College and Career Planning Consultant (CCPC) Training and Certification
The CCPC training is designed for counselors, advisors, educators, consultants, and other professionals working with students/clients who want to improve their knowledge and skills in supporting today’s youth in their quest to find meaningful career and educational pathways. This training is appropriate for people new to providing career planning services who have attained a four-year (Bachelor’s) degree.
Training Overview: The College and Career Planning Consultant (CCPC) Training provides participants with the knowledge and skill needed to provide high quality college and career advising to students and clients. The CCPC training is built upon the NCDA’s CSCDA training and the College Planning Consultant (CPC) training, and is designed to help participants learn how to provide high quality college and career planning services to their clients. Completion of the coursework provides participants with the CPC certificate and enables them to apply for the NCDA’s CSCDA credential.
The CCPC training course consists of 50 training hours in total including instruction and completion of all work associated with the course. Seven hours of face-to-face, in person instruction are required and occur on a single day. After the one-day, in person training, 1 hour zoom-based meetings are held weekly for the next 6 weeks to complete additional activities and assignments.
Our Instructor: Dr. Tim Poynton
Dr. Tim Poynton has more than two decades of experience as a school counselor educator and researcher focused on postsecondary planning with high school students and young adults. He is an approved instructor for the National Career Development Association’s (NCDA) Facilitating Career Development and School Career Development Advisor training programs, is a co-author of the College UnMazed workbook and school-based curriculum and has delivered more than 100 conference presentations and professional development seminars across the United States.
He holds the Certified Career Services Provider (CCSP), Certified Clinical Supervisor of Career Counseling (CCSCC), and Certified School Career Development Advisor (CSCDA) credentials from the NCDA.
Tim is currently a Commissioner for the Certified Career Services Provider (CCSP) credential with the NCDA, a founding editor for the Journal of College Access, and was the American School Counselor Association’s Counselor Educator of the Year in 2011. He is an associate professor in the Department of Counseling & School Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where his primary teaching responsibilities are focused on teaching college and career counseling at the graduate level. He also is a college advisor for a small number of clients.
Required Course Purchase
All participants are required to purchase the CSCDA Training Manual. Included in the training is the My College Fit Priorities Card Sort and access to College Planning Motivational Interview materials (interview protocol, and training and scoring manual) as part of the training.
Course Core Competencies
- Helping Skills
- Labor Market Information
- Assessment
- Program Management/Implementation
- Career Development Models
- Business Collaboration and Networking
- Employability skills
- Using a semi-structured motivational interview process designed for college planning and advising
- Core active listening skills to support clients
- Empathic understanding
- Identifying and using objective college information
- Making the most of IPEDS data
- Leveraging Common Data Set information
- Applying career theories and models
- Using career assessment techniques to help students identify careers and majors to consider
- Understanding the career information sources available to support major/career exploration
- Structuring the college choice process
- Understanding when to pay attention to objective information at each step of the college process can help the information be useful instead of overwhelming
- Identifying student/family priorities
- Using the My College Fit Priorities card sort activity in multiple ways to support communication between you, students, and families
Assignments will be provided to help participants practice and demonstrate the ability use all of the resources, tools, and techniques listed above.
Development of these competencies positions participants to effectively support college and career planning in multiple settings, including private practice advising and consulting, high schools (including vocational-technical high schools), college and career coaching, TRiO and other college access programs.
Course Completion and Certification
Upon successful completion and mastery of the CCPC curriculum, including required participation in training sessions, Upon successful completion and mastery of the CCPC curriculum, including required participation in training sessions, passing all quizzes with a score of 75% or higher, and completion of all assignments, students will receive a certificate of completion attesting to CCPC training completion. This certificate confirms the student has gained the knowledge and core competencies listed above, and may be used to apply for the CSCDA credential through the NCDA. Participants will also be awarded the College Planning Consultant (CPC) certificate.
Please Note: Due to the rising cost of labor and the use of resources to process invoices and other services, TAD Grants will charge 3% of the total amount due when a student requests an invoice, Purchase Order and/or TAD Grants to purchase the Required Student Manual, coordinate payment for Association Membership Dues and/or Credential Application Fees.