a needs assessment and use the information obtained to meet the unique needs of diverse clients (i.e., non-traditional students).

Goal 4. Recruit and retain a high quality staff and create a positive work environment.

Critical Success Factors:

• Maintain International Association of Counseling Services, Inc. accreditation
• Minimize professional staff turnover
• 5% increase in staff participation in university activities (i.e., Camp Cowboy and ALPHA)
• Encourage staff membership and involvement in appropriate organizations
• Maintain monthly activity reports from all staff members
• Implement a quality assurance review program for professional staff

Objectives:

• Provide funding and support for continuing education for professional staff.
• Conduct a minimum of 1 per year per employee performance evaluation.
• Maintain accurate job descriptions for all professional staff.
• Maintain an up-to-date Policies and Procedures manual and ensure that all staff members are familiar with and adhere to policies and procedures.
• Use the information provided by the Protégé client database to assess staff productivity.
• Maintain an ongoing quality assurance review program for professional staff.

• Clearly communicate departmental and university expectations regarding professionalism.
• Maintain International Association Counseling Services, Inc. accreditation.
• Continued use of computerized scheduling program and electronic client database to streamline service delivery to students.
• Recruit and retain highly competent support staff.
• Maintain accurate job descriptions for all support staff.
• Encourage and provide support for professional staff to obtain appropriate licensure.
• Encourage and provide support for professional staff to take an active role in professional organizations.

Goal 5. Create and maintain collaborative relationships and partnerships with departments within Student Affairs, as well as academic departments and student groups and organizations.

Critical Success Factors:

• Maximize liaison program with Residential Life staff
• Provide in-service training to Residential staff
• Develop a partnership with Greek Life to provide a counseling liaison program to Greek Life living areas
• Meet with department heads to provide information regarding services provided by Student Counseling Center and how to access them
• Increase campus awareness of services available through use of the Web site, pamphlets, outreach and in-service programming to faculty and staff

Objectives:

• Maintain high degree of involvement with Residential Life, Share the Wealth Peer Educators, Campus Life department, and OSU Police Department in the planning and presentation of outreach programs to students.
• Continue high degree of participation in Freshman Orientation programming.
• Continue to work in conjunction with various student groups, Student Affairs, and academic departments on campus to develop, organize, and present programming for Alcohol Awareness Week, Eating Disorder Awareness Week, and Sexual Assault Awareness Week.

• Establish partnerships with academic colleges.
• Meet with department heads and attend staff meetings in order to discuss services offered and how to access them.
• Increase outreach programming and in-service training programs for Student Affairs and academic departments.

Goal 6. Utilize ongoing assessment and existing data to develop or modify programs and services.

Critical Success Factors:

• 30% increase in the collection of completed client satisfaction surveys
• Administer regularly the Outcome Questionnaire 45 to each client to document progress in counseling
• Review of Freshman Cooperative Institutional Research program survey

Objectives:

• Utilize information in the Freshman Cooperative Institutional Research Program survey and other available assessment information to examine student attitudes, behaviors, and needs and then use this information to develop new programs and modify existing programs.
• Regular evaluation of client progress in counseling using Outcome Questionnaire 45.