Outcomes & Careers

Couple & Family Therapy Program Goals & Program Composition

Educational Outcomes

The Department of Couple & Family Therapy, in accordance with the standards of the Commission on Accreditation of Marriage and Family Therapy Education, conducts an ongoing cycle of data gathering, feedback from stakeholders and feedback from students and graduates of the Program to drive program improvement. This process allows us to assess whether we are meeting our educational goals.

The Department has developed the following educational outcomes to quantify these goals. The outcomes are broken down into three categories:

  • Student Learning Outcomes, which measure student learning in the Program
  • Program Outcomes, which measure the achievements of our graduates
  • Faculty Outcomes, which measure the quality of our faculty and clinical supervisors

As a prospective student to our Program, we want you to be aware of these goals. 

  • SLO A: Students in the program will demonstrate mastery of the theoretical and clinical knowledge needed to practice as an entry level MFT as measured by achieving a score of at least 66% correct on the American Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Board Practice Examination in either their first or second attempt. The benchmark for this SLO is 60% will achieve at least a score Meets Expectations or higher on this rubric. Students must complete this SLO in order to graduate. (links to Knowledge goal) This SLO is linked to Program Goal 5 which aims to prepare students using didactic, experiential, and clinical learning modalities – to be able to understand, to describe and to integrate foundational and higher-level theoretical concepts, key empirical findings and therapeutic techniques into a working clinical model of couple and family therapy. 
  • SLO B: Students will demonstrate mastery of key clinical skills required to practice as an entry level MFT, as reflected in the 5 domains of the Core Competencies of COAMFTE, as measured by an aggregate score of 3 (out of 5) or higher on the department Practicum Evaluation Form. The benchmark for this SLO is 75% will achieve at least a score 3 or higher on this instrument in their final evaluation. (links to Practice goal) This SLO is linked to Program Goal 3 which aims to have students evolve strong professional identities; and to develop the self-awareness necessary to critically assess their relationships with clients throughout their careers.
  • SLO C: Students will learn to work effectively with culturally diverse clinical populations as measured by an aggregate score of 3 (out of 4) on the diversity subscale of the Practicum Evaluation Form. The COAMFTE Self-Study Narrative Template 40 benchmark for this SLO is 75% will achieve at least a score 3 or higher on this instrument in their final evaluation. (links to Diversity goal) This SLO is linked to Program Goal 2 which aims to prepare students to be able to practice competently with diverse clinical and cultural populations. 
  • SLO D: Students will demonstrate competency in critically reviewing the scientific literature in the field of couple and family therapy as measured by a grade of Meets Expectations or better on the scientific literature review section of the Master’s Project. The benchmark for this SLO is 75% will achieve at least a score Meets Expectations or higher on this rubric. (links to Research goal) This SLO is linked to Program Goal 1 which aims to teach students the skills to be life-long learners, able to evaluate and incorporate new developments in the field. 
  • SLO E: Students will demonstrate competency in practicing within the scope of the AAMFT code of Ethics as measured by: 1) receiving a P on their presentations of ethical principles during their Practicum Orientation; 2) receiving a grade of at least a B on the ethics assignment from the course Professional, Ethical and Legal Issues in Couple and Family Therapy and; 3) receiving an aggregate average score of least 3 (out of 4) on the ethics subscale of the Practicum Evaluation Form. The benchmark for this SLO is 75% of students will achieve the stated criteria for these measures in their final evaluation. (links to Ethics goal) This SLO is linked to Program Goal 6 which aims to have students become well-grounded in the ethical guidelines of the field.
  • SLO F: Students will demonstrate the ability to collaborate with other health care professionals as measured by their aggregate team member ratings of at least 3 out of 4 on the Peer/Self Evaluation in the Health Mentors Program. The benchmark for this SLO is that the mean score for students in the department on this assignment will meet the minimum requirements outlined above. (links to Practice goal) This SLO is linked to Program Goal 4 which aims to prepare students to provide state of the art treatment, to collaborate with other health care professionals and to assume leadership roles in the evolving health care environment.

Historically, about 90% of the students admitted to the Program will graduate within two years of matriculation.

The Alumni Survey  and State Licensure data show that:

  • 75% of alumni achieve licensure as an MFT within six years of graduation 
  • 75% of alumni have attained employment in the field of MFT or they have been admitted to a doctoral program in MFT within one year of graduation
  • 60% of alumni have made contribution to the field of Couple and Family Therapy in one or more of the following ways: 
    • Professional or lay presentation
    • Lay or professional publication
    • Achievement of AAMFT Approved Supervisor status
    • Advanced academic degree attainment in the field of MFT within six years of graduation
  • 75% of alumni work with culturally diverse clinical populations and also report the Program equipped them to work confidently with culturally diverse populations

Faculty will demonstrate:

  • Excellent teaching skills. The benchmark is faculty receiving an aggregate average score of four (out of seven) or higher each semester on the student course evaluations covering course quality, assignment quality, instructor quality and diversity competency.
  • Excellence in teaching diversity related issues. The benchmark is faculty receiving an aggregate average score of four (out of seven) or higher on their student course evaluations in the area of diversity issues covered.
  • Excellence in supervisory skills. The benchmark is the program supervisors maintaining a 100% rate of being either an AAMFT Approved Supervisory or meeting the qualifications of being eligible to provide supervision for MFT licensure in Pennsylvania under the Pennsylvania Licensure law.

Faculty will also:

  • Demonstrate a commitment to clinical practice as measured by an 80% rate of ongoing practice participation.
  • Contribute to the field of Couple and Family Therapy through at least one of the following each academic year as measured by a score of one or more on the Faculty Contribution Rubric: 
    • Professional or lay presentation
    • Professional or lay publication
    • Participation in MFT based research
    • Community service

COAMFTE Graduate Achievement Data (GAD) for the Master's in Couple & Family Therapy Program

 

Accredited: 5/1/2014

Advertised Program Length*: 2 years (Full-time)

Maximum length 2.4 years

Cohort

Year Students Entered Program

# of Students in Program

(F-T)

Graduation Rate in Advertised Time

(%)*

Job Placement Rate

(%)**

Licensure Rate

(%)***

2015-2016 22 100% 80%

68.18%

2016-2017 21 95.24% 100%

85%

2017-2018 20

95.00%

95%

73.68%

2018-2019 22 90.91% 75% 50%
2019-2020 19

89.47%

77.78% 35.29%
2020-2021 26 73.08% 84.21% IP
2021-2022 24 91.67% IP IP
2022-2023 24 IP IP IP

FT=Full‐time

PT=Part‐time

IP=In Process: Students from the cohort listed have yet to graduate from the cohort year listed or the minimum duration of clinical work has not been met (Data is still being collected or not yet available).

*           Graduation Rate is the program’s Advertised Length of Completion which is how long the program is designed to complete as written.

**         Job Placement Rate is the percentage of graduates from the cohort year that are employed utilizing skills learned in the COAMFTE accredited program.

***       Licensure rate is the percentage of graduates from the cohort year that have achieved ANY level of MFT licensure.

For Master’s programs only, COAMFTE has established a benchmark of 70% licensure rate for each cohort. Programs are only required to provide data on the past 7 years/cohort or since the program was initially accredited, whichever is shorter.

 

ITEM

CURRENT STUDENTS

GRADUATES

FACULTY

SUPERVISORS

CLASS

 

 

 

 

Class of 2024
(currently 2nd-Year students)

24

N/A

12

21

Class of 2025
(currently 1st-Year students)

24

N/A

12

21

GENDER

 

 

 

 

Female

37

193

8

19

Male

6

20

4

2

Other 5 2 0 0

ETHNICITY

 

 

 

 

Nonresident

0

4

0

0

Black, Non-Hispanic

5

25

3

4

American Indian/Alaskan Native

1

0

0

0

Asian/Pacific Islander

2

9

2

1

Hispanic

3

9

1

0

White, Non-Hispanic

35

173

5

15

Multiethnic 1 0 1 1
Other 1 0 0 0