Hunter College, School of Education - Academic Excellence Fees for Graduate Programs:
RESOLVED, that The City University of New York adopt a schedule of academic excellence fees for students in graduate programs in the School of Education at Hunter College, effective with the Fall 2013 semester and as detailed below:
Masters of Science in Education:
Resident Full-time students: $300 per semester Resident Part-time students: $30 per credit Non Resident Full-time and Part-time students: $55 per credit
EXPLANATION: The Hunter College School of Education offers three counseling programs at the master’s level: School Counseling, Mental Health Counseling, and Rehabilitation Counseling. These programs are nationally recognized for their outstanding quality, as well as selectivity, and are consistently viewed as among the best in their fields in the New York area. The Rehabilitation Counseling Program has achieved accreditation by the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE), and the School Counseling Program has achieved accreditation by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The programs are highly competitive and are consistently viewed as among the best in their fields in the New York area. In recent years, Hunter has accepted only students with an outstanding undergraduate GPA, strong writing skills and strong recommendations. For example, in Fall 2012, 166 students applied for the School Counseling program and only 52 were accepted. Our Rehabilitation Counseling program is ranked in the top 50 such programs nationally by US News and World Report, and it is the only CORE-accredited program in New York City. The College will continue to administer financial aid to assist students with the completion of their studies.
The Hunter College School of Education’s nearest competitors are the Steinhardt School at NYU and Teachers College of Columbia University, both of which have much higher tuitions. The very low level of tuition at Hunter, including out-of-state tuition, adds to the perceived value of our graduate education programs, as compared to our private competitors. Hunter has placed a particular emphasis on high quality clinical experiences and has pioneered the use of video and audio analysis for its candidates in the field. Our technology competency requirement is unique among schools of education and requires all of our students to provide evidence of mastery in a range of educational technology tools.
Hunter attracts highly talented students who come expecting not only outstanding faculty but also outstanding support services, including academic advisement, skills workshops, and career counseling. Although Hunter can provide academic programs that are superior to those available at comparable colleges in the New York area, we are not able to provide an adequate level of critical support services that high-achieving students expect from these programs. Such services will include workshops that provide intensive support and focused expertise in helping students advance their skills and knowledge to better service the specialized population they will work with.
Most critically, we are not able to provide the quality of support for our clinically rich programs that we know is essential to success. To provide this, we need clinical staff that can supervise and consult with our students in the schools and agencies where we place them. Only this way can we integrate the delivery of critical knowledge and skills in the environment where they can actually be practiced. We also need expanded access to our technology and other curricular initiatives so that students may be able to practice and improve their skills to a superior level.
In conclusion, the quality of the School of Education counseling faculty, the reputations of our programs and the low cost of attendance further enhance the desirability among New York, as well as out-of-state, residents to attend Hunter College. Students will continue to receive a Hunter education that is not only of exceptional quality, but that is also very reasonable and financially affordable.