Counseling students across the nation are at risk of not graduating. This is due to practicum/internship hour requirements set by The Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Due to COVID-19, some students have been unable to continue working at their practicum/internship sites. This is mostly due to our university regulations that have been placed to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to protect students and others. Some students have the option to telework while others do not. Therefore, some students may not obtain the required 600 total hours, with 240 being direct hours, a requirement set by CACREP. If counseling students do not meet those requirements, they do not graduate. Please help support counseling students everywhere in the fight for CACREP to reduce their required hours so we can still graduate on time! Please read below for more information.

My name is Jillian and I am a student at East Carolina University. I am currently in my last semester of my Graduate Program. I am on track to graduate May 9th, 2020 with my Masters in Rehabilitation and Career Counseling. In order to graduate, students must complete a 600-hour internship, with 240 of those hours being direct client hours; this is required by The Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP). CACREP is a CHEA-recognized accreditor of counseling programs in the United States.
Effective Friday, March 20th, 2020, ECU students are no longer allowed at their internship sites. Due to this, many students, are at risk of not completing the requirements for graduation. 
There has been discussion regarding students not being able to graduate in May and the possibility of having to register this semester as "incomplete". This would mean that students will have to continue their internship at a later date. Not only would that cause undue hardship, but it also will cause be a financial burden. At ECU, students are required to register for internship four times, making the total number of credits for the semester 12 credit hours. The semester has 16 weeks, with spring break included, students have 15 weeks to complete the 600-hour requirement. Although some students are able to obtain employment at their internship site without the prospective degree they are working towards, most do not have that option. This means that most of the students are working at their internship sites, 40 hours a week, unpaid. It is extremely difficult to maintain gainful employment while completing an unpaid, 40 hour a week, 15-week long, internship. If students are not able to complete their internships, we may have to provide additional payment for the credit hours once again. We will not be able to obtain employment where it is required that we have our masters’. Ultimately, we are penalized for what is going on in the world. We are being forced to stop working at our internship sites, regardless if we would like to continue going or not. We are not being provided to chance to make that decision for ourselves. Most of the clients, if not all, are already a part of a vulnerable population. We have spent weeks with these individuals, building relationships with them. They need us more than ever right now. 
At ECU, we are lucky to be in a very diverse culture; we have many different types of students. We do not discriminate against individuals in any way, shape or form regardless of your origin, sex, race, age, etc. This being said, The Department of Addictions & Rehabilitation Studies is no different. We have a variety of students including some with children, some take care of other family members, some have full-time jobs, some have part-time jobs, some have mortgages, some paying rent, some have a monthly income, and some are living off savings. Being a college student is no easy task, as I am sure most of you are aware of. Commuting to class/internship, buying books and materials, as well as other required material in order to obtain your goal can be difficult. Our students sacrifice more than we could fathom to complete their prospective degree. During this time, accommodations and modifications should and are being utilized in order to help us continue to reach our goal of graduating in May with our master’s degree. However, there is only so much we as students and faculty can do. We need your help to make our voices be heard and to show that we will not stop fighting for what we believe in. When we are not given an option to attend our internship sites or to serve our clients, we should not be held to the "normal" standard. I know that ECU and the state of North Carolina have everyone's best interest at heart and that safety is the number one priority; as it should be. However, is our education not important? All of the time, energy, money, sweat, and tears we have put into this program, our internships, and the clients not important?  These are the questions I would like you to answer if you were so close to completing something that is your dream and have it taken away.   We are all going through this extremely terrifying global pandemic together. There is not much we can do other than support one another and make sure we are following all the recommendations, rules and regulations given by the proper experts and personnel. For ECU students, this also means that we must follow directions given by our university and proper personnel. In a circumstance such as this, the requirement of 600 hours, with 240 being direct client hours should not be held to the counseling students. Students are being told that we cannot see clients not only for their safety but for ours. Some sites are fully closed, not allowing those students to work from home. CACREP has to understand that we are all trying our best but at some point, they need to realize there is only so much we can do. It is not our choice to not go to our sites or to see our clients. We should not be punished for this. We have all worked extremely hard to get to where we are now. We should still be able to receive our degrees when we were planning on doing so. Let us graduate with our degrees when we were supposed to! Deciding that students are not able to graduate is creating additional financial burdens. I can only speak for myself, but this is already hurting my career. I can’t search and apply for jobs because I have no idea what my future holds, and I am sure others feel this way as well. That being said, please do not let us be punished for these extenuating circumstances. Please help us in the fight for our degrees. Please help us in the fight for employment. Please help us fight for the clients we serve. Please come together with CACREP, ECU, and all other counseling programs to figure out ways we can still graduate in May with our degree. Please do not let us go additional months where we are unable to obtain employment where our prospective degree is required. Please do not make us pay even more for extending the semester if it comes down to that. Students should not have to provide additional payment during this time. We cannot and should not be held to these standards during a global pandemic. In times like these, as a nation, we need to come together. I ask you to please take all of this into consideration. If there is anything you can do, anyone you can reach out to, anything that may help us, please do so. This is for every counseling program and student who may be or already are being affected by this! 
 
I hope that all of you, your family and loved ones stay safe and healthy, always. 
 
Thank you.