Grant drives strategic growth of school counseling program
A five-year, $6.7 million grant has significantly boosted Minnesota State University Moorhead’s school counseling program, nearly doubling enrollment in three years. The key factors driving the program’s expansion are the urgent need for school mental health providers and the student financial support from the grant. However, faculty were poised for growth well before receiving the grant.
“The growth of our program is a team effort,” says Taryn Akgul, an assistant professor and school counseling program coordinator. “We recognized opportunities to expand the program and strategically decided pre-pandemic to allow students to join the program remotely.”
Removing the in-person barrier helps students in rural communities enroll in the master’s program because they can attend class remotely or in person. The grant is significant, too, offering up to $24,000 over two years of graduate study.
“Finding school counselors is challenging, especially in small rural districts like ours,” says Rick Bleichner, superintendent at Herman-Norcross School District. “We’ve been fortunate to have our last two counselors come from MSUM’s counseling program. Our current counselor, supported by the MSUM grant, allows her to work toward her degree while staying employed with us.”
Congratulations to the faculty in the school counseling program!
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